Form I-9 on OPT: Which Documents to Hand Over, and What Happens the Day Your EAD Expires

Your EAD is a List A document — you hand over one thing, not three, and HR may not demand your passport too. What to write in Section 1, what happens at reverification, and why a pending I-765 receipt is not enough.

You are in an onboarding room, or on a video call with an HR generalist who has never onboarded an F-1 student before, and the email in front of you asked for "your visa documents." Passport. I-20. EAD. Social Security card. All of it.

You do not need to hand over all of it.

Your Employment Authorization Document is a List A document. Form I-766 establishes both your identity and your employment authorization by itself. USCIS's own employer handbook says it plainly: "The EAD establishes the student's identity and employment authorization for Form I-9 purposes." One card. Nothing alongside it.

Four more things worth knowing before you sit down:

• Section 1 is yours. Section 2 is not. You attest; your employer examines documents and records them. Employees are specifically barred from completing Section 2 for themselves, so do not helpfully fill it in.
• Your employer may not tell you which document to present. The Form I-9 instructions state it directly: "An employer cannot specify which documentation you may present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents."
• A receipt notice for a pending first-time I-765 is not enough to start work. This is the most common and most damaging misconception on this topic, and acting on it creates a real violation.
• Reverification is a real event with a real date — and since October 30, 2025, most EAD renewals no longer come with a grace period behind that date.

Form I-9 is never filed with USCIS or ICE. Your employer keeps it. This page is written from your side of the desk: what you present, what you write, and what the employer is supposed to do, so you can tell when something has gone wrong. If you are still at the application stage and wrestling with the "are you authorized to work?" question, that comes first; this is what happens after you say yes.

⚠️ One thing to get right before day one. You must complete and sign Section 1 no later than your first day of employment — you may do it earlier, but not before you have accepted the offer. You must present your documentation, and your employer must complete Section 2, within three business days after your first day. If you were hired for less than three business days, both happen no later than the first day. And if your EAD has not arrived, the answer is not to start and sort it out later: on initial OPT, employment authorization does not exist until the start date on the approved card.

What Form I-9 is, and which parts are yours

The form has four parts, and knowing which is which prevents most of the confusion:

The current edition is dated 01/20/25. Two older 08/01/23 editions remain usable by employers until their printed expiration dates — one expiring 05/31/2027 and one expiring 07/31/2026. If your employer runs an electronic Form I-9 system, USCIS requires it to be updated to the version expiring 05/31/2027 by July 31, 2026. That deadline is days away as of this writing, which is a plausible reason your company's HRIS is behaving oddly right now.

Employers must retain your Form I-9 for three years after the first day of employment, or one year after employment ends, whichever is later, and make it available for inspection by DHS, the Department of Labor or the Department of Justice.

Post-completion OPT: one document

What you present

The Employment Authorization Document, Form I-766. That is the whole list.

It is a List A document, which means identity and employment authorization together. Presenting it correctly ends the document conversation. As the instructions put it: "If you present acceptable List A documentation, you should not be asked to present List B and List C documentation."

What you write in Section 1

Select "An alien authorized to work," and enter the "Card Expires" date printed on the front of your EAD as the date your employment authorization expires.

You must also provide one of three identifiers: your A-Number/USCIS Number (7 to 9 digits), your Form I-94 Admission Number (11 digits), or your foreign passport number with the country of issuance. Your choice. Your employer may not ask for documentation to verify what you entered in Section 1.

Providing your Social Security number in Section 1 is voluntary — unless your employer participates in E-Verify, in which case it is required. Note that STEM OPT employers are required to be E-Verify participants, so if you are heading into a STEM extension, expect the SSN field to be mandatory.

What the employer writes in Section 2

Under List A: the EAD card number in the Document Number field and the Card Expires date in the Expiration Date field.

If you are on a STEM extension, your card reads "STU: STEM OPT ONLY." That is normal and correct; it is not a restriction your employer needs to worry about.

You may not begin before the start date

USCIS states it without qualification: "The student may not begin employment until the date indicated on the EAD." Not the approval date. Not the date the card arrived in the mail. The start date printed on the card.

The document you are allowed to choose — and the rule that protects you

Unfair documentary practices, defined

There are two layers here, and it helps to keep them straight.

The flat rule. The Form I-9 instructions say an employer "cannot specify which documentation an employee may present from these Lists of Acceptable Documents," and that if your documentation "reasonably appears to be genuine and to relate to you, your employer must accept the documentation." That is the process rule, and it applies to everyone.

