At the time of this writing the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service is in the process of promulgating a new G-28 form. This form is used to indicate the presence of a licensed attorney or representative in a case pending before USCIS or another branch of the Department of Homeland Security.
American Citizens date, court, and often marry people from countries other than the USA. As a result, there are a large number of United States Immigration petitions submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). In some cases, the petitioner and beneficiary opt to deal with the Immigration matter on their own and in those situations a form G-28 will not be filed. A G-28 is a method of informing the United States government that an accredited representative is entering an appearance in the case, it is generally presented by a United States attorney.
A significant difference between the old and new version of the G28 form is that the new form requires one to indicate in which agency the case is pending. For example, if the matter involves the Customs and Border Protection Service (CBP), then the attorney will check the box which states that the attorney is representing the client in a matter before CBP. If the attorney is representing a client who has had been apprehended by the agency known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), then he or she will be required to indicate that the G28 is submitted in connection with a pending matter before ICE.
When a G28 is submitted in conjunction with a US visa application it is general practice for USCIS to send a copy of all pertinent correspondence to both the petitioner and the petitioner’s attorney. Further, when the United States Embassy sends a letter to the foreign beneficiary informing him or her that they are prepared to set an interview (commonly referred to as the Packet 3 letter), the US attorney will usually be copied in on this correspondence.
As stated previously, the G28 is an effective method of determining whether or not one is dealing with a real attorney as, in general, only a licensed attorney will be authorized to represent clients before USCIS, CBP, and ICE. One should not feel embarrassed to ask for a copy of an attorney’s credentials. Any United States Immigration practitioner who is unable to produce some sort of license (state bar license, state Supreme Court license, Federal Court license, etc.) should be viewed with caution.
The author, Benjamin Hart, is an American attorney with Integrity Legal (Thailand) Co. Ltd. Contact Integrity Legal at 1-877-231-7533 or via email at info@integrity-legal.com. k1 visa or k3 visa
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