• The review and verification portion of Section 2 must be filled out by the employer (or a representative of the employer), NOT the employee.
• Documents that have already expired are not acceptable.
• If information is entered under List A, nothing needs to be written in the List B or List C columns.

The employer, or a representative of the employer, fills out the fields in Section 2 of the form. Here are some details on how to enter the information:

The headings on each line apply to the same spaces in all three columns (List A, List B, and List C). Under List A, there are three spaces for document numbers. This does not mean that an employer should require three List A documents. The extra spaces are meant to accommodate List A items that are actually a combination of documents.

For instance, a foreign passport accompanied by a Form I-94 will require more than one space, even though together these documents constitute one item on List A. For an individual with a foreign passport who is also an exchange visitor (such as a student exchange visitor), the number from the person’s Form DS-2019 (the employee’s student exchange visitor [J-1] number) would also be required.

These fields are in the review and verification portion of Section 2:

• Document title: This is the title of the document as listed on the Lists of Acceptable Documents. In Column A, the document title might be “U.S. Passport,” “U.S. Passport Card,” or “Employment Auth. Document (Form I-766),” for example. Note that the instructions for the Form I-9 contain an extensive legend detailing what employers should enter in the “Document Title” field based on the document presented.
• Issuing authority: This is the agency or entity that issued the document. For example, for a driver’s license, it might be the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV is an acceptable abbreviation). For a foreign passport, the issuing authority would be the country that issued the passport.
• Document number: Most documents will carry a document number. For a U.S. Passport, this is the passport number; for a driver’s license, this is the driver’s license number; and for a Social Security (SS) card, it’s the employee’s Social Security number (SSN).
• Expiration date: Many (but not all) documents have expiration dates. These should be listed even if the employee’s documentation provides permanent work authorization and therefore does not need to be reverified (as in the case of a Permanent Resident Card, for example). Social Security (SS) cards and birth certificates are examples of two documents which do not carry expiration dates.

If a document uses text rather than a date to indicate when it expires, enter the text as shown on the document, such as “D/S” (which means “duration of status”). Employers must remember that documents are not acceptable if they have already expired.

Employment authorization documentation

An employee may be an eligible national of a country that has been designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). The employee may present Form I-766, Employment Authorization Document (EAD). This form may be automatically extended. If an employee employee presents an Employment Authorization Document that is expired but has been automatically extended, the employer should:

• Enter Employment Authorization Document (EAD) in the Document Title field;
• Record the issuing authority;
• For a TPS employee, enter the document number from the Employment Authorization Document with Category A-12 or C-19.
• For a DED employee, enter the document number from the Employment Authorization Document with Category A-11; and
• Enter the automatic extension date provided in the relevant Federal Register notice as the document expiration date. The USCIS provides web links to Federal Register notices and other resources on its Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure web page.

If DHS has automatically extended the Employment Authorization Document of an existing employee, the employer should enter EAD EXT along with the automatic extension date from the Federal Register notice in the Additional Information field in Section 2. For example, the employer would enter: EAD EXT mm/dd/yyyy. 

Students and exchange visitors

If the employee is a student or exchange visitor who presented a foreign passport with a Form I-94, the employer should also enter the student’s Form I-20 or DS-2019 number (Student and Exchange Visitor [SEVIS] number) and the program end date from Form I-20 or DS-2019.

For cap-gap extension situations, enter the receipt number from the Form I-797C, Notice of Action as the Document Number, in Section 2.

If information is entered in the List A column, no document information or should be in List B or List C columns.

For F-1 students in a cap-gap situation:

• Enter Employment Authorization Document (EAD) as the document title,
• Enter the Form I-797C receipt number in the Document Number field,
• Enter September 30 and the year filed the petition in the Expiration Date field, and
• Enter CAP-GAP in the Additional Information field.

In some cases, the USCIS automatically extends the expiration date of an Employment Authorization Document. The Lists of Acceptable Documents page on the Form I-9 includes a link to information about automatic extensions of employment authorization documentation.