New immigrant setup guide
Job search, worker rights and Form I-9
Use official job-search services, understand basic wage and safety protections, and know the employee's right to choose acceptable Form I-9 documents.
Written and checked by the QueueCheck editorial team. Last checked September 25, 2026. How we verify information
Start here
Finding work, proving employment authorization and understanding workplace rights are three different questions. This guide keeps them separate and directs personal work-authorisation questions back to official documents or qualified legal help.
- 1Use CareerOneStop and state workforce links reached through USAGov.
- 2Prepare a résumé that describes skills and results without unnecessary personal identifiers.
- 3For Form I-9, choose an allowed List A document or the permitted List B and List C combination.
- 4Keep your own record of hours, pay statements and workplace communications.
- 5Use the correct federal agency if wages, safety, discrimination or retaliation becomes a problem.
Start with official job-search infrastructure
USAGov routes job seekers to federal vacancies, state job banks, CareerOneStop centres, training and unemployment resources. These services do not guarantee a job, but they avoid pay-to-apply schemes and provide a reliable way to identify the public workforce office serving an area.
A résumé normally does not need a Social Security number, A-Number, passport number, photograph or immigration-document scan. Share employment-verification documents only at the appropriate hiring stage and through the employer's legitimate process.
Sources: USAGov
Form I-9 document choice belongs to the employee
All U.S. employers complete Form I-9 for new hires. The Department of Justice explains that an employee may present one unexpired List A document, or an unexpired List B document together with an unexpired List C document. An employer generally cannot demand a specific document, request more documents than the form requires or reject documents that reasonably appear genuine and relate to the worker because of citizenship status or national origin.
A lawful permanent resident therefore does not automatically have to show a Green Card if another valid combination satisfies Form I-9. E-Verify employers must also use that system consistently. Personal questions about whether a document proves current work authorisation belong with USCIS guidance or an authorised adviser.
Sources: Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, USCIS
Wages, safety and retaliation
The Department of Labor's migrant-worker site explains rights involving pay, safe conditions, discrimination, organising and protection from retaliation. Coverage can depend on the law and job, but immigration status does not give an employer permission to steal wages or ignore safety rules.
Keep personal records of hours, pay rates, pay statements, job-site addresses and messages. Different agencies handle wage, safety, discrimination and organising complaints, so use the DOL page to reach the correct office rather than sending sensitive facts to QueueCheck.
Sources: Department of Labor
Before you act
This guide provides general public information, not legal, tax, financial, or medical advice. Rules and personal facts can change the answer. Use the official action pages below, and get qualified individual advice where the decision could affect your status, money, health, or a deadline.
Official action pages
Common questions
Must a permanent resident show a Green Card for Form I-9?
Not necessarily. DOJ says employees may choose from the Form I-9 Lists of Acceptable Documents, and employers generally may not demand a specific document.
Does having a Social Security number prove work authorization?
No. Employment authorization and Social Security registration are separate matters.
Official sources used
- How to find a job ↗USAGov · checked September 25, 2026
- Form I-9 and E-Verify ↗Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division · checked September 25, 2026
- I-9 Central ↗USCIS · checked September 25, 2026
- Migrant Worker Rights ↗Department of Labor · checked September 25, 2026
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