FreshVerdict is a compliance tool — not a law firm. This page is educational; a Tentative Nonconfirmation can carry discrimination and back-pay risk, so consult qualified immigration or employment counsel for advice specific to your situation.

E-Verify Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC): the employer's step-by-step guide for 2026

You ran E-Verify and got a Tentative Nonconfirmation. Here is exactly what to do: deliver the Further Action Notice privately, let the employee decide to contest, refer the case, and — critically — take no adverse action during the 10-federal-working-day window. The full TNC-to-resolution process, the four case outcomes, and the mistakes that turn a routine mismatch into a discrimination or back-pay claim.

The one rule that prevents most TNC liability

A Tentative Nonconfirmation is not a finding that someone is unauthorized. While the case is open, the employee keeps working under the same terms — no termination, no suspension, no cut to pay, hours, or training — until E-Verify returns a final result.

Nearly every costly TNC mistake is a variation of acting too early. The mismatch is often clerical — a name change, a typo, or a stale government record — and the process exists precisely to let the employee fix it before anyone loses a job.

The TNC process, step by step

  1. 1
    Confirm it is a TNC, not a Final Nonconfirmation
    A Tentative Nonconfirmation means E-Verify could not immediately match the information you entered against SSA or DHS records. It is not a determination that the employee is unauthorized — mismatches are frequently caused by a name change, a data-entry typo, or an unupdated record. Read the case result carefully before doing anything.
  2. 2
    Notify the employee privately, and promptly
    Print the Further Action Notice (FAN) that E-Verify generates and review it with the employee in private, as soon as possible. The FAN explains the mismatch and the employee's rights. Notification is required — skipping or delaying it is one of the most common TNC violations.
  3. 3
    Let the employee decide whether to contest — do not decide for them
    The employee, not you, chooses whether to take action to resolve the mismatch. Record their decision on the FAN and have them sign and date it. Never pressure an employee to not contest, and never treat a decision to contest as a negative signal.
  4. 4
    If they contest, refer the case and give them the Referral Date Confirmation
    Refer the case in E-Verify. The system produces a Referral Date Confirmation showing the date by which the employee must contact SSA or DHS. Hand that to the employee — it tells them where to go and how long they have.
  5. 5
    Take no adverse action during the resolution window
    This is the step that creates liability when it is missed. While a referred case is open, you may not terminate, suspend, withhold or delay pay or training, or take any other adverse action against the employee because of the TNC. Let them keep working under the same terms while they resolve it.
  6. 6
    Close the case on the final result — and only then
    E-Verify will return one of four outcomes. Act on the actual result, close the case, and retain the E-Verify records with the I-9. Do not act on your own assumption about how it will resolve.

The four case outcomes — and what each one requires

Employment Authorized
The mismatch resolved. Close the case; the employee is confirmed. No further action, no notation that penalizes the worker for having contested.
Case in Continuance
SSA or DHS needs more time. Keep the case open, take no adverse action, and let the employee continue working. Check back for the updated result.
Close Case and Resubmit
E-Verify is asking you to correct and re-enter the case (often a data or document mismatch). Close the case as instructed and create a new one with the corrected information.
Final Nonconfirmation
The employee did not or could not resolve the mismatch. Only now may you terminate without civil or criminal liability under the E-Verify program — and you must close the case in E-Verify selecting the reason. Document the timeline.

Five mistakes that turn a routine TNC into a claim

A TNC itself is ordinary. The liability comes from how it is handled — and these are the patterns that draw an IER discrimination investigation or a back-pay demand.

Terminating or suspending on the TNC itself
Risk: Taking adverse action while a case is unresolved is a core E-Verify violation and a textbook citizenship-status or national-origin discrimination exposure. This is where TNC mishandling turns into an IER (Immigrant and Employee Rights) investigation and potential back pay.
Not delivering the Further Action Notice
Risk: The employee cannot exercise the right to contest if they are never told. Failure to notify is both a program violation and evidence of a process that deprives the worker of due rights.
Delaying pay, hours, or training during the contest window
Risk: Any economic action tied to the TNC — cutting shifts, holding a raise, pulling someone from training — counts as adverse action even if you did not formally fire them.
Selectively E-Verifying only some new hires
Risk: Once enrolled, you generally must run E-Verify on every new hire, not just workers who 'look' foreign-born. Selective use is a discrimination finding independent of any individual TNC.
Pre-screening applicants before hire
Risk: You may not run E-Verify before an offer is accepted and work has begun. Pre-screening — and then declining to hire on a TNC the applicant never got to contest — is a prohibited and high-risk misuse of the system.

How this connects to your I-9 penalty exposure

E-Verify runs on top of the Form I-9, so the two rise and fall together. A mishandled TNC creates discrimination and back-pay liability; a weak I-9 file underneath creates paperwork liability. In 2026, substantive I-9 violations carry penalties of $288–$2,861 per form, assessed separately from any TNC-related claim. Running E-Verify correctly does not fix a messy I-9 binder — it exposes it.

Penalty amounts are set by DHS regulation and adjusted for inflation. Verify the current range at freshverdict.com/i9-civil-penalties-2026. For where E-Verify is legally required, see the E-Verify mandate-states guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Tentative Nonconfirmation mean the employee is not authorized to work?

No. A TNC only means the information entered did not immediately match SSA or DHS records. Many TNCs are caused by clerical issues — a name change after marriage, a typo, or an out-of-date government record — and resolve as Employment Authorized once the employee contacts the agency. You cannot treat a TNC as proof of unauthorized status.

Can I stop scheduling or paying the employee while the TNC is being resolved?

No. While a referred case is open you may not terminate, suspend, withhold or delay pay or training, or take any other adverse action based on the mismatch. The employee continues working under the same terms until E-Verify returns a final result. Economic actions tied to the TNC are treated as adverse action even short of firing.

How long does the employee have to resolve a TNC?

If the employee chooses to contest, they have 10 federal government working days from the referral date to contact SSA or visit DHS as directed on the Referral Date Confirmation. The case stays open during that window, and it can extend if the agency issues a Case in Continuance.

When can I terminate over an E-Verify result?

Only after E-Verify issues a Final Nonconfirmation — meaning the employee did not contest, or contested and could not resolve the mismatch. At that point you may terminate without civil or criminal liability under the E-Verify program and must close the case in E-Verify. Terminating any earlier is where employers create discrimination and back-pay liability.

How does a mishandled TNC connect to my I-9 exposure?

E-Verify is built on top of the Form I-9, so a shaky I-9 process usually surfaces in your E-Verify records too. Substantive I-9 paperwork violations in 2026 carry penalties of $288–$2,861 per form, assessed separately from any discrimination liability a botched TNC creates. The defensive posture is a clean, self-audited I-9 file underneath a correctly run E-Verify process.

Do I keep records of the E-Verify case?

Yes. Retain the Further Action Notice, the Referral Date Confirmation, and the signed employee decision with the employee's I-9, subject to the same retention rule as the I-9 itself. Clean documentation of the TNC timeline is your best evidence that you followed the process if the case is ever questioned.

Make sure the I-9 underneath is clean

A correctly run E-Verify process only helps if the Form I-9 beneath it holds up. FreshVerdict's free I-9 audit tool flags missing forms, Section 1 and 2 errors, and reverification gaps — in plain English, with no account required.

Run your free I-9 audit