DHS Ends Automatic Extensions for Certain EADs: I-9 Steps

For renewals filed on or after October 30, 2025 in certain categories, an expiring work permit (EAD) is no longer automatically extended while the renewal is pending. An EAD is an employment authorization document. A law or a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Federal Register notice can still provide an extension, and qualifying extensions from renewals filed before October 30, 2025 still apply. Employees can still apply to renew.

What changed?

For renewals filed on or after October 30, 2025 in certain categories, an expiring EAD is no longer automatically extended while the renewal is pending.

What do employers have to do?

Reverify only when federal rules require it, using the applicable expiration date after any valid extension and applying the exceptions below.

USCIS’s Form I-9 instructions set the reverification deadline: the earlier of the work authorization expiration date in Section 1, if any, or the expiration date of the List A or List C document in Section 2. See also Form I-9 Updates 2026 That Break the Usual Fix-It Workflow.

You must let the employee choose which acceptable List A or List C document to present, and it need not be the same type as before.

You should not reverify U.S. citizens or noncitizen nationals.

You also should not reverify permanent residents, including conditional residents, who presented a Permanent Resident Card or other employment authorization documentation not subject to reverification, such as an unrestricted Social Security card.

Reverification does not apply to List B documents. It may also not apply to certain noncitizens; USCIS’s Handbook for Employers (M-274) explains when.

California’s rules

California’s Labor Commissioner lists Labor Code sections 1019.1 and 1019.2 among the laws it enforces against retaliation and discrimination (Laws that Prohibit Retaliation and Discrimination).

When reverification is permitted: Labor Code section 1019.2 prohibits an employer, or a person acting on its behalf, from reverifying the employment eligibility of any current employee at a time or in a manner not required by federal immigration law.

Prohibited document practices: Section 1019.1 bars an employer, while meeting federal requirements, from refusing documents that reasonably appear genuine on their face, or refusing documents or work authorization because of the specific status or term of status attached to it. It also makes it unlawful to ask for more or different documents than federal law requires.

Penalties and complaints: Depending on the provision violated, a violation can carry a penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. Under section 1019.1, an affected applicant or employee, or their representative, may file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. See also California: immigration-related retaliation ban expands.

For example, if an EAD expires November 30, 2026 and a covered renewal filed in 2026 is still pending, confirm any separate authorization before scheduling work on December 1, and arrange coverage if none exists. Before an employee resumes work after a lapse, complete reverification using acceptable List A or List C documentation the employee chooses. Enter the employee’s name at the top of each Supplement B page and use a new section for each reverification.

When you ask the employee for documents for Supplement B, make the Form I-9 instructions and Lists of Acceptable Documents available to them. Before completing Supplement B, examine the employee’s original acceptable documentation physically or through a DHS-authorized alternative procedure, and accept it if it reasonably appears genuine and relates to the employee. The Form I-9 instructions say employers should not reject acceptable documentation because of a future expiration date. For other recent changes, see Compliance Watch, Issue 01.

Primary sources: Removal of Automatic Extensions for Certain Employment Authorization Documents (Federal Register), Instructions for Form I-9 (USCIS), Laws that Prohibit Retaliation and Discrimination (California Labor Commissioner), California Labor Code section 1019.1 (California Legislature). Last reviewed November 13, 2026.

How VertiSource HR handles I-9 onboarding

For clients, VertiSource HR runs onboarding, where new hires complete the Form I-9 online before their first day, and handles the HR compliance work around it, making sure that work gets done. Questions about whether a particular employee is authorized to work go to qualified legal counsel.

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