E-Verify TNC Mismatch: Notice, Contesting, and Resolution

An E-Verify tentative nonconfirmation mismatch means the name, date of birth, Social Security number, or immigration information your employer entered from your Form I-9 did not match records at the Social Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security.¹ It is not a finding that you lack work authorization. It starts a short, structured process with hard deadlines, and if you meet them you keep your job while the agency sorts out its records.

Why the Mismatch Happened

E-Verify compares what your employer typed from your I-9 against federal databases. When any piece of that data doesn’t line up, the system returns a mismatch instead of confirming eligibility on the spot.

The notice tells you which agency flagged the problem. An SSA mismatch usually involves your name, date of birth, or Social Security number. A DHS mismatch involves your immigration or citizenship status records. Common causes are ordinary: a typo during data entry, a married name that was never reported to SSA, a Social Security card that still shows a former legal name, or a recently renewed immigration document that hasn’t propagated through DHS systems. None of these mean you are unauthorized to work.

The Further Action Notice

Once E-Verify returns a mismatch, your employer must notify you as soon as possible and no later than 10 federal government working days after the mismatch was issued.² Your employer is supposed to review the Further Action Notice with you in private and ask you to confirm whether the personal information listed is correct.

The Further Action Notice is your roadmap. It contains a unique E-Verify case number, the name and contact information for the agency you need to reach, and a description of the documents you should have ready. Your employer prints it from the E-Verify portal, gives you a signed copy, and keeps the original with your I-9.³ The notice also confirms your right to keep working while the case is open.

If you have limited English proficiency, your employer must provide a translated version in a language you understand.⁴ If you cannot read, your employer must read it to you. The signed English version is still the official record.

Deciding Whether to Contest

You have to make a choice: contest the mismatch or accept it. You sign and date the Further Action Notice to record your decision, and that decision has a hard deadline. If you do not tell your employer what you have decided by the end of the 10th federal government working day after E-Verify issued the mismatch, the case turns into a Final Nonconfirmation on its own.⁵ Silence has the same effect as declining to contest.

If you choose not to contest, your employer can treat the case as a Final Nonconfirmation and may terminate your employment without civil or criminal liability.⁶ The decision is yours alone. Your employer is not allowed to pressure you either way or suggest that contesting is pointless.

Resolving the Mismatch

Once your employer refers the case, you have eight federal government working days to contact the agency named on your Further Action Notice.⁷ The clock runs from the referral date, not the date you signed the notice. Handle this yourself; your employer should not be calling the agency for you.

SSA Mismatches

An SSA mismatch usually requires an in-person visit to a local Social Security field office. Bring the Further Action Notice along with original documents that prove the correct information. A birth certificate, a marriage certificate showing a name change, or a current Social Security card are typical examples. The Further Action Notice itself lists which documents fit your specific mismatch.⁸ After SSA reviews the documents and updates its records, the corrected data flows back into E-Verify.

DHS Mismatches

A DHS mismatch is handled by phone. You call the number on your Further Action Notice, and a DHS representative reviews your immigration records manually. The representative may ask for additional documentation, or may fix the record without needing anything else from you if the problem is an internal one.

If the Agency Needs More Time

While the agency reviews the case, E-Verify may show a status of “Case in Continuance,” which just means the government needs more time. In limited situations, such as when government offices are closed and you physically cannot resolve the mismatch, E-Verify will extend the timeframe beyond the standard eight days.⁹

Your Rights While the Case Is Open

Federal rules prohibit your employer from firing you, suspending you, cutting your pay, delaying training, or taking any other negative action against you because of a mismatch, as long as the case has not reached a Final Nonconfirmation.⁶ That protection covers any period when E-Verify shows an interim status, including extensions.

Separate anti-discrimination rules apply throughout the E-Verify process. Your employer cannot ask for more or different documents than the I-9 requires, cannot reject documents that reasonably appear genuine, and cannot demand specific documents based on your national origin or citizenship status. Retaliation against a worker who files a complaint or takes part in an investigation is also prohibited. These protections cover every work-authorized person regardless of citizenship status.

How the Case Ends

Every E-Verify case reaches one of a few final results.

Employment Authorized: your records match. Nothing more is required.
Final Nonconfirmation: E-Verify could not confirm your eligibility. This happens when you contacted the agency but the discrepancy couldn’t be fixed, when you failed to contact the agency within eight working days, or when you never told your employer whether you intended to contest within the 10-day decision window.⁵

A Final Nonconfirmation has no appeal inside E-Verify. Your employer must close the case, and at that point may terminate your employment without civil or criminal liability.⁵ The word “may” matters. E-Verify does not force your employer to fire you, but it removes the legal protection you had during the mismatch period.

If the underlying problem is one you can still fix with SSA or DHS after a Final Nonconfirmation, the fix lives outside E-Verify. Correcting your Social Security record or updating your immigration status with the appropriate agency is worth doing on its own terms, and it puts you in a stronger position if you are hired again and run through E-Verify at a future job.

1
E-Verify. Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch) Overview
2
E-Verify. E-Verify User Manual – 3.3.1 Notify Employee of Mismatch
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E-Verify. E-Verify Quick Reference Guide for Employers
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E-Verify. Must an Employer Who Displays a Poster in a Foreign Language Provide All E-Verify Communications in That Language
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E-Verify. E-Verify User Manual – 3.6 Final Nonconfirmation
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E-Verify. Tentative Nonconfirmations (Mismatches)
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E-Verify. How Many Days Does My Employee Have to Take Action on Their Mismatch
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E-Verify. DHS and SSA Mismatches
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E-Verify. E-Verify Extends Timeframe for Taking Action to Resolve Mismatches