How Do I Know If I’m Legally Eligible to Work in the US?

Whether you are legally eligible to work in the US depends entirely on your citizenship or immigration status. Federal law, in place since the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, requires every employer to verify that each new hire is authorized to work before they start.¹ You fall into one of three groups: people who can work for any employer automatically, people whose authorization is tied to a specific sponsoring employer, and people who need to apply for and receive an Employment Authorization Document before taking any job.

You’re Automatically Authorized to Work

Several groups can work for any U.S. employer without applying for separate permission.

U.S. citizens, whether born in the country or naturalized, have an unrestricted right to work. Noncitizen U.S. nationals, generally people born in American Samoa or Swains Island, share the same unrestricted authorization.²

Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) can also work for any employer, permanently. A valid Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551) proves that right, and employers cannot demand reverification even after the card’s printed expiration date passes.²

People granted asylum or admitted as refugees are authorized to work the moment they receive that status, and the authorization lasts as long as the status does.² They do not technically need an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), though many still apply for one because it makes proving authorization to a new employer far simpler.

Individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are also authorized to work for as long as they hold that status. They still need to present acceptable identity and work-authorization documents when they are hired.³

Your Authorization Is Tied to a Specific Employer

A large group of foreign workers are authorized to work in the United States only for the employer that sponsored their visa. If you hold an H-1B (specialty occupation), L-1 (intracompany transferee), O-1 (extraordinary ability), or TN (USMCA professional) visa, your work authorization is built into the visa itself. You don’t need a separate EAD, but you also can’t freely switch employers or take a second job without additional immigration filings.

This catches people off guard. If you are laid off or quit, your work authorization generally ends along with the employment relationship. Depending on your visa category, you may get a limited grace period to find a new sponsor or change status, but working for anyone other than your petitioner without prior approval is a violation that can put your immigration status at risk.

You Need an Employment Authorization Document

If you are not a citizen, permanent resident, or holder of an employer-sponsored work visa, you likely need an Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) before you can work. USCIS issues the card, which proves you are permitted to work for any U.S. employer during a specific period.⁴ You apply using Form I-765.⁵

One rule matters more than any other here: being eligible to apply is not the same as being authorized to work. You cannot start a job until the card is actually in your hands, or, for certain categories, until you have a receipt notice confirming an automatic extension. Starting work before that is unauthorized employment.

Common EAD Categories

The EAD covers a wide range of situations. The most common include:

F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT). After completing a degree, F-1 students can apply for up to 12 months of post-completion OPT. Students with a qualifying STEM degree can apply for an additional 24-month extension, provided the employer is enrolled in E-Verify and the student works at least 20 hours per week.⁶
H-4 spouses, but only if your H-1B spouse is the primary beneficiary of an approved immigrant worker petition (Form I-140). Without that approved petition, H-4 spouses are generally not eligible.⁷
Applicants for adjustment of status. If you have filed Form I-485 to become a permanent resident, you can apply for an EAD while that application is pending.⁴
Pending asylum applicants, typically after a waiting period.
DACA recipients. As of early 2026, USCIS is processing renewal requests but not new initial DACA requests, due to ongoing court orders.⁸

Filing fees vary by category. As of January 1, 2026, initial EAD applications for asylum applicants, TPS holders, and parolees cost $560, while renewals in those categories range from $275 to $280.⁹ Some categories, such as adjustment-of-status applicants, bundle the EAD fee into the I-485 filing fee. Check the Form I-765 instructions for the exact fee before filing.

The 2026 Change to Automatic EAD Extensions

If you already have an EAD and need to renew, one recent change matters more than any other. USCIS previously offered automatic extensions of up to 540 days for people in certain categories who filed timely renewals. That automatic extension ended for renewal applications filed on or after October 30, 2025.¹⁰ If you filed before that date and your renewal is still pending, your existing automatic extension remains valid. If you are filing now, there is no automatic extension, and any gap between your old EAD expiring and your new one arriving is a gap during which you cannot legally work.

