What to do if…
your work authorisation, visa sponsorship, or security clearance is suddenly at risk

What to do now

1. Get the exact message or notice. Ask the employer, human resources contact, immigration contact, agency, or security office to confirm in writing what has changed. Look for an effective date, response deadline, document request, case number, and the office responsible.

2. Identify which issue is involved. Write down whether the concern is about your current authorization to work, your immigration status, your employer’s future sponsorship, your access to classified information, your security-clearance eligibility, or more than one of these. These are related but not interchangeable.

3. Gather your immigration documents. Collect your passport, visa, most recent Form I-94, employment authorization document if you have one, USCIS receipt and approval notices, copies of petitions or applications, and relevant employer communications. Keep the complete documents together rather than relying on summaries.

4. Check any pending USCIS matter. Use the receipt number on the USCIS notice to review its current online case status. Save a copy of the result, but do not treat an online update alone as a complete answer about your immigration status or permission to work.

5. Confirm whether you may continue working. Ask the employer to state its position in writing. Promptly show your documents and any notice to an independent immigration attorney or a Department of Justice-accredited representative who is authorized to advise on immigration matters.

6. Contact the correct security office. Federal civilian employees should generally contact their agency security officer or human resources office. Military personnel should contact the security officer at their duty station. Department of Defense contractors should generally contact their company’s Facility Security Officer.

7. Ask what the clearance action actually is. Request clarification about whether the matter concerns an investigation, a request for information, temporary access suspension, eligibility review, denial, revocation, or another agency action. Ask for the applicable written instructions and any deadline.

8. Make required reports accurately. Security-reporting procedures can vary by agency. Ask the security office whether the event must be reported, how to submit the report, and what information is required. Keep an authorized record of what you submitted.

9. Create a factual timeline. Record when each message arrived, who sent it, what it said, when any change takes effect, and whom you contacted. Separate confirmed facts from assumptions.

10. Preserve appropriate personal records. Keep lawful personal copies of immigration documents, pay records, employment agreements, and relevant non-classified correspondence somewhere you can access if workplace systems are disabled. Do not retain government or employer material that you are not authorized to possess.

11. Protect the nearest deadline. Show the complete notice to the appropriate adviser as soon as possible, especially if it lists a response date, appointment, document request, employment end date, or proposed international travel.