The discrimination prohibition. Separately, the INA's anti-discrimination provision at 8 U.S.C. § 1324b prohibits unfair documentary practices, which USCIS's handbook breaks into three types of conduct: requesting more or different documents than Form I-9 requires; requesting a particular document to establish identity or work authorization; and rejecting documents that reasonably appear genuine and to relate to the person presenting them. These become unlawful discrimination when done on the basis of citizenship, immigration status or national origin.

So a request for your passport and your I-20 and your EAD is not how Form I-9 works, full stop. Whether it also constitutes unlawful discrimination depends on facts that are not yours to adjudicate in an onboarding room.

The one legitimate exception

If a document does not reasonably appear to be genuine or to relate to you, the employer must reject it and give you the chance to present other documentation. That is the narrow, real exception — and it is about the document, not about you.

What to say when HR asks for extras

Two scripts. Use the first one first.

For the uninformed request (which is most of them): "My EAD is a List A document — it covers both identity and employment authorization, so it's the only document Form I-9 needs from me. Here's the USCIS employer handbook section on F-1 students if it's helpful." Send the link to the Handbook for Employers M-274, section 7.4.2. Most HR generalists are relieved to have a citation.

If it persists: "I'd like to present my EAD, which I understand is what Form I-9 requires. Can you help me understand what additional document is needed and why?" Ask in writing. Keep the thread.

If you want to read the rule yourself or ask a question, the Department of Justice's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section runs a worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (employer hotline: 1-800-255-8155) and publishes Form I-9 and E-Verify resources for workers. Note that they exist and take worker calls. Do not threaten anyone with them.

CPT and on-campus work: no EAD, different documents

If you are on CPT or working on campus, none of the above applies, because there is no EAD.

CPT

You present a List A combination: an unexpired foreign passport, plus Form I-94 showing F-1 status, plus the Form I-20 with the DSO's employment endorsement. All three together constitute the single List A entry.

Or take the List B plus List C route: a state driver's license as List B, with Form I-94 under List C item 7 accompanied by the properly endorsed I-20. Your employer should note the additional List C document in the Additional Information box.

An acceptable CPT I-20 must have every Employment Authorization field completed: employment status, employment type, start and end dates, and the employer's name and location. Section 1 date: the CPT employment end date from the I-20.

The frequent error here is treating the I-20 as if it were a work permit on its own. It is not — it is one component of a combination.

On campus

Present an unexpired foreign passport plus Form I-94 indicating F-1 status as List A, or a List B document plus the I-94 under List C item 7. USCIS does not require your employer to record information from your I-20 in Section 2 for on-campus employment.

Section 1 date: the program end date on the I-20. On-campus employment is limited to 20 hours a week when school is in session.

STEM OPT: the 180-day extension, and exactly what goes in the boxes

Two documents are acceptable during a STEM extension:

1. An unexpired EAD; or
2. An expired EAD presented with a Form I-20 endorsed by your DSO recommending the STEM extension, where you timely filed Form I-765 and it is still pending. If you have changed employers, that I-20 must also carry the new employer's information.

The second one is where employers get lost, so here are the Section 2 entries verbatim from USCIS's handbook:

• Document Title: EAD
• Document Number: the EAD number
• Expiration Date: the date 180 days after the Card Expires date on the EAD
• Additional Information: EAD EXT

If you are already on the payroll when the extension kicks in, the employer instead reviews the endorsed I-20 and enters EAD EXT plus that 180-day date in the Additional Information field of Section 2 — formatted as EAD EXT mm/dd/yyyy — then reverifies on that date. If your original Form I-9 was completed on an edition that is no longer valid, the employer puts this on Section 2 of a current version, initials and dates the notation, and retains it with the original.

Show your employer that block. It is four lines and it prevents the mistake you would otherwise pay for. For the timing mechanics on your side, see how the STEM OPT automatic extension is timed.

The employer obligations that ride along with a STEM extension are real and worth knowing about: enrollment in and good standing with E-Verify before employing you, a formal training plan implemented through Form I-983 with the employer's portion completed and certified, reporting to your DSO if the training plan materially changes, and reporting your termination or departure to the DSO within five business days. Your STEM I-20 must also have every Employment Authorization field completed, including your employer's name and location.

Cap-gap: the receipt notice that actually is a document

Cap-gap is the one situation where a Form I-797C receipt notice does real work on Form I-9 — and it is worth being precise about why, because the reasoning does not transfer to any other situation.

If you are an F-1 student on post-completion OPT and your employer timely filed an H-1B cap petition requesting a change of status with an employment start date in the relevant fiscal year, then your expired EAD combined with the employer's Form I-797C for the Form I-129 functions as an unexpired List A document. The authority is 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(vi)(B).

