Should I reverify a conditional permanent resident on Form I-9?

A client employer recently asked that we complete a Supplement B reverification of a conditional permanent resident. We responded that reverification was not permitted and provided the following explanation.

Must a conditional permanent resident be reverified on Form I-9 before their Permanent Resident Card expires?

Whether or not to reverify has nothing to do with the lawful permanent resident’s status (conditional or “regular”) but with the documents that were presented when the employee was hired. Employers are not required nor permitted to reverify the employment authorization of a lawful permanent resident (LPR) when the employee presented a Permanent Resident Card to complete Form I-9 at the time of hiring.

However, both “regular” and conditional LPRs must be reverified if they presented, at the time they were hired, either:

  • a foreign passport with an I-551 stamp;
  • a foreign passport with the MRIV (“machine-readable immigration visa”) insert;
  • an I-94 with an I-551 stamp; or
  • under a very limited circumstance a conditional permanent resident can present, as a List C document, an expired PRC with proof of an application to renew or remove conditions.

These documents are considered temporary proof of permanent resident status; the employee must present a Permanent Resident Card or acceptable List B/C combination before the temporary authorization expires.

The most definitive resource:

“Employers should not reverify:

    • U.S. citizens and noncitizen nationals;
    • Lawful permanent residents who presented a Form I-551, Permanent Resident or Alien Registration Receipt card for Section 2, including conditional residents; or
    • List B documents”

In the subject case, the employee advised us that she doesn’t remember what document she presented when she was hired, except that it was either her Employment Authorization Document (EAD, because she was an alien authorized to work) or it was her Permanent Resident Card. We advised our client to check the employee’s original I-9 because which document she presented does matter, for a couple of reasons.

  • If the employee was a conditional permanent resident who presented a Permanent Resident Card when she was hired, the employer may not reverify. In fact, no action is required regarding Form I-9.
  • If she presented an EAD, she was hired as an alien authorized to work but is now an LPR. A new I-9 should have been completed at the point that the employer learned of the citizenship status change. The updated I-9 should be attached to the original.

Another reference: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274/70-evidence-of-employment-authorization-for-certain-categories/71-lawful-permanent-residents-lpr

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