Yes, you can apply for jobs now; after an offer, you complete your part of the employer’s I-9 and give the employer a W-4, while USCIS notification depends on whether your case has a special job-reporting or job-portability rule.
“I just got my EAD approved based on a pending case, and this will be my first job in the US. Do I just apply for jobs and start working, or do I need to prepare forms like the I-9 and W-4 myself beforehand? Do I also need to inform USCIS when I get hired?”
Summary
You do not have to prepare an I-9 before accepting a job or independently file a W-4 with the government. The important checks are your work-authorization dates, your employer’s onboarding deadlines, and whether your particular EAD category has an extra reporting rule.
What you report after being hired depends on your EAD category and, for an employment-based green-card case, whether this job replaces its permanent job offer.
If your EAD is based on pending asylum, category (c)(8), or a pending adjustment application, category (c)(9), the cited onboarding rules do not call for a separate USCIS notice just because you were hired. Complete your part of for the employer and give the employer ; an employment-based change to the underlying permanent job offer is the separate exception below. [USCIS I-765 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/I765instr.pdf); [USCIS I-9 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9instr.pdf); [2026 IRS Form W-4](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf)
If this is F-1 , your work must relate to your major and cannot begin before the EAD start date. Report your employment information to your within 10 days; certain post-completion OPT changes can instead be entered through the SEVP Portal. STEM OPT adds Form I-983 and employer conditions, including the new-employer rules described above. This is student-program reporting, not a routine USCIS new-hire notice. [DHS OPT guidance](https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevis-help-hub/student-records/fm-student-employment/f-1-optional-practical-training-opt); [DHS reporting guidance](https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevp-portal-help/maintain-information/opt-student-reporting-requirements); [DHS STEM OPT guidance](https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/stem-opt-hub/for-students/students-stem-opt-reporting-requirements)
If your pending employment-based I-485 relies on an I-140 job offer and this new offer is replacing that future permanent offer, eligible job portability requires to USCIS. The I-485 must have been pending at least 180 days and the new offer must be in the same or a similar occupation. National Interest Waiver and extraordinary-ability cases do not file Supplement J for this purpose. [USCIS Supplement J instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-485supjinstr.pdf)
In every branch, the employer handles its Form I-9 process and you give Form W-4 to the employer—not to USCIS or the IRS as a routine new-hire filing.
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Next steps
These steps take you from an approved EAD to a properly documented first day and first paycheck.
Before choosing a start date
Identify your work-authorization dates and category
Use the EAD’s category and validity dates to select the applicable route above. You can apply and accept an offer now, but plan to show the employer an acceptable, unexpired I-9 document or permitted document combination within three business days of starting; an approval message is not itself the listed Form I-766 card. If your authorization is F-1 OPT, do not work before the EAD start date. [USCIS I-765 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/I765instr.pdf); [USCIS I-9 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9instr.pdf); [DHS OPT guidance](https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevis-help-hub/student-records/fm-student-employment/f-1-optional-practical-training-opt)
Requirements
Before onboarding
Apply for jobs and accept an offer
You need an accepted offer before completing Form I-9. If the job is a STEM OPT employer change, the new employer must be in E-Verify before you begin paid work; you and the employer also have a Form I-983 requirement. If the offer replaces an I-140-backed permanent green-card offer, the Supplement J portability branch above applies instead of treating it as an ordinary hire. [USCIS I-9 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9instr.pdf); [DHS STEM OPT guidance](https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/stem-opt-hub/for-students/students-stem-opt-reporting-requirements); [USCIS Supplement J instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-485supjinstr.pdf)
No later than your first workday
Complete your part of Form I-9
Complete and sign Section 1 of the employer’s [Form I-9](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9instr.pdf) after accepting the offer and no later than the first day you perform paid work. Do not file it yourself with USCIS. Your SSN is normally optional in this section unless the employer participates in E-Verify. [USCIS Form I-9 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9instr.pdf)
Requirements
By the third business day
Show the employer your chosen I-9 documents
Present your chosen documents so the employer can complete Section 2 within three business days after your first day. A photo Form I-766 EAD is one List A choice; the employer cannot require that particular choice if you present another acceptable one. For employment lasting fewer than three business days, Section 2 is due on the first day. [USCIS I-9 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9instr.pdf); [USCIS acceptable documents](https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents)
Requirements
When you start work
Give Form W-4 to your employer
Complete the [2026 Form W-4](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf) and give it to your employer for federal income-tax withholding from your pay; you do not routinely send it to the IRS. If you are a nonresident alien for tax purposes, follow [IRS Notice 1392](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/n1392.pdf) when completing it. [2026 IRS Publication 15](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf)
Requirements
After hire, if applicable
Handle any school report and Social Security follow-up
For OPT, report the employer information to your DSO within 10 days; eligible post-completion OPT students can report certain changes through the SEVP Portal. For a STEM OPT employer change, submit the new Form I-983 to your DSO within 10 days of starting the new opportunity. If you requested an SSN on Form I-765, SSA processes that request without a second application; if its card has not arrived 14 days after your EAD, SSA says you may follow up. If you did not request it, SSA’s [work-permit SSN instructions](https://www.ssa.gov/ssnvisa/ebe.html) say to contact a Social Security office after receiving your EAD. [DHS OPT reporting](https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/sevp-portal-help/maintain-information/opt-student-reporting-requirements); [DHS STEM OPT reporting](https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/stem-opt-hub/for-students/students-stem-opt-reporting-requirements); [SSA instructions](https://www.ssa.gov/ssnvisa/ebe.html)
Requirements
Legal sources
This answer uses USCIS form instructions, the IRS’s 2026 withholding guidance, DHS student-employment guidance, SSA instructions, and E-Verify guidance.
