H-4 EAD I-9 Reverification: The Employer and HR Playbook for 2026

Index

• Key Takeaways
• Do You Have to Reverify an H-4 EAD?
• Finding Every (c)(26) Employee in Your I-9 Records
• Which Rule Applies: Reading the I-797C Received Date
• Completing Supplement B, Step by Step
• The Reverification Notice: Timing and Wording
• The Day the Card Lapses
• Returning to Work: Reverify or Rehire?
• Edge Cases HR Teams Ask About
• Keeping an Audit-Ready Trail
• Two Dates Decide Every File
• Sources

An H-4 EAD can expire on a Monday with the renewal still pending, and by Tuesday the employee can no longer work. For renewals USCIS received on or after October 30, 2025, no automatic extension stands behind the card, so the date printed on it is also your Form I-9 deadline. This guide covers H-4 EAD I-9 reverification from the employer’s side: which documents to accept, how to complete Supplement B and what has to happen on the day a card lapses.

How long renewals are taking, and why, is covered in our guide to H-4 EAD delays. This page stays with what HR has to do, file by file.

Key Takeaways

• One date sorts every file. The Received Date on the employee’s I-797C decides whether an expired card and a receipt can still work.
• Reverify by the earlier date. Compare Section 1 with the card recorded in Section 2 and use whichever expires first.
• The employee chooses the document. Any unexpired List A or List C document works. You cannot ask for the new EAD by name.
• Supplement B, not E-Verify. Record reverification on the existing Form I-9 and do not open a new E-Verify case.

Do You Have to Reverify an H-4 EAD?

Yes. An H-4 EAD is a Form I-766 in category C26, and it carries an expiration date. You must reverify the employee on Supplement B of Form I-9 no later than the date that authorization expires, and the employee chooses which unexpired List A or List C document to present.

What varies from one employee to the next is the date. A renewal USCIS received before October 30, 2025 may still carry an extension that moves the deadline out. A renewal received on or after that date does not. The next two sections show how to tell the difference before the deadline arrives, which is where most H-4 EAD I-9 reverification mistakes start.

Finding Every (c)(26) Employee in Your I-9 Records

H-4 spouses are usually hired through ordinary recruiting, with no petition or sponsorship file on your side. Nothing in a standard HR system marks them as a group. The search starts with documents, not with immigration categories.

Where the Category Code Appears

The category field on the card reads C26, the code USCIS uses for H-4 dependent spouses. Your Form I-9 does not always show it. Section 2 records the document title, number and expiration date, and the category is visible only if you kept a copy of the card.

That gap is smaller than it looks. Build the calendar around every employee who presented an EAD, whatever the category. The category matters at one moment: when an employee hands you a receipt notice and asks you to treat an expired card as extended. Sorting staff by immigration category in advance adds little, and it risks treating some employees differently from others, which is where anti-discrimination problems start.

What to Record for Each Employee

• Employee name and ID
• Document title and number from Section 2
• The document’s expiration date and any work authorization expiration date the employee entered in Section 1
• Any earlier Supplement B entries
• The dates each reverification notice went out

Keep it to what the form already holds. You do not need the spouse’s H-1B details to run a compliant calendar.

Which Rule Applies: Reading the I-797C Received Date

When an employee whose card is about to expire gives you a Form I-797C receipt notice, look first at the Received Date. It decides which of two procedures applies.

Received Before October 30, 2025

A grandfathered H-4 renewal can still extend the expired card, but only as a three-part document combination: an unexpired Form I-94 showing H-4 status, a Form I-797C for a renewal filed before the card expired with the class requested shown as (c)(26), and the expired EAD in the same category. Together, they are acceptable as a List A document for the extension period. Record the extension as Section 5.0 of the M-274 describes, commonly with an “EAD EXT” notation, and calendar the end date.

Received On or After October 30, 2025

No extension applies. USCIS says the receipt notice for these renewals states that it is not evidence of employment authorization, whether presented alone or with an expired EAD. Do not accept the combination. The date printed on the card is the reverification deadline.

When the I-94 Ends First

A grandfathered extension ends at the earliest of three dates: the end date on the H-4 I-94, a decision on the renewal, or the end of the up-to-540-day period counted from the card’s expiration. Because renewals could be filed up to 180 days before a card expired, some extensions still run into 2027 on paper. For H-4 spouses, the I-94 usually ends them much sooner, so calendar the I-94 date, not the 540th day.

Completing Supplement B, Step by Step

Supplement B replaced the old Section 3 and is completed on the employee’s existing Form I-9.

1. Check the original form. Compare the Section 1 work authorization date with the Section 2 document date, and reverify by the earlier one.
2. Ask for documentation, not a document. The employee may present any unexpired List A or List C document. A receipt for a lost, stolen or damaged document is acceptable. A receipt for a renewal filed on or after October 30, 2025 is not.
3. Leave identity alone. Reverification covers employment authorization only, so List B documents are not requested.
4. Watch for restricted cards. A Social Security card with a work-restriction legend, such as “valid for work only with DHS authorization,” is not an acceptable List C document.
5. Record and attest. Enter the document title, number and expiration date, then sign and date Supplement B.
6. Skip E-Verify. E-Verify instructs employers not to create a new case for reverification.
7. File it with the I-9. Keep Supplement B with the employee’s existing form.

The Reverification Notice: Timing and Wording

USCIS recommends notifying employees at least 90 days before reverification is due. With H-4 renewals taking months, treat that as a floor rather than a target. A practical rhythm is a first notice at 90 days, a reminder at 30 and a final note a week out, sent the same way to every employee whose authorization is expiring.

