USCIS Preparer Certification Form: Signature Rules and Penalties

The USCIS preparer certification is the section near the end of nearly every USCIS form where anyone who helped the applicant fill it out must give their contact information and sign under penalty of perjury. It applies to paid immigration document preparers, but it also applies to a friend, spouse, or adult child who typed in the answers. The I-130 instructions state it directly: “Anyone who helped you complete this petition MUST sign and date the petition.”¹

Who Has to Complete It

A preparer, for USCIS purposes, is any person other than the applicant who helps fill in the form. That definition does not depend on payment. USCIS policy requires every person who assisted in completing a benefit request to provide contact information, sign, and date the form in the designated section.²

A widespread misunderstanding is that unpaid family members and friends do not need to sign. They do. The form itself gives them a checkbox with this declaration: “I am not an attorney or accredited representative but have prepared this petition on behalf of the petitioner and with the petitioner’s consent.”³ Free help still counts.

If the same person interpreted for the applicant and helped complete the form, that person has to fill out both the interpreter section and the preparer section.¹

Where the Section Appears

The preparer certification sits near the end of the form, right after the applicant’s own signature. On the I-130 it is “Part 8. Contact Information, Declaration, and Signature of the Person Preparing this Petition, if Other Than the Petitioner.” Other USCIS forms follow the same pattern.⁴ The order is deliberate: the applicant signs their own declaration first, then the preparer certifies their role.

What the Preparer Must Fill In

The section collects enough information for USCIS to identify the preparer and contact them with questions:⁴

Full legal name, matching identification documents.
Business or organization name, if the preparer works for a company or nonprofit; left blank if acting individually.
Complete mailing address, including apartment or suite number.
Daytime phone number and email address.

Then comes the signed certification. On the I-130 it reads: “I certify, under penalty of perjury, that I prepared this petition at the request of the petitioner. The petitioner then reviewed this completed petition and informed me that he or she understands all of the information contained in, and submitted with, his or her petition…and that all of this information is complete, true, and correct. I completed this petition based only on information that the petitioner provided to me or authorized me to obtain or use.”³ The “under penalty of perjury” language is what makes the certification enforceable under 28 U.S.C. § 1746.⁵

Signature Rules That Trip People Up

For paper filings, the preparer’s signature must be an original handwritten signature in ink. A photocopy, scan, or fax of that original is acceptable, but the underlying signature has to be handwritten. USCIS does not accept signatures made by a typewriter, word processor, rubber stamp, or auto-pen device.⁶

Electronic signatures are accepted only for forms filed through the USCIS online system, and only when the form instructions permit online filing and the signer uses the electronic signature process the system provides.⁶ Someone who cannot write can sign with a handwritten “X” or a fingerprint in ink.

Preparers Are Not Attorneys

The preparer certification is designed for people who help complete forms, not for people who give legal advice. A preparer’s role is limited to writing down the applicant’s answers and, in some cases, translating. Preparers cannot recommend which form to file, advise on how to answer a specific question, or evaluate whether an applicant qualifies for a benefit. Any of those activities crosses into the practice of law.

Attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives work under different rules. They are authorized to give legal advice, represent clients at interviews, and advocate on a client’s behalf, and they file Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, in every case where they appear before DHS.⁷ If an attorney’s involvement was limited to helping complete the form, they still have to decide whether their level of involvement and professional responsibility rules call for a G-28.² Accredited representatives are non-attorneys authorized by the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review to represent clients through DOJ-recognized nonprofit organizations.⁸

Why This Matters to the Applicant

Applicants sometimes assume the preparer section only affects the preparer. It does not. If false information appears on your application, you can be held responsible for the misrepresentation, and a finding of willful misrepresentation of a material fact triggers a lifetime bar on admission to the United States unless you qualify for a waiver.⁹

USCIS policy states that when a false representation is made by an applicant’s attorney or agent, the applicant is held responsible if it is established that the applicant was aware of the representative’s actions. Blaming the preparer does not by itself get you out — you would need to show you genuinely lacked the capacity to exercise judgment about what was submitted on your behalf.¹⁰

This is why the preparer’s certification statement specifically requires the preparer to confirm that the applicant reviewed the completed form and understood everything in it. Read every answer before you sign the applicant declaration. Signing a form you have not read undercuts your strongest defense if a misrepresentation issue comes up later.

The “Notario” Warning

In many Latin American countries, a “notario público” is an attorney with substantial legal credentials. In the United States, a notary public is someone authorized by a state to witness signatures and administer oaths, nothing more, and a notario público in the U.S. is not authorized to provide immigration legal services. USCIS warns about people who exploit the confusion, charging high fees to fill out forms — sometimes incorrectly — or handing out legal advice they have no authority to give.¹¹ If someone who is not an attorney or accredited representative claims they can guarantee approval, choose the best visa category for you, or represent you at an interview, those are red flags regardless of the title on the door.

Penalties If the Preparer Cheats

The certification exists because federal law takes preparer fraud seriously. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1324c(e), a person who knowingly conceals that they prepared or helped prepare a falsified immigration application for a fee faces up to five years in federal prison, fines, and a permanent bar on preparing any future immigration applications. A second conviction raises the maximum to fifteen years. The same statute also authorizes civil penalties starting at $250 to $2,000 per fraudulent document, rising to $2,000 to $5,000 per document for repeat offenders already subject to a prior order.¹² False statements on immigration forms can also be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. § 1546, with prison terms up to ten years for a first or second offense and up to fifteen years for a third or later conviction.¹³

Reporting a Preparer

If a preparer committed fraud on your application or engaged in unauthorized practice of law, two federal agencies take complaints. For fraud involving applications and petitions filed with USCIS, report through the USCIS Tip Form. For conduct before immigration courts or unauthorized practice of law more broadly, contact the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program at EOIR.Fraud.Program@usdoj.gov.¹⁴

Include as much detail as you can: dates of service, the preparer’s name and address, which forms they prepared, and any physical evidence such as receipts, contracts, or advertisements. If the person is a licensed attorney or an accredited representative, you can also submit Form EOIR-44 following the directions on the form.¹⁴

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1, Part B, Chapter 5 – Interpreters and Preparers
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-905, Application for Authorization to Issue Certification for Health Care Workers
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1746 – Unsworn Declarations Under Penalty of Perjury
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1, Part B, Chapter 2 – Signatures
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative
8
eCFR. 8 CFR 292.1 – Representation of Others
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8, Part J, Chapter 2 – Overview of Fraud and Willful Misrepresentation
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8, Part J, Chapter 3 – Adjudicating Inadmissibility
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Common Scams
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324c – Penalties for Document Fraud
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1546 – Fraud and Misuse of Visas, Permits, and Other Documents
14
Executive Office for Immigration Review. Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program – How to File a Complaint