Form I-765 Instructions
USCIS defines the EAD as the card that evidences work authorization.
Definitions, page 1
The EAD is the card (also known as Form I-688A, Form I-688B, Form I-766, or any successor document) issued as evidence that the holder is authorized to work in the United States.
Form I-765 Instructions
Approval and the issuance of EAD evidence are related but distinct from presenting an acceptable I-9 document.
Definitions, page 1
In these cases, your EAD is issued upon approval of your Form I-765, and the EAD is evidence of your employment authorization.
Form I-9 Instructions
You complete the employee section after accepting an offer, no later than your first workday.
Section 1 instructions
Employees must complete and sign **Section 1** of Form I-9 no later than the first day of employment (i.e., the date the employee begins performing labor or services in the United States in return for wages or other remuneration). Employees may complete **Section 1** before the first day of employment, but cannot complete the form before acceptance of an offer of employment.
Form I-9 Instructions
The employer completes Section 2, and you present acceptable evidence within the stated deadline.
Section 2 and employee document instructions
Within three business days after your first day of employment, you, the employee, must present to your employer original, acceptable, and unexpired documentation that establishes your identity and employment authorization.
Form I-9 Instructions
The employer’s Section 2 deadline is shorter for a job lasting fewer than three business days.
Section 2 instructions
Complete **Section 2** within three business days after the employee's first day of employment. If you hire an individual for less than three business days, complete **Section 2** no later than the first day of employment.
Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
A photo EAD is a List A document, though it is not the only permissible I-9 choice.
List A, item 4
Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766)
Form I-9 Instructions
You, not the employer, choose which acceptable I-9 documents to present.
Employee instructions, Lists of Acceptable Documents
An employer cannot specify which documentation you may present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents.
Form I-9 Instructions
The employer retains Form I-9 rather than mailing it to USCIS.
Employer instructions
Do not mail completed forms to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Form I-9 Instructions
The I-9 SSN field has an E-Verify exception.
Section 1 instructions
Providing your 9-digit Social Security number in the Social Security number field is voluntary, unless your employer participates in E-Verify.
E-Verify SSN FAQ
An E-Verify employer should not stop an otherwise eligible new hire solely because an applied-for SSN has not arrived.
Allow the employee to continue to work and create a case in E-Verify using the employee’s SSN as soon as it is available.
2026 Form W-4
You complete the withholding form for your employer, not USCIS.
Instructions at top of form
Give Form W-4 to your employer.
2026 IRS Publication 15
The employer asks for your signed W-4 when you start, for withholding from your first pay.
Form W-4, Publication 15
Ask all new employees to give you a signed Form W-4 when they start work. Make the form effective with the first wage payment.
2026 Form W-4
Different W-4 instructions apply if you are a nonresident alien for tax purposes.
Nonresident alien instructions
If you’re a nonresident alien, see Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens, before completing this form.
IRS Notice 1392
Notice 1392 supplies the modified withholding instructions for nonresident employees.
Introduction
Nonresident aliens must complete Form W-4 using the modified instructions provided later, so that employers can withhold the correct amount of federal income tax from compensation paid for personal services performed in the United States.
DHS F-1 OPT Guidance
OPT has a card start date and school reporting obligation.
OPT workflow
The student must not begin working before the start date on the EAD. When the student is hired, the student reports the employer information to the DSO.
DHS OPT Student Reporting Requirements
OPT changes are reported to the school official or, where available, through the student portal within 10 days.
OPT student reporting
International students must report the following changes to their DSO or via the SEVP Portal within 10 days of the change occurring:
DHS STEM OPT Reporting Requirements
STEM OPT imposes additional conditions when changing employers.
Change in employer
When a STEM OPT student changes employers, the new employer must be enrolled in E-Verify before the student begins to work for pay. The student must also submit a new Form I-983 to their DSO within 10 days of starting the new practical training opportunity.
Form I-485 Supplement J Instructions
Supplement J portability concerns replacement of the offered permanent job, not simply being employed now.
Portability
The new job offer must be in the same or a similar occupational classification as the job offered to you in Form I-140 that is the basis of your Form I-485.
Form I-485 Supplement J Instructions
An eligible employment-based adjustment applicant requests portability with Supplement J only after the stated I-485 waiting period.
Portability requirements, page 2
Additionally, you must file Supplement J to request job portability if you are eligible. To request job portability to a new, permanent job offer under INA section 204(j), you must have a properly filed Form I-485 that: **1.** Has been pending with USCIS for 180 days or more since the receipt date; and **2.** Is based on an approved or pending Form I-140 that names you as the principal beneficiary.
Form I-485 Supplement J Instructions
National Interest Waiver and extraordinary-ability applicants are exceptions to the Supplement J requirement.
Portability exceptions
Individuals seeking or granted a National Interest Waiver of the job offer requirement and individuals seeking or granted classification as an alien of extraordinary ability under INA section 203(b)(1)(A) do not need to file Supplement J.
SSA Enumeration Beyond Entry
An SSN requested on the EAD application is processed without a separate SSA application.
Requesting an SSN with Form I-765
If you apply for an SSN card using Form I-765, you do not have to contact a Social Security office to apply for an SSN card.
SSA Enumeration Beyond Entry
SSA gives a follow-up point if an automatically requested SSN card has not arrived.
Missing SSN card
You can contact us if you do not receive an SSN card 14 days after receiving your EAD, "Green Card", or Certificate of Naturalization.
These are the official rules as published on the cited dates; rules can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice; SettleKit is not a law firm.
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