How to Verify Work Authorization Before You Submit

To verify work authorization before you submit a contractor, you check the type of authorization, its end date and the employer it depends on, using what the candidate tells you freely. You do not complete Form I-9 at this stage and you do not get to pick the documents. Form I-9 belongs to the employer of record after hire, so the check before submittal is narrower than many recruiters think, but it is still the step that saves a withdrawn offer.

I would rather lose a submittal than send a consultant whose authorization does not cover the client, the worksite or the project term. When a resume comes back two weeks later because of a status problem, the candidate pays first, then the prime vendor, then you.

What you can and cannot ask before you submit a contractor

The legal limits come first, because most mistakes here are made with good intentions. The Department of Justice Immigrant and Employee Rights Section says in its IER frequently asked questions that an employer may generally ask job applicants if they have the legal right to work in the United States and if they will need sponsorship for an employment visa. The same page advises against asking for specific citizenship or immigration status, because a rejected applicant may believe that was the reason. So the safe questions are two, and you ask them of every candidate, not only the ones you guess might need a visa.

That rule reaches staffing firms too. IER enforces the law against citizenship status discrimination in hiring, firing, and "recruitment or referral for a fee", which is a plain description of what vendors and recruiters do every day.

Then there is the document question. Under the USCIS list of acceptable Form I-9 documents, the employee chooses to show either one List A document, or one List B document plus one List C document. The IER page is direct that employers cannot specify which documents they will accept. The USCIS instructions for completing Section 2 give the employer 3 business days from the first day of paid work, and allow Section 2 earlier only after the person accepts the job offer. None of that happens at submittal. What you should collect at submittal is covered in our client submittal checklist for vendors, and a copy of a green card or passport is not on it.

Be careful with end dates as well. The IER FAQ says a future expiration date on a work authorization document does not necessarily mean the worker cannot keep working, and that considering that date when judging whether someone is qualified may be treated as unlawful discrimination under the INA. A near end date is a fact you tell the employer of record so they can plan. It is not an automatic reason to drop the candidate, and if a client wants to reject on that basis, they should take advice from immigration counsel first.

How to verify work authorization for H-1B transfers and amendments

H-1B status comes from a petition filed by a specific employer. For a C2C consultant that employer is the consultant's own company, not you and not the end client, so you are really checking a business partner. Ask the H-1B employer, not only the consultant, to confirm in writing that its petition covers this role, this worksite and these dates. If you are unsure how C2C and W2 change who the employer is, our article on C2C, W2 and 1099 contractor setups explains it.

The H-1B transfer contractor is the most common case. The USCIS page on H-1B specialty occupations says a worker changing employers may begin working for the new employer as soon as it properly files a nonfrivolous Form I-129, or from the start date requested in that petition if that is later. There are conditions. The worker must not have worked without authorization since the last admission, the petition must be filed before the current authorized stay expires, and if USCIS denies it, the authorization based on portability ends. So when a consultant is in the middle of a transfer, ask the new employer for the filing receipt and the requested start date, and tell the prime vendor plainly that a transfer is pending.

Amendments catch more vendors than transfers do. In USCIS policy memorandum PM-602-0120 on Matter of Simeio Solutions, issued in 2015, USCIS says the employer must file an amended or new petition before placing an H-1B worker at a new place of employment that needs a new Labor Condition Application. A move within the same area of intended employment generally does not need one, although the existing LCA must be posted at the new site, and some short placements of up to 30 days, in some cases 60, may not need a new LCA. Once the amended petition is properly filed, the memo says the worker can start at the new place without waiting for a decision. When your requisition is in a different metro area from the consultant's last project, ask the H-1B employer whether an amendment has been filed.

OPT EAD verification and the Form I-983 for STEM OPT

An F-1 student on post completion OPT has an employment authorization document, Form I-766, which is on List A. Read the dates and ask the candidate what comes after the end date, because that answer decides whether the person can finish your project. The USCIS page on the STEM OPT extension says qualifying students may apply for a 24 month extension, and that if the application is filed on time and the OPT card expires while it is pending, employment authorization is extended for 180 days or until USCIS decides. The same page limits unemployment to 90 days on initial OPT and 150 days in total with the extension. A consultant who has been on the bench for months should know their own count, so ask.

STEM OPT is where staffing gets hard. USCIS says the employer must be enrolled in E-Verify, the federal system that compares Form I-9 information with government records, must sign the Form I-983 training plan, and must be the same entity that provides the practical training. It must also report a termination to the school official within 5 business days. SEVP's Study in the States guidance on staffing and temporary agencies says a student may find training through an agency, but the agency cannot complete and sign the Form I-983, and only the E-Verified employer that provides the actual training may sign it. That post is from 2016 and the page notes it may be outdated, so check the current STEM OPT Hub, but the USCIS page states the same signing rule today.

My view is simple. A STEM OPT consultant offered on C2C through several layers of vendors is a submission to decline, because nobody in that chain is both the E-Verified employer and the one providing the training.

GC EAD cards and receipt notices after October 30, 2025

A GC EAD is the common name for the Form I-766 a person receives while their green card application is pending. It is a List A document, but the employee may still choose a List B and List C combination instead, so do not insist on seeing the card. When you verify work authorization for a GC EAD holder, the end date matters more than it used to. USCIS announced an interim final rule ending automatic EAD extensions for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025. For those renewals, the receipt notice states that it is not evidence of employment authorization and cannot be used by itself or with an expired EAD. Renewals in certain categories filed before that date keep their earlier extension. So a renewal receipt is no longer the safety net many recruiters still assume it is, and the employer of record should plan for the reverification date before the start date.

Before any contractor resume moves, this is the short checklist I would use:

1. Ask every candidate the same two questions about legal right to work and sponsorship.
2. Write down the type of authorization and its end date as the candidate states it, without asking for a particular document.
3. For H-1B, get written confirmation from the H-1B employer that a filed transfer or amendment covers the role, worksite and dates.
4. For STEM OPT, confirm which employer will sign the Form I-983 and provide the training.
5. Name the employer of record who will complete Form I-9 within 3 business days of the start.

Our published commitments sit next to this, including rate and terms in writing before any resume moves, and a signed right to represent, no duplicate submissions, and our compliance and background check page covers the rest. For contract, contract to hire and direct hire roles, our IT staffing services page lists how we place consultants on W2 and C2C.

Written by

Israr Kazmi

Israr Kazmi is the founder of Wanware Technologies, the IT staffing, recruitment and consulting division of iCareBilling LLC, an American health tech company based in Chicago, Illinois. He writes about technology, healthcare, health tech and AI automation, with a forward-looking view of where these fields are heading. He also covers recruitment, talent placement, vendor partnerships and careers on the corporate side of technology and healthcare.

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