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What Employees Need to Do if They Receive a Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) for I-9 Purposes

November 12th, 2020

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If the information your employer entered into E-Verify from your Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, does not match records available to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Social Security Administration (SSA), your employer may receive a tentative nonconfirmation (TNC) result. 

What Does a Tentative Nonconfirmation Result Mean?

A TNC result does not necessarily mean an employee is unauthorized to work in the U.S. Rather, a TNC result may be issued by DHS or SSA if any of the information entered into E-Verify does not match DHS or SSA records. 

Reasons a TNC may be issued include, but are not limited to:

  • The employee’s name, A-number, I-94 number and/or passport number were incorrectly recorded in DHS records
  • The employee’s citizenship or immigration status changed and was not updated
  • The employee’s information was entered incorrectly by the employer

What Do I Need to Do if I Receive a TNC Result?

Both you and your employer have responsibilities if E-Verify returns a TNC. Your employer must give you the Further Action Notice from E-Verify and review it with you privately.

The Further Action Notice will inform you whether the TNC is a DHS or SSA TNC, why you received the TNC, what your options are, and what you must do to resolve it. 

As an employee, you must take the following steps:

  1. Review the Further Action Notice and ensure your name, birth date, and social security number are correct within ten business days after E-Verify issued the TNC. If any information is incorrect you must notify your employer. 
  2. Decide whether you will contest the TNC case result and notify your employer of your decision within ten federal government working days of the TNC issuance.
    1. If you contest the decision, your employer must refer the case to DHS or SSA through E-Verify and give you a Referral Date Confirmation, which indicates the date you must visit SSA or contact DHS by. 
    2. If you do not contest the decision, your employer can terminate your employment because of the TNC and should close the case in E-Verify. 
    3. If you do not notify your employer within the ten federal working day timeframe, your employer must close your case in E-Verify and terminate you. 
  3. If you contest the decision, you must visit an SSA office or contact DHS to contest the TNC. 

Once you have contested the TNC, you must wait for SSA or DHS to notify your employer of the final E-Verify Case result, which is typically Employment Authorized (if you successfully resolved the mismatch) or Final Nonconfirmation (if you did not successfully resolve the mismatch). If you receive a Final Nonconfirmation, your employer will terminate you. 

If you or one of your employees have questions about how to handle a TNC result, be sure to contact Berardi Immigration to speak to one of our knowledgeable attorneys!

Published 12 November 2020