Filing Your Form G-28
An attorney or a representative accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals (legal representative) may represent you before USCIS if you are applying for an immigration benefit or requesting a form of relief with USCIS.
If you want USCIS to communicate with your legal representative about your case, you must submit a Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative. For more information on finding a legal representative, please visit our Find Legal Services page.
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Filing Form G-28
When you file Form G-28 (edition date: 05/23/18 and 9/17/18), you can specify your preference for receiving notices and secure documents from USCIS.
If an applicant, petitioner, or requestor submits an application or benefit request with a previous version of Form G-28, we will only accept the application or request as long as it meets the acceptance criteria. In this situation, we will not accept Form G-28 and will send all notices and secure documents back to the applicant/petitioner/requestor.
Options for Receiving Notices and Secure Documents
The 05/23/18 and 9/17/18 editions of Form G-28 allow you to tell us how you would like to receive notices and secure documents.
The chart below summarizes your options:
| Document type | If you want… | Then you must… | Examples: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notices, including notices with a tear-off Form I-94 | USCIS to send notices to your legal representative | Check the box next to Item Number 1.a. in Part 4 of Form G-28. |
Examples of notices include:
Examples of forms where a tear off-Form I-94 is issued upon approval include:
|
| Secure Documents | USCIS to send secure documents to your legal representative | Check the box next to Item Number 1.b. in Part 4 of Form G-28. |
|
| Notices with a tear-off Form I-94 | USCIS to send notices to you | Check the box next to Item Number 1.c. in Part 4 of Form G-28. |
Examples of forms where a tear off-Form I-94 is issued upon approval include:
|
If you choose to have notices sent to your legal representative, we will still send you a courtesy copy.
Victim Cases (For example - T and U Nonimmigrants, VAWA)
| If... | And... | Then... | Examples: |
|---|---|---|---|
| You filed a victim protection benefit request | You have a Form G-28 on file |
We will send all notices, approval notices with tear-off Forms I-94, and secure documents to your legal representative, unless you give us a different safe address |
The forms for victim-related cases include:
|
| You filed a victim protection benefit request | You do not have a Form G-28 on file, but the form shows that a preparer helped you | We will send all communication and documents to your preparer, unless you give us a different safe address |
Cases Filed with USCIS before May 18, 2015
If you submitted a Form G-28 with your case before May 18, 2015, you do not need to send us a new Form G-28 to tell us your mailing preferences for notices. We will send them to your legal representative as long as your Form G-28 is still valid. If you want to change or withdraw your legal representative, or tell us your mailing preferences for secure documents, see below.
Keep Your Current Legal Representative
| If you already submitted a Form G-28 and you want… | You must... | And mail it to... |
|---|---|---|
|
To keep your current legal representative AND USCIS to send your secure document(s) to your legal representative |
Complete a new Form G-28 (edition date: 05/23/18 or 09/17/18), and make sure you and your legal representative complete and sign the appropriate sections of the form. Indicate your mailing preferences by checking the box next to Item Number 1.b. in Part 4 for secure documents. |
The USCIS office where your case is pending. You can find the USCIS office address on the most recent notice you received from USCIS. |
Change or Withdraw Your Current Legal Representative
| If you already submitted a Form G-28, but you want to… | You must... | And mail it to... |
|---|---|---|
| Change your legal representative | Complete a new Form G-28 (edition date: 05/23/18 or 09/17/18), and make sure you and your new legal representative complete and sign the appropriate sections of the form. Indicate your mailing preferences by checking the box next to Item Number 1.a. for notices and/or Item Number 1.b. for secure documents in Part 4. |
The USCIS office where your case is pending. Find the USCIS office address on the most recent notice you received from USCIS. |
| Withdraw your legal representative |
Send us a letter saying you want to withdraw your legal representative and intend to continue your case without any legal representation. If you do so, USCIS will communicate only with you. |
Make sure that you write “ATTN: G-28” on the line below the P.O. Box on your mailing envelope so we can send your new Form G-28 to the correct location. It is also very important that you give us the receipt number for your pending case. We receive thousands of filings every week, and it is possible that we may have already taken action on your case by the time we receive your new Form G-28. Please know that we make every effort to match your new Form G-28 to your pending case as quickly as possible.
Legal Representative Change of Address
If you are a legal representative and you need to change your address on file with USCIS, you may do so by doing one of the following:
- Submit a new Form G-28 for every pending case and include the receipt number, OR
- Submit a letter on your office stationery that clearly states “ATTORNEY CHANGE OF ADDRESS.” Your letter must include a spreadsheet of pending cases with the form type, receipt number, A-Number, and the applicant's name listed for each case.
You must submit your form or letter to the USCIS office where the cases are currently pending.
Helpful Filing Tips
If you do not properly complete your Form G-28, we will not accept it. This means that we will not send any notices or secure documents to your legal representative and will not recognize any mailing preferences you may have.
To make sure we accept your Form G-28, follow these tips to avoid common mistakes:
- Sign your Form G-28 with a black pen. The most common mistake we see is that the form is not signed. We will not accept a stamped or typewritten name in place of a signature. However, we will consider a photocopied, faxed, or scanned copy of the original handwritten signature valid for filing purposes. The photocopy, fax, or scan must be of the original document containing the handwritten, ink signature.
- You must sign in Part 4.
- Your legal representative must sign in Part 5.
- When signing Part 4, remember to tell us your preferences for where you would like your notices and secure documents mailed (for example, to you or to your attorney of record/accredited representative).
- Make sure the information is clear on the form.
- If you complete the form by hand, use a black pen and write inside the spaces provided;
- Never use highlighters or correction fluid; and
- Never gray out any part of the form.
- Properly complete the form.
- Complete ALL of the fields in Part 1;
- List the first and last name of the legal representative; and
- Include your first and last name exactly as it appears on the related immigration form. If you are filing a petition, enter the petitioner’s information (not yours). If you are filing an application, your name.
- Do not send another Form G-28 to a lockbox facility.