Form I-9 for H-2A and H-2B workers: arrival, extensions, H-2 portability and the end of the season

H-2A agricultural and H-2B nonagricultural workers complete Form I-9 like other new hires, usually with a foreign passport and a Form I-94 showing H-2 status as a List A combination, with the I-94 end date recorded as the expiration date. What makes their forms different is the petition paperwork around them: a timely extension filed by the same employer lets the worker keep working for up to 240 days ("240-Day Ext."), a new H-2 employer can put a porting worker to work once its petition is properly filed ("H-2 Portability"), and since January 17, 2025 that portability no longer requires E-Verify. These are the rules as of November 2026.

Seasonal recall decisions, continuing employment and retention between seasons are covered in Form I-9 for seasonal and returning workers; this page is the H-2 detail that page summarizes in a paragraph.

What does an H-2 worker present at hire?

M-274 Section 7.6 says an H-2A worker's "unexpired Form I-94 indicating H-2A status, along with his or her foreign passport qualifies as a List A document," entered under List A with the expiration date from the I-94. H-2B workers use the same combination, which the Lists of Acceptable Documents describe as a foreign passport with a Form I-94 bearing the same name and an unexpired endorsement of the status. In Section 1 the worker checks box 4 and enters the authorization end date plus one of the listed numbers, such as the I-94 admission number or the foreign passport number and country.

As with any employee, the worker chooses. M-274 Section 13.3 lists a Form I-94 issued to work-authorized nonimmigrants as an example of a List C document, so a List B document plus the I-94 is also valid. E-Verify employers may only accept List B documents with a photo. The full lists, and what you may not ask for, are in I-9 List A, B and C documents.

One rule shapes everything else: H-2A and H-2B workers are authorized to work incident to status, but "may be employed only by the petitioner through whom the status was obtained" (8 CFR 274a.12(b)(9)). Every change of employer therefore runs through a new petition.

What changes when you extend an H-2 worker with your company?

H-2 status can be extended in increments of up to one year, usually with a new temporary labor certification, up to a maximum stay of three years. USCIS's H-2A and H-2B pages say a worker who reaches three years must leave for an uninterrupted 60 days before returning in that status. On Form I-9:

1. Timely extension. If you file Form I-129 to extend the worker's status in the same type of employment before it expires, they may keep working for up to 240 days or until USCIS decides, whichever comes first. When the current authorization expires, write "240-Day Ext." and the date you submitted the I-129 in the Section 2 Additional Information field.
2. Two-week extension (H-2A). Section 7.6 says USCIS may extend a single H-2A petition for up to two weeks without a new labor certification in certain circumstances; write "two-week extension" and the date you submitted the I-129.
3. Keep the filing proof. A copy of the I-129, proof of the fee and proof of mailing, then the Form I-797C receipt notice once it arrives (Section 7.7).
4. Reverify. Complete Supplement B when you receive USCIS's decision or at the end of the 240 days, whichever comes first. An approval comes with a new I-94; record it and give it to the worker. The Supplement B mechanics are in I-9 reverification.

How does H-2 portability work on Form I-9?

Under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(I), an eligible H-2A or H-2B worker may start new employment once a nonfrivolous H-2 petition in the same classification is properly filed, or on the requested start date, whichever is later. The worker must have been lawfully admitted in H-2 status, the petition must be filed before their authorized stay expires, and they must not have worked without authorization since their last admission. M-274 Sections 7.6 and 7.7 set out the Form I-9 steps:

1. Complete a new Form I-9 with the worker, as a new hire. The M-274 says this both for a new employer and for new H-2 employment with the same employer, such as a new position.
2. Accept the unexpired I-94 issued for the previous employment together with the unexpired foreign passport as the List A document, unless the worker chooses other acceptable documents.
3. Write "H-2 Portability" and the Received Date from the Form I-797C, or the requested start date if later, in the Section 2 Additional Information field.
4. Do not start the worker before that date.
5. Reverify on Supplement B once USCIS decides the petition. If USCIS denies it or you withdraw it, the portability authorization ends automatically (8 CFR 274a.12(b)(21)).

The E-Verify condition is gone. The modernization rule explains that "previously, portability was available on a permanent basis to H-2A workers, but it was limited to E-Verify employers," and that porting employers "will no longer need to be enrolled in E-Verify" (89 FR 103202, at 103306, effective January 17, 2025). If you do use E-Verify, a porting worker you hire is a new hire for E-Verify purposes; extensions and reverification are not, because the E-Verify User Manual says not to create a case for reverification. H-1B workers have a similar filing-based rule, covered in Form I-9 for H-1B workers; TN workers do not, as Form I-9 for TN workers explains.

Can H-2 workers work during the grace periods?

Not on the grace period alone. The regulation admits H-2A and H-2B workers for the petition period plus up to 10 days before it starts and up to 30 days after it ends, for travel to the worksite, departure, or seeking an extension, and says "the alien may not work except during the validity period of the petition" unless 8 CFR 274a.12 authorizes it (8 CFR 214.2(h)(5)(viii)(B) and (h)(6)(vii)(A)). After a job ends, a worker keeps status for up to 60 consecutive days, or until the admission period ends if sooner, once per admission, but may only work as 274a.12 otherwise allows (214.2(h)(13)(i)(C)).

That matters on the form. Because admission can run up to 30 days past the petition, the I-94 date the M-274 tells you to record may be later than the last day the worker may work for you. Keep the approved petition's validity dates, from your Form I-797, next to the Form I-9, and schedule the last workday from those.

What must you report when an H-2 worker leaves early?

USCIS's H-2A and H-2B pages require petitioners to notify USCIS within 2 workdays if a worker never reports for work within 5 workdays of the start date, stops reporting for 5 consecutive workdays without consent, is terminated before completing the work, or finishes more than 30 days before the petition's end date. For H-2A, USCIS adds that a petitioner that fails to notify without good cause may owe $10 in liquidated damages per instance, and that the notice is not an indication of wrongdoing by the worker. On the Form I-9 side, record the separation date and start the retention clock; see I-9 retention rules. Spouses and children in H-4 status may not work.

Who completes Form I-9 when crews come through contractors?

• Farm labor contractors and agricultural associations. M-274 Section 12.0 says agricultural associations, agricultural employers and farm labor contractors that recruit or refer for a fee must complete Form I-9 for people they refer, within three business days of hire, and may designate an agent, such as the employer, to do it. They remain liable even when an agent completes the form.
• H-2B job contractors. Under the Labor Department's rule at 20 CFR 655.19, a job contractor files together with its employer-client, and the two are joint employers for the H-2B application.
• Who signs Section 2. M-274 Section 2.0 says a business does not complete Form I-9 for workers employed by a contractor providing contract services, but the handbook does not address H-2 joint employment directly. Agree in writing which entity completes and keeps each Form I-9, and confirm the arrangement with counsel; see joint employer liability for staffing agencies.

H-2 events and the Form I-9 entry, at a glance

A checklist for H-2 files

• Keep the Form I-797 validity dates beside each Form I-9, not just the I-94 date.
• Make the "240-Day Ext.", "two-week extension" or "H-2 Portability" entry the day the trigger occurs.
• Never start a porting worker before the Received Date or the requested start date, whichever is later.
• Complete Supplement B as soon as USCIS decides, and no later than the end of any 240-day period.
• Calendar the 2-workday USCIS notice for no-shows, absconders, early terminations and early completions.
• Let every worker choose their documents, even though you hold the petition paperwork.