Work Rights · Employment Basics
Work authorisation and the I-9
Every new hire completes an I-9 proving they may work in the US. Employers must verify it — but they're also barred from demanding specific documents or treating you differently because you're foreign.
When you start a new job in the United States, your employer will ask you to complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. This is a federal form required for every new hire—whether you are a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident, an international student, a visa holder, or any other person hired to work. Understanding the I-9 process, your rights, and what constitutes illegal discrimination during this verification is essential to protecting yourself.
What Is Form I-9 and Why Is It Required?
Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, is the official document that employers use to confirm two things: your identity and your legal authorization to work in the United States. Federal law requires every employer to complete and retain an I-9 for every person they hire for employment, regardless of the person's citizenship status. This applies to new employees hired after November 6, 1986. The form is not optional, and failure to complete it properly can result in significant fines for employers.
The I-9 has three main sections. Section 1 is completed by you, the employee, where you attest under penalty of perjury that you are authorized to work in the United States and provide your personal information. Section 2 is completed by your employer or a representative within three business days of your first day of employment. In Section 2, your employer examines your original documents and records them. A third section—called Supplement B, Reverification and Rehire—is used only in specific situations, such as when your work authorization is expiring or if you are rehired.
Acceptable Documents for I-9
To complete the I-9, you must provide documents proving both your identity and your authorization to work. The documents are organized into three lists: List A, List B, and List C. You choose which documents to present; your employer cannot tell you which ones to bring.
List A Documents
A List A document proves both identity and work authorization at the same time. If you present a valid List A document, your employer should not ask for any other documents. Common List A documents include a U.S. passport, a Permanent Resident Card (often called a green card), an Employment Authorization Document (EAD, issued by the Department of Homeland Security), a Temporary Resident Card, or a Reentry Permit. Some List A documents are combinations of two or more documents, and in those cases, the combination counts as a single List A document.
List B and List C Combination
If you do not have a List A document, you may present one document from List B (proving identity) and one from List C (proving work authorization). List B documents include items such as a U.S. driver's license, a state-issued ID card, a U.S. military ID, a passport from a foreign country, or a birth certificate. List C documents include an unrestricted Social Security account card, certain employment authorization documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security, or a work-authorized endorsement on your immigration status document.
You have three business days from your first day of employment to present your original documents. If you are hired for fewer than three business days of work, you must present your documents on your first day. Your employer is responsible for examining your documents to ensure they reasonably appear genuine and relate to you. You must present original documents; photocopies or scans are not acceptable, except under specific remote verification procedures authorized by the Department of Homeland Security.
Your Employer's Obligations and Limits
Employers must verify your I-9 documents correctly, but they are bound by strict rules on what they can and cannot do. These rules exist to prevent document abuse and discrimination.
Your Employer Cannot Demand Specific Documents
By law, your employer cannot specify which documents you must bring. Your employer cannot ask you to present a passport, a green card, a specific state ID, or any other particular document. Instead, your employer must provide you with the list of acceptable documents and allow you to freely choose which ones to present. If you accidentally bring too many documents, your employer should ask you to choose which ones to include in Section 2 of the form—but they cannot direct that choice.
Similarly, your employer cannot ask you to provide more documents than the law requires. Presenting one List A document or one List B plus one List C document is sufficient. If your employer requests additional documents beyond what you are required to provide, this is called overdocumentation and is illegal discriminatory behavior.
Document Discrimination Is Illegal
Federal law, specifically the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act, prohibits employers from treating employees differently during the I-9 process based on their citizenship status, immigration status, national origin, or other protected characteristics. Your employer may not demand that non-citizens show a Department of Homeland Security document while allowing citizens to show a driver's license. Your employer may not ask you to show a U.S. passport to prove citizenship. Your employer may not refuse a valid work authorization document because you are not a U.S. citizen or because the document is not in English.
Examples of illegal document discrimination include asking foreign-born workers for green cards or DHS-issued documents while not asking the same of U.S.-born workers; requesting more documents from workers who appear foreign; rejecting valid employment authorization documents from some workers but not others; refusing to hire you because your work authorization document has a future expiration date; or asking you for work authorization documents before making you a job offer.
