How to Resolve an E-Verify Tentative Nonconfirmation

To resolve an E-Verify tentative nonconfirmation, sign the Further Action Notice indicating you’ll contest the mismatch, then contact the Department of Homeland Security by phone or visit a Social Security Administration field office within the deadlines printed on your paperwork. A mismatch does not mean you’re ineligible to work. It means a record held by SSA or DHS doesn’t line up with what your employer entered from your Form I-9, and someone needs to correct it. Your employer cannot fire you, cut your hours, or otherwise punish you while you work through the process.¹

The Two Deadlines That Matter

Two separate clocks run during the mismatch process, and missing either one lets your employer treat the case as a Final Nonconfirmation and terminate you.

The first deadline is 10 federal government working days from the date E-Verify issues the mismatch. Within that window, you must review the Further Action Notice, decide whether to contest, and tell your employer your decision. Federal working days exclude weekends and federal holidays.¹

The second deadline is 8 federal government working days from the date your employer refers the case. Within that shorter window, you must actually contact DHS or visit SSA. The specific date is printed on the Referral Date Confirmation your employer hands you.²

Step One: Review and Sign the Further Action Notice

Your employer should give you the Further Action Notice in a private setting. Before doing anything else, check the personal information at the top: your name, Social Security number, and date of birth. A large share of mismatches come from simple data entry errors during onboarding — a transposed digit in a Social Security number, a misspelled name, a wrong birth date. If your employer made that kind of mistake, flag it immediately, because correcting the entry may resolve the case without any trip to a government office.³

Once you’ve confirmed the entries, indicate on the notice that you will take action, sign it, and return it to your employer. Keep a copy. If you choose not to take action, or you ignore the notice entirely, the case moves to Final Nonconfirmation and your employer can terminate you.⁴

Step Two: Fix an SSA Mismatch

An SSA mismatch means your name, Social Security number, or date of birth doesn’t match Social Security Administration records. Common triggers include a name change after marriage or divorce that was never reported to SSA, or a naturalized citizen who never updated citizenship status with SSA after becoming a citizen.⁵

To resolve it, visit a local SSA field office in person within 8 federal government working days of the referral. Bring:

Your Referral Date Confirmation
Original identity documents, such as a U.S. passport, birth certificate, or driver’s license
Your Social Security card, if you have it
Proof of your citizenship or immigration status, if a status update is what needs correcting

SSA staff will review your records, make any corrections, and update the database. If a record change requires a new card, expect it by mail within five to 10 business days.⁶⁷

Step Two: Fix a DHS Mismatch

A DHS mismatch involves immigration or identity records at the Department of Homeland Security — typically your name, Alien Registration Number, Form I-94 number, or foreign passport number. It can also result from a photo mismatch when your employer compared an E-Verify-displayed photo against your Permanent Resident Card, Employment Authorization Document, or U.S. passport and indicated they didn’t match.⁸⁹

You resolve a DHS mismatch by calling DHS within 8 federal government working days. The phone number is on your Referral Date Confirmation. A representative will verify your identity and immigration information over the phone, and many cases are cleared without an in-person visit.⁶

What Happens While Your Case Is Pending

After you contact the agency, your case often moves to a status called Case in Continuance, meaning the agency needs more time to verify. Some cases wrap up in a few days. Others take weeks.¹⁰

During this period, your employer cannot terminate you, reduce your hours, withhold pay, delay training, refuse to assign you work, or take any other adverse action because of the mismatch. You must be allowed to keep working under the same conditions as every other employee. This protection lasts from the moment the mismatch is issued until the case closes with either an Employment Authorized result or a Final Nonconfirmation.¹¹

If your case updates to Employment Authorized, E-Verify closes it automatically and no one needs to do anything more.²

If You Get a Final Nonconfirmation

A Final Nonconfirmation is issued in one of three ways: the agency reviewed your case and still couldn’t confirm your work authorization, you didn’t contact DHS or visit SSA within 8 federal working days, or you didn’t communicate your decision to your employer within 10 federal working days. At that point your employer may lawfully terminate you.¹²

If you believe the result was issued in error, you can still contact the E-Verify Contact Center at 888-464-4218 and request a review. If the review shows you are in fact work authorized, E-Verify will send your employer a physical status letter, which the employer must keep with your Form I-9. The updated status will not appear inside the electronic system.¹³

Your Protections Against Discrimination

Federal law prohibits employers from using E-Verify to discriminate. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, your employer cannot demand a specific document such as a green card when any acceptable Form I-9 document would do, cannot ask for more documents than the Form I-9 requires, and cannot reject documents that reasonably appear genuine and relate to you. Your employer must also provide the Further Action Notice in a translated version if you have limited English proficiency.¹⁴¹¹

If your employer demands specific documents, retaliates after a mismatch, or treats you differently based on national origin or citizenship status, you can file a charge with the Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section. The worker hotline is 1-800-255-7688 (TTY: 711).¹⁵

Preventing a Repeat at Your Next Job

Once you’ve resolved the current mismatch, the free myE-Verify portal offers two tools that can spare you from going through it again.

Self Check lets you run your own employment eligibility verification on your schedule. If it turns up a mismatch, you can fix it with DHS or SSA without the pressure of a new employer’s onboarding timeline. This is worth doing after any name change, naturalization, or immigration status update.¹⁶

Self Lock lets you lock your Social Security number inside E-Verify so someone else cannot use it to get hired. The lock lasts one year and can be extended 30 days before it expires. If your Social Security number has been compromised, Self Lock will block an unauthorized person’s E-Verify case from clearing with your number. Unlock it when you start a new job.¹⁶

1
E-Verify. How to Process a Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch)
2
E-Verify. E-Verify User Manual – Refer Employee to DHS or SSA
3
E-Verify. E-Verify User Manual 3.0 – 3.3.1 Notify Employee of Mismatch
4
E-Verify. Employee Rights and Responsibilities
5
E-Verify. Why Did I Receive a Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch)?
6
E-Verify. DHS and SSA Mismatches
7
Social Security Administration. Update Citizenship or Immigration Status
8
E-Verify. Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch) Overview
9
E-Verify. Photo Matching
10
E-Verify. 3.4 Case In Continuance
11
E-Verify. E-Verify Memorandum of Understanding for Employers
12
E-Verify. Final Nonconfirmation
13
E-Verify. I Continued to Employ an Employee Who Chose Not to Take Action to Resolve a Tentative Nonconfirmation
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). 11.2 Types of Employment Discrimination Prohibited Under the INA
15
United States Department of Justice. Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
16
E-Verify. myE-Verify