Form I-9 for green card holders: which cards and receipts work, and why you never reverify a Permanent Resident Card

A lawful permanent resident checks "A lawful permanent resident" in Section 1 of Form I-9 and enters their 7- to 9-digit USCIS Number or A-Number. In Section 2 they may present a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551, the green card), which is a List A document, or any other acceptable documents, such as a driver's license and an unrestricted Social Security card. Once you accept a Permanent Resident Card, you never reverify it, even after its printed expiration date. Reverification applies only to temporary evidence of permanent residence, such as a passport with an immigrant visa stamp, as of November 2026.

The most common green card mistakes are not about the card at all: asking permanent residents for it when they offered other documents, and asking for a new one when it expires. The Justice Department treats both as discrimination risks and has settled several such cases since 2025. For the full document lists, see I-9 List A, B and C documents.

What does a permanent resident enter in Section 1?

• Box 3, "A lawful permanent resident." Conditional residents check this box too. Refugees and asylees who have not become permanent residents check box 4 instead.
• The USCIS Number or A-Number, 7 to 9 digits. The M-274 explains that the USCIS Number is the same as the A-Number without the "A" prefix.
• Nothing else about status. You may not ask the employee for a document to prove what they entered, and box 3 does not oblige them to present a green card in Section 2.

Which green cards and green card substitutes are acceptable?

The two receipt notices that extend a card work only together with the card. USCIS announced that, effective September 10, 2024, Form I-90 receipt notices extend a card's validity for 36 months from the expiration date on its face, up from 24 months. Its Form N-400 page says a properly filed naturalization application, filed on or after December 12, 2022, produces a receipt notice that extends the card for two years from its Card Expires date. In both cases the M-274 says reverification is never required when the documents expire.

Why is a Permanent Resident Card never reverified?

The instructions are explicit: "You should not reverify the employment authorization of U.S. citizens and noncitizen nationals, or lawful permanent residents (including conditional residents) who presented a Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) or other employment authorization documentation that is not subject to reverification (such as an unrestricted Social Security card)." The M-274 repeats it: you are not required to reverify, and you should not.

Employers still do it, often because an HR system flags every document with a date. The Justice Department's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section lists the results on its settlements page. On June 15, 2026 it finalized an agreement with Whirlpool Corporation after finding that its Amana, Iowa location unnecessarily reverified non-U.S. citizens when their Permanent Resident Cards or List B documents expired. In 2025 it settled with Nuts.com, NYX Inc., Cedar's Mediterranean Foods and a Minnesota restaurant group, each over demanding specific or additional documents from permanent residents when verifying their permission to work. Turn off expiration alerts for green cards and List B documents in your HR and onboarding systems.

What about conditional residents?

A conditional resident, usually through marriage or investment, receives a two-year Permanent Resident Card. Two situations, two answers:

• They present the two-year card while it is unexpired. It is a List A document, and because the instructions name conditional residents among those not to reverify, its expiration later triggers nothing.
• They present the card after it expired, with a Form I-797 for Form I-751 or Form I-829. That notice extends the card's validity for the period it states. The M-274 classes the combination as a List C document, so the employee also presents a List B document, and you must reverify before the extension ends. At reverification they may present any List A or List C document, such as the new 10-year card.

How do you handle immigrant visa stamps and ADIT stamps?

New immigrants often start work before the card arrives. Two documents cover that gap, and both are temporary:

1. Machine-readable immigrant visa (MRIV). Most say "UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR." The year runs from the date of admission, and USCIS says to treat an MRIV without "FOR 1 YEAR" the same way. Record it under List A as "Foreign Passport" and "MRIV", use the number in red under the visa's "Expires On" date as the document number, and diary the end of the one-year period, which is your reverification date. A CBP endorsement stamp near, but not on, the visa is still valid.
2. ADIT stamp on Form I-94. The arrival portion of Form I-94 with an unexpired temporary I-551 stamp and a photograph is a List A receipt. By the stamp's expiration, or one year after issuance if it has none, the employee must present the actual Permanent Resident Card. If you use E-Verify, the E-Verify User Manual says to create the case by the third business day, not to wait.

For an ADIT stamp in a foreign passport or an MRIV, reverify on Supplement B when it expires; the employee may present the green card or any other List A or List C document. Once they present the card, reverification stops for good.

What if the card is lost or stolen?

An employee with no card in hand may present the receipt for their application to replace it. That is a List A receipt valid for 90 days from the date of hire, and it is different from the I-90 renewal notice above, which extends a card the employee still has. By day 90 they present the replacement card or any other acceptable documentation; the M-274 says that if they choose something other than the replacement card, record it in Section 2 of a new Form I-9, attach it to the original, and note the reason in Additional Information. E-Verify employers wait for the replacement document before creating the case. See the I-9 receipt rule.

What changes if you use E-Verify?

• If the employee chooses to present a Permanent Resident Card, you must keep a copy of it with the form, and the card triggers E-Verify photo matching.
• Any List B document you accept must have a photograph.
• Reverification, if it is ever needed for temporary evidence, is done on Supplement B, never with a new case.

What should recruiters and HR avoid?

• Asking for the green card by name. "Bring your green card" in an onboarding email is a specific document request; send the Lists of Acceptable Documents instead. See I-9 document abuse.
• Asking permanent residents for more than citizens. A driver's license and an unrestricted Social Security card complete Section 2 for anyone.
• Asking for the new card when the old one expires. That is reverification the instructions tell you not to do.
• Rejecting an expired card with a valid extension notice, or a card that expires next month. The instructions say employers should not reject acceptable documentation because of a future expiration date.
• Citizenship screens. Permanent residents are among the "protected individuals" that 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) protects from citizenship status discrimination in hiring and firing, subject to the statute's limits for some who do not apply to naturalize in time. See citizenship status discrimination in hiring.

A green card Form I-9 checklist

• Section 1: box 3 with the USCIS Number or A-Number; no proof requested.
• Section 2: the employee chose the documents; a green card was not requested by name.
• Expired card accepted only with an I-90 or N-400 receipt that extends it (List A), or with an I-751 or I-829 notice (List C, with List B).
• No reverification date set for any Permanent Resident Card, List B document or unrestricted Social Security card.
• Reverification dates set only for MRIVs, passport ADIT stamps, conditional-card extensions and receipts.
• HR system alerts for green card expiration switched off. For the other reverification triggers, see I-9 reverification.