"Timely filed" has a specific meaning here: the cap petition requested a change of status rather than consular processing, and it was properly filed while your authorized F-1 admission was still in effect and before the expiration date of your EAD.

The entries, per USCIS's handbook:

• Section 1 (new employee): select "An alien authorized to work until," and enter March 31 and the fiscal year of the employment start date requested in the H-1B petition as the expiration date. Not your EAD expiry. Not the H-1B start date.
• Section 2 (new employee): Document Title EAD; Document Number = the Form I-797C receipt number; Expiration Date = March 31 and that fiscal year; Additional Information = CAP-GAP.
• Section 2 (current employee, once the I-797C arrives): enter CAP-GAP 03/31/yyyy in the Additional Information field.

The extension runs until April 1 of the relevant fiscal year or the validity start date of the approved petition, whichever is earlier. It ends immediately if the H-1B petition is rejected, denied, revoked or withdrawn. If it runs to March 31, your employer must reverify on Supplement B on or by March 31. When the H-1B is approved you will receive a Form I-797 with a new Form I-94; that I-94's title, number and expiration date go into a Supplement B block.

One more nuance worth carrying: there are two kinds of cap-gap extension. If you were in F-1 status but not participating in OPT when the petition was filed, you get an extension of F-1 status only — not work authorization. You cannot work until the H-1B is approved and your H-1B status begins. Read how cap-gap works before assuming you are covered.

Reverification: what happens on the expiry date

The mechanics

Your employer completes one block of Supplement B no later than the date your employment authorization expires, and attaches it to your original Form I-9. You present a document showing current employment authorization — anything from List A or List C, and you may present something different from what you presented originally. A restricted Social Security card will be rejected; an unrestricted one is acceptable.

USCIS's language on the failure case is not soft: the employer "cannot continue employing a person who does not provide proof of current employment authorization."

The automatic extension is gone for most renewals

This is the change that has caught people out, so here is the before and after.

A DHS interim final rule effective October 30, 2025 (90 FR 48799) ended the practice of automatically extending EAD validity on the basis of a timely-filed renewal. USCIS's handbook states that effective that date, "unless otherwise provided by law or through a Federal Register notice, the validity period of an expired or expiring Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and/or employment authorization is not automatically extended by the timely filing of a Form I-765." USCIS's July 22, 2025 implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21) separately reduced some extension periods.

Renewals filed before October 30, 2025 in a qualifying category could still receive an extension of up to 540 days from the Card Expires date. Renewals filed on or after that date generally receive none.

Here is the part almost nobody gets right, and it cuts in your favor. The general auto-extension only ever applied to a specific list of EAD category codes: A03, A05, A07, A08, A10, A17, A18, C08, C09, C10, C16, C20, C22, C24, C26, C31, and A12 or C19. F-1 practical training categories were never on that list. If you are on OPT or STEM OPT, you did not lose an automatic extension in October 2025, because you never had one.

Who did lose it: H-4 dependent spouses (C26), E dependent spouses (A17) and L-2 dependent spouses (A18), among others. If you are married to an H-1B holder and working on an H-4 EAD, this change is aimed squarely at you, and the practical instruction is to diarize your card's expiry twelve months ahead and file the renewal that early.

What still survives

Two carve-outs matter to F-1 students, and they should be stated clearly so nobody over-corrects:

• The STEM OPT 180-day provision comes from a different regulatory provision and continues to operate exactly as described above.
• The cap-gap extension likewise comes from 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(vi)(B) and is unaffected.

Also worth knowing, because it is coming: DHS published a final rule on July 17, 2026 (91 FR 44976) replacing duration-of-status admission for F, J and I nonimmigrants with admission for a fixed time period, effective September 15, 2026 and subject to congressional review. DHS addressed the obvious worry directly in the rule: it "does not make any substantive changes to OPT and CPT other than in the context of admission and extensions and does not make any changes to the H-1B cap gap rule." So the Form I-9 entries above hold. What changes is the admission framework around them — DHS notes that a post-completion OPT student will likely need an extension of stay or readmission at a port of entry. Watch that one with your DSO.

The receipt rule, and why your I-765 notice is not one

The Form I-9 receipt rule exists and it is genuinely useful. It is also narrower than almost everyone assumes.

Here is the actual rule. A receipt showing that an employee applied to replace a List A, B or C document that was lost, stolen or damaged is valid for 90 days from the date of hire, or for reverification, 90 days from the date employment authorization expired. Within that window you present the replacement document. If you cannot, you may present a different List A document, or one document each from List B and List C. An employer may not accept a second receipt at the end of the initial receipt period.