USCIS recommends filing your renewal no more than 180 days before your current EAD expires, but at least 90 days before expiration.⁵ Processing times shift, so check the USCIS Case Processing Times page for current estimates in your category.

Proving It to an Employer: Form I-9

No matter which of the three groups you fall into, every new hire in the United States completes the same paperwork: Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.¹¹ The timeline is tight.

You must complete Section 1, where you attest to your citizenship or immigration status, no later than your first day of work.¹² You then have three business days from your start date to present your identity and work-authorization documents. The employer completes Section 2 after physically examining those documents to confirm they reasonably appear genuine.

The documents fall into three lists. You present either one document from List A (which proves both identity and work authorization) or one document from List B (identity) plus one from List C (work authorization).¹³ List A includes a U.S. passport or passport card, a Permanent Resident Card, and an EAD. List B includes a state driver’s license or ID card and other government-issued photo ID. List C includes an unrestricted Social Security card and a U.S. birth certificate.

The choice of which documents to present is yours. Your employer cannot demand a specific document, and rejecting documents that look genuine on their face or asking for more than the form requires is what immigration law calls unfair documentary practices.¹⁴

E-Verify Mismatches

E-Verify is a federal online system that cross-checks your I-9 information against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records.¹⁵ Federal participation is voluntary unless the employer holds certain federal contracts, though roughly nine states require most private employers to use it. If your employer uses E-Verify, you must provide your Social Security number on the Form I-9.¹⁶

E-Verify sometimes returns a Tentative Nonconfirmation, or “mismatch,” when your information doesn’t align with government records. That doesn’t necessarily mean you are unauthorized. A name change, a data entry error, or outdated records can trigger it. Your employer must notify you promptly and give you the chance to contest the result within 10 federal working days. During that period, they cannot fire you, suspend you, cut your pay, or take any other adverse action against you because of the mismatch.¹⁷ If you don’t contest, or the mismatch becomes a Final Nonconfirmation, your employer can terminate you.

A Note on Independent Contractors

Form I-9 applies only to employees. Companies that hire you as an independent contractor do not complete an I-9 for you.¹⁸ That exemption is not permission. Federal law still prohibits anyone from contracting with a worker they know is unauthorized, and if you hold a visa tied to a specific employer, freelancing on the side without authorization is a violation whether an I-9 is involved or not.

What Happens If You Work Without Authorization

The consequences fall hardest on the worker, and the immigration consequences are where the real damage lands.

Working without authorization can put you into removal (deportation) proceedings. For nonimmigrant visa holders, it is a status violation that makes you deportable as someone who has failed to maintain the conditions of the visa.¹⁹ Even if you are not immediately placed in proceedings, the violation stays on your record and can surface years later when you apply for a green card, a visa renewal, or re-entry.

The unlawful presence bars are especially punishing. If you accumulate more than 180 days of unlawful presence and then leave the country, you are barred from returning for three years. A year or more of unlawful presence triggers a ten-year bar.²⁰ The bars are triggered by the combination of unlawful presence and departure, and unauthorized employment can accelerate the clock toward those thresholds, particularly for people who overstay a visa while working. For the worker, unauthorized employment can permanently close the door to a green card, future visas, or the ability to return at all.²¹

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 1.0 Why Employers Must Verify Employment Authorization and Identity of New Employees
2
U.S. Department of Justice. IER’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Application for Employment Authorization
6
Study in the States. Students: Determining STEM OPT Extension Eligibility
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-821D, Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Announces FY 2026 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related Fees
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. DHS Ends Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Types of Employment Discrimination Prohibited Under the INA
15
E-Verify.gov. What is E-Verify
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 1.2 E-Verify: The Web-Based Verification Companion to Form I-9
17
E-Verify.gov. 3.3 Tentative Nonconfirmation (Mismatch)
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Exceptions
19
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
20
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
21
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324a – Unlawful Employment of Aliens