When Your Employer Can Re-Verify
Your employer is not allowed to re-check your I-9 documents without reason. Reverification is only permitted in two specific situations. First, when your work authorization expires—for example, if you hold an Employment Authorization Document valid for a set number of years, your employer can ask you to reverify before that expiration date. Second, if you are rehired within three years of your original I-9, your employer may reverify your documents at that time.
Important: Reverification does not apply to U.S. citizens or to Permanent Resident Card holders whose cards do not expire (though green card designs change every few years, and new designs do not invalidate older ones). Asking a permanent resident or citizen to reverify their documents without cause is discriminatory. When reverification is required, your employer must still allow you to choose which documents you present from the acceptable lists.
Document Abuse and What Constitutes Unlawful Discrimination
Document abuse occurs when an employer uses the I-9 process to discriminate against foreign workers or those perceived to be foreign. Even though the I-9 is a legal verification requirement, misusing it to target certain workers is illegal. Discrimination can happen even if you and the person who discriminated against you have the same citizenship or immigration status.
Common examples of document abuse include treating workers differently based on their national origin or accent, demanding green cards from visibly foreign workers while not asking the same of others, requesting DHS documents specifically because someone is not a U.S. citizen, limiting the range of acceptable documents available to certain workers, asking for work authorization documents at different stages of the hiring process depending on a worker's background, or using the I-9 verification process to target and remove workers perceived as 'troublemakers' or union organizers based on their national origin.
What to Do If Your Employer Discriminates
If you believe your employer has discriminated against you during the I-9 process or has engaged in document abuse, you have legal protections and avenues to file a complaint.
Contact the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) of the U.S. Department of Justice enforces federal anti-discrimination laws protecting workers from employment discrimination based on citizenship status, immigration status, or national origin. If your employer is small (with 4 to 14 employees), the IER typically investigates discrimination claims. You can contact the IER hotline at 800-255-7688 (with language assistance available) or 800-237-2515 (TTY).
Contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
If your employer has 15 or more employees, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) typically has authority to investigate your claim. You can contact the EEOC at 800-669-4000, 800-669-6820 (TTY), or 844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone), or file a charge online at eeoc.gov. The EEOC enforces federal civil rights laws that protect against discrimination based on national origin, race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, and genetic information.
If you believe discrimination has occurred based on both national origin and citizenship or immigration status, you may file a complaint with both the IER and the EEOC. The two agencies have an agreement to refer cases to each other as appropriate.
Retaliation Protection
Your employer is prohibited by law from retaliating against you for complaining about discrimination, for participating in an investigation, or for asserting your employment rights. Retaliation includes threats, termination, reduced hours, or any other adverse action taken against you because you spoke up. If you are retaliated against for filing a discrimination complaint, this is itself a violation of federal law.
Potential Remedies
If an investigation finds that your employer discriminated against you, you may recover back pay, reinstatement to your job, and in some cases punitive damages. Additionally, the government agency may require your employer to post notices about worker rights, to undergo training on anti-discrimination law, and to undergo monitoring for a period of time.
Key Takeaways
- Every new hire must complete Form I-9 within three business days of starting work. This applies to all employers and all workers.
- You choose which documents to present. Your employer cannot demand a specific document or combination.
- Acceptable documents fall into three lists: List A (identity and work authorization combined), List B (identity only), and List C (work authorization only).
- Your employer must accept any valid document you choose, as long as it appears genuine and relates to you.
- Document discrimination—treating workers differently based on citizenship, immigration status, or national origin—is illegal and can result in federal penalties.
- Your employer can only re-verify your documents if your work authorization expires or if you are rehired within three years.
- If your employer asks for specific documents, demands more documents than required, or treats you differently because you appear foreign, this is likely discrimination.
- Report discrimination to the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) at 800-255-7688 or to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) at 800-669-4000.
- You are protected from retaliation for reporting discrimination or asserting your employment rights.
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