Knowledge Center

Avoid discrimination due to citizenship status and national origin.

Federal law prohibits citizenship status discrimination and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, and recruiting or referring for a fee. Employers may not discriminate against individuals because they are, or are not, U.S. Citizens. Employers may be subject to civil fines and other penalties for violation of these laws. 

Unless legally required, avoid language in job postings that limits eligibility based on citizenship status, for example:  

• "Only U.S. Citizens"  

• "Citizenship Required"  

• "Only U.S. Citizens or Green Card Holders"  

• "H-1Bs Only"  

• "H-1Bs and OPT Preferred"  

• "Must have a U.S. Passport"  

• "Must have a green card"  

• "Must Present U.S. Birth Certificate" 

^{Information found on the Department of Justice’s website, Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring Workers.} 

Instead, here are a few alternative phrases that can be used in your job postings on Dice: 

• Successful applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. 

• Those authorized to work in the U.S. are encouraged to apply. 

• U.S. Citizens, Green Card Holders, and those authorized to work in the U.S. for any employer will be considered. 

• U.S. Citizens/Green Card ONLY due to legal or government contract requirement. 

• Candidate must be able to obtain government security clearance. 

An employer may restrict hiring to U.S. citizens only when required to do so by law, regulation, executive order, or government contract. 

*Dice encourages government entities or government contractors required to hire U.S. citizens only to indicate in each of their postings that citizenship requirements are due to such law, regulation, executive order, or government contract. 

In addition to Best Practices for Online Job Postings available on the Department of Justice website, other information is available on laws prohibiting job discrimination. 

• Department of Justice – Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices: Learn more 

• Department of Homeland Security – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Learn more 

• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Q&A: Learn more 

Additionally, any job posting with any of the below criteria is not permitted to be posted on Dice, as per our Terms of Use.  

• Any posting that requires U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residence in the U.S. as a condition of employment, unless otherwise required in order to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or federal, state or local government contract. 

• Any job requirement or criterion in connection with a job posting that discriminates on the basis of citizenship status or national origin. For more information, please see http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc/htm/best_practices.php. 

• Any job posting opportunity that is not related to technology. 

• Any posting regarding opportunities for training, housing/accommodations, sponsorship, or solicitation of visa transfers or that require fees of any kind or amount. 

• Any postings for email or payment processors, pyramid schemes, memberships, or distributorships. 

^{If you post any prohibited posting, Dice will remove the posting and no credit will be given.}