Tips to Prevent a Tentative Nonconfirmation

E-Verify may issue a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) Tentative nonconfirmation (TNC) result for your case if the name or date of birth entered by your employer does not match government records.

If your E-Verify case receives a DHS or SSA TNC result, you will need to take additional steps to resolve the mismatch. Your employer will enter your name in E-Verify exactly as you write it on your Form I-9. It is important that you write your name clearly on your Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, so that your employer can read it and enter it correctly in E-Verify.  It is also very important that the name and date of birth you write in Section 1 matches your documentation.

 Additional Tips for Completing Form I-9:

• Print your full legal name in Section 1 of Form I-9.

• If you have two last names (family names), include both. If you hyphenate your last name, include the dash (-) between the names.

• If you have two first names (given names), include both.

• Do not use nicknames.  For example, if your full legal name is Thomas Smith but you use the nickname Tommy Smith, enter Thomas Smith not Tommy Smith.

• Make sure your name is written the same way on all of your documents.  Your employer may question documents that have different spellings or parts of your name missing.

• If your full legal name includes apostrophes (‘) or dashes (-) make sure you include these when completing Section 1 of Form I-9.  For example, if your full legal name is Bri’ Anna Jean-Baptiste, make sure that you use all of the punctuation.

• Include your maiden name, if applicable.

• Make sure you write your date of birth in the month/day/year format.  For example, May 1, 1968 must be written as 5/1/1968. 

Additional Tips to Avoid a Mismatch:

Make sure your documents and records are up-to-date before it is time to complete your Form I-9.

If you have changed your name, make sure that you inform the Social Security Administration (SSA). 

If there is a spelling error on your document, contact the agency that issued the document to correct the error.

If the date of birth on your document is not correct, contact the agency that issued the document to correct the error.

Before you complete Form I-9, use Self Check to verify that your government records are accurate.

Know your rights in the E-Verify and employment eligibility verification process.