The Notice of Appearance and What It Changes

A representative has no standing with the agency until the appearance form is filed. The form has to be properly completed and signed by the person authorizing representation, not just by the representative. Once it is recognized, notices and service run to the representative, and the representative may examine the record and act on the case.

What the form does

The regulation is specific. An appearance must be filed on the form prescribed by the department, by the attorney or accredited representative appearing in the case. The form must be properly completed and signed by the petitioner, applicant or respondent in order for the appearance to be recognized. Two signatures, one page, and without both there is no representative of record.

The signature by the representative is itself a statement. When an appearance is made by someone acting in a representative capacity, their appearance or signature constitutes a representation that they are authorized and qualified to appear under the regulation, and further proof of that authority may be required.

That is why the form is worth reading before signing rather than after. It names the representative, states the basis on which they are eligible, and identifies the matter covered. A form left blank in the eligibility section, or signed in advance of knowing who will act, gives away control of the case. Signing a blank form is the version of this that goes wrong most often, and it is never necessary.

What changes once it is filed

Service is the biggest shift. Where a person is required to give or receive notice, to be served with a document, to make a motion, to file something or to perform or waive an act, that is done by or to the representative of record. The service regulation provides for mailing to the affected party and the representative at their last known addresses, or for electronic delivery to an account.

Access changes too. A party and their representative are permitted to examine the record of proceeding, subject to the rules governing disclosure. And at an examination the representative may examine and cross-examine, introduce evidence, make objections that are entered on the record, and submit briefs.

One limit is worth noting alongside those rights. The regulation states that nothing in that provision gives an applicant for admission at primary or secondary inspection a right to representation, unless the person has become the focus of a criminal investigation and has been taken into custody. Representation before the agency on a benefit request and representation at a port of entry are different things.

The rights are also specific to the matter named on the form. A representative recognized on one filing has no standing to demand information about a different case involving the same person, which occasionally surprises families with several filings in progress at once.

Withdrawal and substitution

The regulation permits substitution on the written withdrawal of the existing representative or on the filing of a new form by a new one. Both routes work, but they depend on different people. A withdrawal depends on the outgoing representative acting, which is exactly what may not happen when a relationship has broken down.

Filing a new form is the more reliable route for that reason. It requires the person's signature and the incoming representative's, and it does not need the cooperation of the person being replaced. Alongside it, a written request for the complete case file should go to the outgoing representative, and a copy of that request should be kept.

Changing representative mid-case is not neutral in timing terms. Deadlines continue to run through the change, and a response window does not pause because a new person has taken over. Where a notice is outstanding, the new representative needs the file and the deadline on the first day, not the second week.

When the form is missing or wrong

Two failures are common. The first is a helper who acts without ever filing an appearance, communicating with the agency informally and appearing at an interview as a friend. That person is not a representative and cannot lawfully act as one; who may is set out in who may lawfully represent you before the agency.

The second is an appearance filed by someone who then also completes the forms and signs where the applicant should sign. Preparing a form and representing someone are different roles with different declarations, and the boundary is described in form preparers who are not representatives. A representative who signs the applicant's line has created a signature defect on top of everything else.

A third problem surfaces later. Where the address on the appearance form is wrong or out of date, notices go to a place nobody reads, and a missed response window follows. That specific failure has a remedy on a motion, since a request sent to an address other than the one on the filing or the notice of representation is a stated ground for reopening; the mechanics are in a motion to reopen on new facts.

Deciding whether to file one

Not every case needs a representative, and an appearance filed by the wrong person is worse than none. What it should reflect is a considered decision that someone eligible, verified and accountable is taking the case on, with the scope written down.

Where a case has a contested element, a prior refusal or a deadline already running, the decision is easier, and speaking with a notice of appearance immigration attorney before signing anything is the point at which the scope and the fee should be settled. Whatever is agreed, keep a copy of the signed form with the case file, since it is the document that proves who was entitled to receive the notices.