Read the trigger again: lost, stolen or damaged. It is a replacement rule.

A Form I-797C receipt notice for a pending first-time I-765 is not a receipt for a lost card. There is no card. Nothing was lost. There is no document to replace. So it is not an acceptable receipt, there is nothing for your employer to record, and you cannot start work on the strength of it.

If you are in that position — I-765 filed, receipt notice in hand, no card, a start date approaching — the answer is not on Form I-9. It is upstream: read what to do when the EAD card is delayed and act on it now, because your unemployment clock is running while you wait.

Where this stops being a form question

Form I-9 compliance is legally your employer's obligation, not yours. But the consequences of getting it wrong land on your status, which is why it is worth knowing where to take the parts this page cannot answer.

To your DSO: whether a job is directly related to your major area of study, whether your I-20 carries a valid CPT or STEM endorsement, SEVIS reporting, your OPT start date, and unemployment days.

To an immigration attorney: any gap in work authorization that has already happened, any period you worked without authorization, an EAD that expired before a renewal was filed, an H-1B cap petition denied or rejected during cap-gap, and any employer threatening termination over documents.

To the DOJ's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (1-800-255-7688): questions about document demands or a refusal to accept valid documents.

This article is informational and is not legal advice for your situation.

Frequently asked questions

Which documents do I give my employer for Form I-9 when I am on OPT?

Just the Employment Authorization Document. Form I-766 is a List A document, meaning it establishes both identity and employment authorization on its own — USCIS's employer handbook says so directly. You do not need to add a passport, a Form I-20 or a Social Security card alongside it, and your employer should record the card number and the Card Expires date under List A in Section 2.

What date do I enter in Section 1 as the date my work authorization expires?

On post-completion OPT and on the STEM OPT extension, the "Card Expires" date printed on the front of your EAD. On CPT and on-campus employment there is no EAD, so the date comes from the Form I-20 — the CPT employment end date for CPT, and the program end date for on-campus work. For cap-gap you enter March 31 and the fiscal year of the employment start date requested in the H-1B petition.

Can HR ask me for my passport, I-20 and EAD all together?

The Form I-9 instructions state flatly that an employer cannot specify which documentation you present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents. Beyond that, the INA prohibits unfair documentary practices — requesting more or different documents than Form I-9 requires, or demanding a particular document — where that is done on the basis of citizenship, immigration status or national origin. You choose from the Lists, and if what you present reasonably appears genuine and to relate to you, the employer must accept it. The one exception is documentation that does not reasonably appear genuine.

I filed my I-765 and only have the receipt notice. Can I start work?

No. For initial OPT, employment authorization begins on the start date shown on the approved EAD, so there is nothing to record on Form I-9 until the card exists. The Form I-9 receipt rule is narrower than people assume — it covers a receipt showing you applied to replace a List A, B or C document that was lost, stolen or damaged, not a pending application for a first-time document.

What happens on the day my EAD expires?

Your employer must reverify your employment authorization using Supplement B of Form I-9, no later than the date your employment authorization expires. If you have nothing to present, USCIS's handbook says the employer cannot continue employing a person who does not provide proof of current employment authorization. And since a DHS interim final rule effective October 30, 2025, a timely-filed EAD renewal generally no longer extends the card's validity at all, so for most categories the printed expiration date is the date.

Does the STEM OPT 180-day extension still work on Form I-9?

Yes. It sits in a different part of the regulations from the general EAD auto-extension that ended in October 2025 — and F-1 OPT category codes were never on that auto-extension list to begin with. If you timely filed the STEM I-765 and it is still pending, an expired EAD presented with a Form I-20 endorsed by your DSO recommending the STEM extension is acceptable. Your employer enters EAD as the document title, the EAD number, an expiration date 180 days after the card's expiry, and "EAD EXT" in the Additional Information field.

What about cap-gap — can I keep working after my OPT EAD expires?

If your employer timely filed an H-1B cap petition requesting a change of status with an employment start date in the relevant fiscal year, your expired EAD combined with the employer's Form I-797C for that petition functions as an unexpired List A document under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(vi)(B). The extension runs to April 1 of that fiscal year or the approved petition's validity start date, whichever is earlier, and it ends immediately if the petition is rejected, denied, revoked or withdrawn.

The uncomfortable truth about Form I-9 is that someone else fills in half of it, and you are the one whose status depends on them getting it right. Knowing the four lines that belong in Section 2 is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy. F1Jobs helps international candidates through onboarding, reverification and the H-1B handoff — the paperwork moments where a small error becomes an expensive one.