Form I-9 for DACA recipients: the C33 EAD, reverification, and what the court rulings change (2026)

An employee with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) completes Form I-9 the ordinary way, usually with an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) showing category C33, which is a List A document, though they may choose any acceptable documents. You reverify on Supplement B no later than the date that EAD expires. As of November 2026, USCIS says current DACA grants and their EADs remain valid until they expire unless individually terminated, renewals are being processed, and initial requests are accepted but not processed. A C33 renewal receipt never extends the old card, and Form I-9 follows the card's dates, not the news, unless USCIS publishes new instructions.

The general rules on EAD extensions are in EAD automatic extensions and Form I-9, and the Supplement B steps are in I-9 reverification. The hiring side, from work permits to renewals, is in hiring DACA recipients. This page is the Form I-9 detail.

Which documents can a DACA recipient present?

DACA recipients who show economic necessity can receive employment authorization under 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(33), and the EAD they receive, Form I-766, shows the category C33. On Form I-9:

• Section 1. The employee checks box 4, "An alien authorized to work," and enters the date their employment authorization expires plus one of the listed numbers, such as their USCIS number. You may not ask for documents to verify those entries, per the Form I-9 instructions.
• Section 2, List A. An unexpired EAD is a List A document on its own (M-274 13.1). Record "EAD," USCIS as the issuing authority, the card number and the expiration date, and ask for nothing else.
• Other choices. The employee may present any other acceptable List A document, or a List B plus List C combination. A Social Security card carrying a restriction such as "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" is not a List C document, so if that is what is offered, the employee chooses another List C or a List A document.
• E-Verify. An EAD is one of the documents E-Verify employers must copy and keep with Form I-9, and it triggers photo matching; see E-Verify photo matching.

You do not need to know that an EAD is DACA-based, and nothing in the Form I-9 process asks the employee to say so. M-274 Section 11.4 tells employers not to "request that non-U.S. citizens present DHS-issued documents," so do not ask for the EAD by name either.

Does a DACA renewal receipt extend the EAD?

No. Before October 30, 2025, some EADs were automatically extended for up to 540 days when a renewal was filed on time, but only in listed categories. M-274 Section 5.1 gives the list: A03, A05, A07, A08, A10, A17, A18, C08, C09, C10, C16, C20, C22, C24, C26, C31, and A12 or C19. C33 is not on it. For renewals filed on or after October 30, 2025, most categories get no automatic extension at all, as EAD automatic extensions and Form I-9 explains. So an expired C33 card plus a Form I-797C receipt notice is not acceptable for Form I-9.

Two older practices cause confusion. USCIS's 2021 I-9 Central item on a "DACA Ext." notation for one-year I-797 extension notices is now marked "Archived Content" and "out of date." And USCIS's litigation FAQ says that if DACA expires before a renewal is approved, the person does not have DACA for the gap. USCIS recommends filing renewals 120 to 150 days before the current DACA expires, which is why a neutral reminder well before an EAD's expiration date helps both sides.

How do you reverify a DACA recipient?

1. Track the date. Use the EAD expiration date from Section 2 (and Section 1). The E-Verify alert, if you use it, is a reminder only.
2. Send a neutral reminder. Send the same reminder to every employee whose employment authorization document expires, well ahead of the date. Do not single out DACA recipients.
3. Reverify by the expiration date. M-274 Section 6.1 says to reverify "no later than the date employment authorization expires," using any List A or List C document the employee chooses, "including an unrestricted Social Security card." Complete a Supplement B block and attach it to the original form.
4. If nothing acceptable is presented by the date, Section 6.1 says "you cannot continue employing a person who does not provide proof of current employment authorization." Talk to counsel about leave or rehire options before ending employment.
5. Do not use E-Verify. The E-Verify User Manual says not to create a case for reverification.
6. When the new EAD arrives, record it on Supplement B. If the employee was separated in the gap and returns, the rehire rules apply; see Form I-9 for rehires.

A worked example

The dates are illustrative. An employee's C33 EAD shows "Card Expires" March 31, 2027.

• Late October 2026: the reverification tracker flags the date, about five months out, and HR sends its standard expiring-document reminder, the same one every employee with an expiring document receives.
• December 2026: the employee mentions they have filed to renew and shows a Form I-797C. HR notes it but changes nothing on Form I-9, because a C33 receipt is not an extension.
• March 31, 2027: the new card has not arrived. HR tells the employee that any unexpired List A or List C document will do. None is available, so HR and counsel handle the gap under Section 6.1's rule that the person cannot keep working without proof of current authorization.
• April 2027: the new EAD arrives. HR records it on Supplement B if the employee is still on the payroll, or follows the rehire rules if they were separated.

At no point did HR ask about DACA, ask for the EAD by name or create an E-Verify case.

What changes when a staffing agency places the employee?

The agency is the employer, so it completes Form I-9 and runs reverification, not the client (M-274 2.0). Keep the reverification calendar centrally rather than at the branch that placed the worker, so an assignment change does not lose the date. A client has no role in the employee's documents; if a client asks which workers have DACA or expiring cards, the answer is that the agency handles Form I-9 for its employees.

What do the DACA court rulings mean for employers right now?

On January 17, 2025, the Fifth Circuit (opinion posted by USCIS) largely agreed that the DACA Final Rule is unlawful but did not disturb DACA's policy of forbearance. It limited injunctive relief, including the vacatur of the Final Rule, to Texas, required the relief to follow the rule's severability provision, sent the case back to the district court, and preserved the stay for existing recipients pending further order.

USCIS's DACA page, as of November 2026, says that pursuant to the court's order it "will continue to accept and process DACA renewal requests and accompanying applications for employment authorization," will accept but not process initial requests, and that "current grants of DACA and related Employment Authorization Documents remain valid until they expire, unless individually terminated." For employers that means:

• a valid C33 EAD is valid through its printed date, in every state, unless USCIS says otherwise;
• do not reverify early, ask for new documents or take action because of a news report about the case;
• if you employ DACA recipients in Texas, the state the order names, watch USCIS's DACA page for any instructions that follow the district court's next steps.

What should you avoid with DACA recipients?

M-274 Section 11.4 warns that doing any of the avoided things based on citizenship, immigration status or national origin "may violate federal discrimination laws"; I-9 document abuse covers that rule in full.

A DACA Form I-9 checklist

• Record the EAD's category, number and expiration date exactly as printed.
• Calendar reverification for the printed date; there is no automatic extension for C33.
• Send expiring-document reminders to everyone with an expiring document, early.
• Reverify on Supplement B with any List A or List C document; never create an E-Verify case for it.
• Keep DACA status out of interview notes and hiring discussions.
• Recheck USCIS's DACA page whenever the litigation is in the news.