The wording matters as much as the timing. A notice that asks for “your new EAD” tells the employee which document to bring, and asking for a specific document can be an unfair documentary practice, a rule that applies to employers of any size. Point to the lists instead.

If the employee replies with a receipt notice, apply the Received Date test above before the deadline, not on it.

Not sure which of your EAD holders are grandfathered?

Send us the card expiration and I-797C Received Dates, with names removed. We’ll map your reverification calendar and flag the files that need attention first.

Get a Consultation

The Day the Card Lapses

If no acceptable document has been presented by the end of the expiration date, the employee cannot keep working in any capacity: paid or unpaid, on site or remote, or reclassified as a contractor. Knowingly continuing to employ someone without authorization carries civil penalties of $716 to $5,724 per worker for a first offense, rising to $28,619 for repeat offenses, separate from paperwork fines of $288 to $2,861 per form.

What happens next should come from a written policy, not a manager’s judgment on the day. Unpaid leave with the role held open and termination are both common paths, subject to state law. The risk is inconsistency, so apply the same policy to every employee whose authorization lapses.

Day-of checklist:

• Confirm that no acceptable List A or List C document has been presented.
• Confirm whether a grandfathered extension applies, using the I-797C Received Date and the I-94.
• Stop scheduling, timekeeping and system access so no work is recorded after the date.
• Issue written notice of leave status or separation under your policy.
• Tell the manager in writing that no work, including email and calls, can be performed.
• Check benefit plan terms and your state’s final-pay rules before payroll runs.
• Name the person who will complete Supplement B when a new document arrives.

An employer can still help shorten the gap. A specific, dated letter from the company carries an H-4 EAD expedite request further than any general statement of support.

Returning to Work: Reverify or Rehire?

The answer depends on whether employment continued during the gap.

• Unpaid leave. The employee is still yours. Complete Supplement B when they present an acceptable document, and check the validity dates on any new card before the first shift.
• Termination, then rehire within three years of the original form. You may complete Supplement B on the earlier Form I-9 or start a new one.
• Termination, then rehire after three years. Complete a new Form I-9.

Reverification does not reach backward. The new card authorizes work from its own validity dates, and the weeks of the gap are not recovered.

Edge Cases HR Teams Ask About

An Employee Says the Court Order Covers Them

The September 10, 2026 order in the Central District of California applies to seven named plaintiffs and is not nationwide. It does not create a document combination you can accept from anyone else. If an employee says they are one of the plaintiffs, bring in immigration counsel before accepting anything outside the standard lists.

The E-Verify Status Change Report

Since August 11, 2026, the report flags invalidated EADs in categories A12, C08, C09, C11 and C19. C26 is not among them. For H-4 EAD holders, the printed expiration date, or a grandfathered extension, remains the trigger.

When the H-1B Spouse’s Status Changes

An H-4 spouse’s status follows the H-1B principal’s. A job loss or status change on that side raises questions HR usually cannot answer from its own records, including grace periods and pending filings. Do not reverify an unexpired card on a rumor, and do not ignore specific information either. Take it to counsel. Our overview of H-1B status explains the principal’s side.

What the Employee Can Do in the Meantime

Leave terms, travel and escalation are decisions the employee makes with their own advisers. We cover them in our guide for employees whose H-4 EAD expired with the renewal pending.

Keeping an Audit-Ready Trail

An ICE Notice of Inspection gives you at least three business days to produce Forms I-9. For former employees, the form must be kept for three years after the date of hire or one year after employment ends, whichever is later. A lapse-and-return file therefore stays inspectable long after the employee is back at work.

Keep notices, Received Date checks and leave decisions in a separate compliance file, so the I-9 shows only what the form asks for. When an inspection arrives, the calendar and that file let you show not only that you reverified, but when and why.

Two Dates Decide Every File

Most H-4 EAD I-9 reverification problems come down to two dates: the card’s expiration and the Received Date on the renewal receipt. Put both on a calendar for every EAD holder, and send notices early enough that a receipt can be checked before the deadline rather than on it. The rest is procedure: Supplement B, the employee’s choice of document and a written policy for the day a card lapses.

Gozel Law Firm PC advises employers on Form I-9 compliance and work authorization timing as part of our business and employment immigration practice.

Sources

Verified as of October 12, 2026. Immigration rules and pending litigation change frequently. Confirm current guidance against the primary sources below before acting.

1. Federal Register — Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents, 90 FR 48799 (October 30, 2025)
2. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — Interim Final Rule Published Ending the Practice of Automatically Extending Certain EADs (October 31, 2025)
3. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — Handbook for Employers (M-274), Section 5.0: Automatic Extensions of Employment Authorization and/or EADs (current page)
4. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — Handbook for Employers: Guidance for Completing Form I-9 (M-274) (current page)
5. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — Completing Supplement B, Reverification and Rehires (formerly Section 3) (current page)
6. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — Policy Alert: Employment Authorization for Certain H-4, E, and L Nonimmigrant Dependent Spouses (November 12, 2021)
7. E-Verify — Status Change Report Now Includes TPS and Asylum-Related Employment Authorization Documents (August 11, 2026)
8. U.S. Department of Justice, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section — Frequently Asked Questions (current page)
9. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — Form I-9 Inspection (current page)
10. J. J. Keller & Associates — Form I-9 Penalties Increase (February 27, 2025)
11. WION — US Court Blocks Trump Administration Move Ending Automatic H-4 EAD Extensions for Seven Spouses (September 14, 2026)