New USCIS Guidance on Signature Requirements

Up until now, it was permitted by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for individuals to utilize power of attorney signatures in forms submitted to the agency.

However, effective March 18th, 2018, USCIS will no longer be accepting forms using such power of attorney signatures and will instead be requiring valid signatures from applicants and petitioners. If the forms are filed by a corporation or other legal entity, they must be signed by an authorized person from said entity.

This new prohibition will not affect signatures on behalf of individuals under the age of fourteen or those with applicable disabilities. However, an authorized signatory must be employed by the petitioner and USCIS may simply reject a form with a faulty signature rather than first offering an opportunity to rectify the issue.

It stands that while this is a small and mostly trivial modification to USCIS policy, it is important that it is noted by all attorneys withing immigration law practice and the individuals it may affect.