I-9 List A Documents: Validity, Recording, and Reverification

A List A document on Form I-9 is one that proves both your identity and your authorization to work in the United States, so presenting one satisfies the entire verification requirement by itself. The I-9 List A documents are the U.S. passport or passport card, the Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), a foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp or MRIV notation, the Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), a foreign passport paired with a Form I-94 endorsed for work, and a Federated States of Micronesia or Republic of the Marshall Islands passport with a Form I-94 showing admission under the Compact of Free Association.¹

If you present a List A document, you do not need anything from List B or List C. If you don’t have one, you’ll need one identity document from List B and one employment authorization document from List C instead. The choice is yours, not the employer’s. An employer who demands a specific document, or rejects a valid one in favor of another, may be engaged in unfair documentary practices that carry civil penalties and back pay liability.²

The Six List A Options

The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2 sets the full list, and USCIS publishes a plain-language version.¹ Each entry below stands on its own for I-9 purposes.

U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card, issued by the Department of State to U.S. citizens and nationals. Either the full booklet or the wallet-sized card works.³
Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551), commonly called a green card. It carries a photograph, an alien registration number, and security features such as holograms. USCIS redesigns the card periodically, and older versions remain valid through their printed expiration date.³
Foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp, or with a printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa (MRIV). New lawful permanent residents who have not yet received their green card use this combination. It is subject to reverification once the stamp or MRIV notation expires.¹
Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766). This is a photo ID card issued to noncitizens with temporary work authorization, showing the holder’s name, photograph, and expiration date. Older EAD designs remain valid through the expiration printed on the card.³
Foreign passport with a Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) containing an endorsement to work. The I-94 must show the holder’s nonimmigrant classification and authorization to work for a specific employer, both documents must be unexpired, and the job cannot conflict with any restrictions on the I-94.⁴
Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of the Marshall Islands, paired with a Form I-94 showing admission under the Compact of Free Association. Citizens of these nations have permission to work in the United States under the Compact.¹

Combination Documents for Students, Exchange Visitors, and H-1B Portability

Several List A entries are really sets, and the whole set has to be present. A J-1 exchange visitor presents a foreign passport, a Form I-94 showing J-1 status, and a Form DS-2019 endorsed by a Responsible Officer.⁵ An F-1 student presents the passport and I-94 alongside a Form I-20 endorsed by a Designated School Official. Missing any piece breaks the set.

H-1B workers changing employers under portability rules follow a different path. An H-1B employee can begin work for a new employer as soon as that employer files Form I-129, provided the filing occurs before the employee’s authorized stay expires. For the I-9, the employee presents a foreign passport and the unexpired Form I-94 issued for the previous employer. The new employer writes “AC-21” and the I-129 filing date in the Additional Information field of Section 2.⁶

What Makes a List A Document Valid

Every List A document must be an original. Photocopies, scans, and printouts do not count. The document must be unexpired when you begin work.⁷ The employer inspects it in your presence and checks that it reasonably appears genuine and relates to you. A name that differs from the one on Section 1 isn’t automatically disqualifying; a marriage certificate or court-ordered name change can explain the difference.

Knowingly using a document that is false, or that was not lawfully issued to you, is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison. The same statute reaches anyone who knowingly accepts such a document.⁸

If Your Document Is Lost, Stolen, or Damaged

You can present the receipt for an application to replace a lost, stolen, or damaged List A document instead of the document itself. The receipt is good for 90 days from your hire date. Before that window closes, you have to produce the actual replacement or a different acceptable combination (a new List A document, or one item each from List B and List C).⁹

The employer records the receipt in Section 2 by writing “Receipt” followed by the document title. When you bring the replacement in, the employer crosses out “Receipt,” records the new document information, and initials the change. Only one 90-day receipt period is available; you cannot chain a second receipt onto the first.⁹

Expired EADs and the End of the Automatic Extension

Some employees present an expired EAD together with a Form I-797C receipt notice for a pending renewal. Whether that combination still counts as a valid List A document depends on when the renewal was filed.

For a Form I-765 renewal filed before October 30, 2025, the expired EAD may be automatically extended for up to 540 days. Three conditions must hold: the renewal was filed before the card expired, it is still pending, and the eligibility category on the EAD matches the category on the I-797C.¹⁰ Where those conditions are met, the expired EAD and the I-797C together function as a valid List A combination.

For renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025, DHS eliminated the automatic extension. Applicants filing after that date receive no automatic extension of their EAD or employment authorization while the renewal is pending.¹¹ If you rely on an EAD for List A purposes, file the renewal well before the current card’s expiration date.

How the Employer Records Your List A Document

The employer records four items in Section 2: the document title, the issuing authority, the document number, and the expiration date.¹² For a U.S. passport the issuing authority is the U.S. Department of State. For a Permanent Resident Card it is USCIS. Transcription mistakes here are among the most common I-9 errors auditors find.

Section 2 must be completed within three business days of your first day of work for pay. Start on a Monday, and Section 2 is due by Thursday. For jobs lasting fewer than three days, Section 2 has to be done on the first day.¹³ If you don’t produce acceptable documents in that window, the employer can end the employment.

The employer doesn’t have to do the inspection in person. Any authorized representative the employer designates can review documents and complete Section 2, including a manager, a notary public, or a third-party service. A notary acting in this role is functioning as a representative and should not stamp the form with a notary seal. You cannot serve as your own representative, and the employer stays legally responsible for whatever the representative records.¹³

When a List A Document Expires: Reverification

If the List A document you presented has an expiration date, the employer reverifies your work authorization on Supplement B before the document lapses. You present a new unexpired document from List A or List C; the employer records the title, number, and expiration date and then signs and dates the supplement.¹⁴

Not every List A document triggers reverification. U.S. citizens and noncitizen nationals are never reverified. A lawful permanent resident who presented a green card is not reverified either, even when the card itself expires; the card’s expiration reflects the physical document, not the person’s status. Identity documents from List B are never reverified. What gets reverified is employment authorization.¹⁴

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Penalties
3
eCFR. 8 CFR 274a.2 – Verification of Identity and Employment Authorization
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 13.1
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 7.4.1 Exchange Visitors J-1
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 7.5 H-1B Specialty Occupations
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 13.0
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1546
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 4.4 Acceptable Receipts
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 5.1
11
Federal Register. Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 4.0
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Section 2, Employer Review and Attestation
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Completing Supplement B, Reverification and Rehires