Beginning September 10, 2025, a new directive from federal regulators requires that anyone who seeks individualized workforce services from IowaWORKS must first prove their eligibility for those services. This means that job seekers who request one-on-one assistance, and who have not received unemployment benefits in the past 12 months, will be required to prove either their American citizenship or that they have the correct immigration status to be employed.
Note:
- This requirement will not impact U.S. citizens who received unemployment benefits (and had their status verified as a part of that process) within the past 12 months.
- For others, failure to provide the required documentation could prevent you from receiving any services beyond general information.
See below for specifics on what you will need to be able to access job search and other services available through IowaWORKS. By preparing yourself for this change, you will avoid delays and be able to spend your time focused on finding a new career through the help of IowaWORKS.
New IowaWORKS Policy Change: What Job Seekers Need to Know
The change is required by a directive issued on July 10, 2025, by the U.S. Department of Labor (TEGL 10-23, Change 2 – Work Authorization Verification | Grant Programs Administered by the Employment and Training Administration).
The new directive requires that Iowans verify their eligibility before receiving any individualized job services from IowaWORKS. This applies to anyone who has not received unemployment benefits within the past 12 months.
Starting September 10, everyone who seeks more than general information from IowaWORKS will first be required by the new federal directive to show documents proving his or her ability to work legally in the U.S. (A chart of documents acceptable as proof is shown lower down on this page.)
Reminder: If you have received unemployment benefits in the past 12 months, this requirement will not apply to you.
How This Applies:
- American citizens who have not received unemployment benefits (and had citizenship verified) in the past 12 months will need to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship.
- Non-citizens must provide documents that prove their legal authority to work in order to receive individualized services. IowaWORKS will continue to check work authorization at least once every three months.
Note: While U.S. citizenship provides permanent authorization to hold a job in this country, the new federal directive requires that Iowa validate the work authorization of people with a temporary status at least once every three months. Iowa will do this by using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
IWD has modified the IowaWORKS.gov computer system so that unemployment claimants can upload documents directly to the system. Customers who visit an IowaWORKS location on or after September 10 will have their documents photographed and uploaded into the system by IowaWORKS staff.
- Note: IowaWORKS staff in many cases will be using state-owned smartphones to photograph and upload documents. IowaWORKS is required to store these documents electronically but will delete items on the phone after they are uploaded and will not maintain any paper copies of the documents provided.
If this rule applies to you (and you haven't received unemployment benefits in the past 12 months), IowaWORKS recommends bringing these documents with you
to the American Job Center or uploading them into your IowaWORKS.gov account prior to seeking assistance.
To prove your eligibility, you may provide one document from List A or one document from List C:
LIST A Documents that Establish Both Identity and Employment Authorization |
|---|
| 1. U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport Card |
| 2. Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551) |
| 3. Foreign passport that contains a temporary I-551 stamp or temporary I-551 printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa |
| 4. Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766) |
5. For an individual temporarily authorized to work for a specific employer because of his or her status or parole: a. Foreign passport; and b. Form I-94 or Form I-94A that has the following: (1) The same name as the passport; and (2) An endorsement of the individual's status or parole as long as that period of endorsement has not yet expired and the proposed employment is not in conflict with any restrictions or limitations identified on the form. |
| 6. Passport from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) or the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) with Form I-94 or Form I-94A indicating nonimmigrant admission under the Compact of Free Association Between the United States and the FSM or RMI |
LIST C Documents that Establish Employment Authorization |
|---|
1. A Social Security Account Number card, unless the card includes one of the following restrictions: (1) NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT (2) VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH INS AUTHORIZATION (3) VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION |
| 2. Certification of report of birth issued by the Department of State (Forms DS-1350, FS-545, FS-240) |
| 3. Original or certified copy of birth certificate issued by a State, county, municipal authority, or territory of the United States bearing an official sea |
| 4. Native American tribal document |
| 5. U.S. Citizen ID Card (Form I-197) |
| 6. Identification Card for Use of Resident Citizen in the United States (Form I-179) |
7. Employment authorization document issued by the Department of Homeland Security For examples, see Section 7 and Section 13 of the M-274 onuscis.gov/i-9-central. The Form I-766, Employment Authorization Document, is a List A, Item Number 4. document, not a List C document. |
IowaWORKS also will use the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system to verify the immigration status and work authorization for non-U.S. citizens.
If you do not provide the required proof of work authorization status, you will be limited in the individualized services you can receive from IowaWORKS.
While you will continue to be able to attend online group workshops or seek answers to generic questions (for example, "How do you file an unemployment claim?"), the new federal directive requires proof of eligibility for any one-on-one service that's provided. That means job seekers who fail to provide the necessary documents will be unable to obtain services such as individualized job search advice, personalized resume assistance, or any other form of one-on-one career counseling.
You must be registered in the IowaWORKS.gov system to upload documents.
(To register, go to www.iowaworks.gov and select the “Sign In/Register” dropdown. Then, select “Individual” and follow the prompts.)
If you're registered already, follow the directions below. (PDF Version: How to Upload Documents in IowaWORKS)
- Login to IowaWORKS.gov
- Select the Menu button in the top left-hand corner, and then select “Upload a Document” in the Document Management Menu.
- Select the correct Document Description from the drop down menu and then enter “Work Authorization” in the Document Tag box.
- Attach Document by dragging image of work authorization document or selecting Browse Files to find image.
- Select Save.
Reminder: If you have received unemployment benefits in the past 12 months, this requirement will not apply to you.
IowaWORKS Offices
This new rule applies to individualized services (outside of unemployment benefits) that are experienced at IowaWORKS Centers. For any questions or to find support, locate your nearest IowaWORKS Office.