E-Verify case results explained: what each result means and what you do next

An E-Verify case result tells you where the government's check stands and what you are allowed to do next. Most cases come back "Employment Authorized" within seconds. The others fall into a short list, and each one comes with a specific next step for the employer, sometimes one for the employee, and in every case except a Final Nonconfirmation, a rule that you take no adverse action against the employee. Here is what each result means, in the order you are likely to see them.

All the results on one page

Before a result: alerts during case creation

Several screens appear before any result, and handling them correctly avoids bad cases:

• Unexpired document required. E-Verify will not accept an expired document. The employee needs to present an acceptable unexpired document and you correct the Form I-9 first. An expired-looking EAD with a valid automatic extension is the main exception; see EAD automatic extensions.
• Review case and "Are you sure?" If the data does not immediately match, E-Verify asks you to confirm it against Section 1. Fix typing errors here, before submitting.
• Duplicate case alerts. E-Verify flags cases that repeat information from cases created in the past 365 days under the same account. A duplicate can be legitimate, as with a rehire treated as a new hire, but open duplicates must be closed before you continue a new one.
• Late case reason. If you create the case three or more days after the first day of employment, you must pick a reason, such as "Awaiting Social Security Number" or "Technical Problems."
• Photo matching. If the employee presented a U.S. passport, passport card, green card or EAD, you compare photos before a result issues; see E-Verify photo matching.

Employment Authorized

This is the most common result. Record the case number on the employee's Form I-9 or print the case details page and attach it. On the E-Verify website the case closes automatically; if your HR system creates cases through web services, you have to close every case yourself.

Occasionally the result comes back Employment Authorized with a different version of the name from DHS records, shown alongside the name you entered. If they are the same person's name, close the case. If they do not match, request a name review with a comment explaining why. The case then goes to DHS and returns either Employment Authorized or a mismatch. The user manual warns against using name review in a discriminatory way, such as based on an employee's ethnicity.

E-Verify Needs More Time

DHS could not verify the data automatically and has referred the case. The user manual says DHS responds to most of these within 24 hours, though some take up to three federal government working days. You check the case; the employee does nothing. You may not deny work, delay training, withhold pay or otherwise assume the employee is not authorized while waiting. The case then moves to Employment Authorized, a mismatch, or Case in Continuance.

Tentative Nonconfirmation (mismatch)

The information did not match DHS records, SSA records, or both (a dual mismatch). Common causes listed in the manual include a name change not reported to SSA, incorrect records, a status change not yet updated, a photo that did not match, or an employer data-entry error. A mismatch is not evidence that the person is unauthorized.

You must notify the employee in private and complete the referral process within 10 federal government working days, and the employee who takes action has 8 federal government working days to contact DHS or visit SSA. The full step-by-step process is in E-Verify tentative nonconfirmation.

Case in Continuance

The employee has contacted DHS or visited SSA, and the agency needs more time. The reasons vary and are not shown to you. Check the case periodically. The no-adverse-action rule still applies. If a case stays in continuance for more than 60 federal government working days, the user manual says to contact the E-Verify Contact Center. The case will eventually move to Employment Authorized, Needs More Time, Close Case and Resubmit, or Final Nonconfirmation.

Close Case and Resubmit

DHS or SSA could not process the case as entered and needs a new one. The user manual says this often happens when the U.S. passport, passport card or driver's license information is incorrect, such as a wrong expiration date. Because submitted document information cannot be edited, you close the case and E-Verify opens a new one for you to enter the corrected details. It is not a finding about the employee.

Final Nonconfirmation

E-Verify could not confirm employment eligibility. A case reaches this result when the employee contacted DHS or SSA and the mismatch could not be resolved, when the employee did not contact DHS or SSA within 8 federal government working days of the referral, or when the employee did not tell you by the 10th federal government working day whether they would take action. Some cases show "DHS No Show," which E-Verify treats as a Final Nonconfirmation.

You must close the case. The closure screen asks whether you will continue to employ the person, and if so, why. The memorandum of understanding says an employer may terminate after a Final Nonconfirmation without civil or criminal liability under it, though other employment laws still govern how a termination is handled. If you keep employing the person, that answer is your notice to DHS, and failing to notify carries a penalty of $998 to $1,992 per individual (unchanged for 2026). Continuing employment also creates a rebuttable presumption that you knowingly employed an unauthorized worker; see I-9 penalties.

Closing every case

Every case must end closed with a closure statement. Choose the one that matches what happened: the employee continues to work, was terminated after a Final Nonconfirmation, quit, was terminated for unrelated reasons, or the case is being closed because it was a duplicate, had incorrect data, used an expired document, or because DHS or SSA instructed it. Closing a case as a duplicate or for incorrect data does not erase its last result. The "Open Cases to be Closed" alert on the home page lists cases still waiting.

The alert that is not a result

"Work Authorization Documents Expiring" appears 90 days before the EAD or Form I-94 used in the original case expires. It is a reminder to reverify on Supplement B of Form I-9. You do not create a new case, and no action is possible in E-Verify. See I-9 reverification.

A case-handling checklist

• Create each case no later than the third business day after the employee starts work for pay.
• Check open cases daily while any are in Needs More Time, mismatch or continuance.
• Keep employees working normally until a Final Nonconfirmation.
• Record every case number on the Form I-9.
• Close every case with the accurate closure statement.
• Never create a case for reverification, and never before an accepted offer.