Signatures on USCIS forms from 10 July 2026: what is valid

What changed on 10 July 2026

Until then USCIS's power to deny a form with an invalid signature discovered after acceptance rested on an internal document - Policy Memorandum PM-602-0134.1 of 15 February 2018, incorporated into the Policy Manual (Volume 1, Part B, Chapter 2) on 5 March 2020. It was never published in the Federal Register, and responses to denials could argue "it is only a memorandum".

On 11 May 2026 DHS published the rule "Signatures on Immigration Benefit Requests" (91 FR 25479, FR Doc. 2026-09289) as an interim final rule - effective immediately, without the usual proposed-rule cycle. It took effect on 10 July 2026, which was also the last day for comments in docket USCIS-2026-0166 on regulations.gov. The provision now sits at 8 CFR 103.2(a)(7)(ii)(A).

The load-bearing word is "may": USCIS may reject or deny. The decision is discretionary rather than automatic, and the "only a memorandum" objection no longer works.

The text of the rule

Every form, benefit request, or other document that requires a signature must be submitted with a valid signature.

If USCIS accepts a benefit request and determines later that the request was not submitted with a valid signature, USCIS may reject or deny the request, except…

The exception concerns applications for a certificate of citizenship (N-600 and N-600K): if the invalid signature is the only deficiency, such a form may only be rejected, not denied. The full exception text is in the rule linked at the end.

Which signatures are valid

A phone photo of a paper form signed by hand is treated by the analysis author as a "copy" - it works in practice, but that is an observation, not the rule's wording.

A scanned, copied, or faxed version of the originally signed benefit request, with the wet-ink signature on it, suffices

Which signatures are invalid

Beyond these processes, an electronic signature is not valid and only a requestor's handwritten signature is valid.

Three "it depends" cases:

• A physician's stamp on Form I-693 - valid if the physician is blanket-designated and the form instructions allow it (footnote 20 of the rule).
• A PDF uploaded to myUSCIS by the applicant (PDFi): if the system detects no handwritten mark, it may prompt for a secure electronic signature - the one case where an electronic signature on a PDF is valid.
• An upload through an attorney's myUSCIS account: no electronic signature exists there at all; a scan of the form signed by hand is required.

This option only applies to benefit requestor-filed submissions; no electronic signature option is currently available for attorney-filed PDFi submissions

What exactly you did - and whether it is valid

The rule's boundaries

The rule covers only the signature field of the USCIS form itself - what sits under "I certify, under penalty of perjury". Recommendation letters, expert opinions, affidavits and translator certificates are outside it: third parties' electronic signatures on those documents normally cause no problems. Translation certificate requirements are in a separate article.

Form by form

The rule does not distinguish between forms: it applies equally to I-129, I-130, I-140, I-485, I-539, I-765, I-131, N-400 and the rest. The only exception is N-600 and N-600K. But the cost of a mistake differs by form.

• I-140 (EB-1A, EB-2 NIW, EB-2 and EB-3). The rule's preamble describes a consulting firm that filed about 3,000 I-140 petitions with one pasted signature, no preparer section and no G-28. For the applicant a signature denial means losing the filing date and, as a rule, the priority date. In an EB-1A or NIW self-petition the petitioner is you: you sign as petitioner.
• I-129 (O-1). The second preamble case: a company's authorized signatory signed a blank sheet and a subordinate pasted that signature into 20-plus I-129 petitions. The petitioner signs - the employer or agent through an authorized person (an executive or designated officer), each form separately by hand. The route after a denial is an appeal or motion on Form I-290B ($800 per G-1055).
• I-907 (premium processing). The rule sets no separate refund rule for the premium fee after a signature denial; the fee's fate depends on I-907's own terms - above all whether USCIS took action on the case within the deadline.
• I-485 and I-539. A pending I-485 is not a status but a basis for lawful stay and derivative benefits (EAD, advance parole). If a signature denial arrives a year later, that basis disappears with them, and without another valid status unlawful presence starts accruing: 180 days plus a departure brings a three-year bar, 365 days a ten-year one. These forms deserve extra care.
• N-600 and N-600K. If the signature is the only deficiency, the form is only returned, with the fee.

In one case, the authorized signatory signed a blank sheet of paper and had their subordinate copy that signature onto at least 20 Petitions for Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129).

What happens when a signature is invalid

Processing has two stages. At intake (the lockbox or myUSCIS) staff check payment and the presence of a signature: a defect there is a reject, the money comes back and the case counts as never filed. A pasted image is usually indistinguishable from a real signature at this stage. An officer finds it during adjudication - sometimes months later, by comparing signatures across forms. Then a denial with the fee retained and the place in line lost becomes possible.

An RFE may come in that situation - not so you can sign again, but so you can prove the signature was genuine from the start (for example, with the original bearing the handwritten signature). Prove it and the case continues; fail and it is a reject or deny.

USCIS officers have no discretion to 'cure' an invalid signature or deficient signature that would have rendered the filing invalid at the time of submission.

USCIS has anecdotal evidence of practitioners who submit a known bad signature so they can get their spot in the processing line with their plan being to fix it later.

How an officer chooses between reject and deny the rule does not spell out. By the analysis author's reconstruction, a denial is likelier for a systematic workaround - one signature across many forms, software signatures - and a reject for a one-off slip. The first AAO decisions will draw the line.

Transition rules

• The rule applies to forms filed on or after 10 July 2026.
• Forms filed earlier stay under the previous regime - but the 2018 memorandum already allowed a denial over an invalid signature; the regulation merely codified it.
• If you are worried about a petition already filed, collect and keep the originals of every form with handwritten signatures: that is the answer to a possible RFE.

The numbers from the rule's preamble

Denials over invalid signatures, per DHS (query PAER0020097, January 2026): 2021 - 300, 2022 - 436, 2023 - 727, 2024 - 1,545, 2025 - 2,953. Almost a tenfold rise in four years; DHS projects about 1,200 denials a year once the rule is in force. The AAO has recorded 758 appeals where the denial ground was precisely a copied signature.

How to sign so the question never arises

Five rules:

1. Sign every form separately, by hand.
2. If there are many forms - say a corporate filing of ten petitions - each gets its own handwritten signature, not a copied image.
3. A scan or photo of paper signed by hand is acceptable.
4. Electronic signatures on USCIS forms are not, except for the one case below.
5. An electronic signature is valid only through guided e-filing on myUSCIS; an attorney's myUSCIS account has no such option.

For companies and attorneys: the authorized signatory signs every form personally, the company keeps the originals, and what goes to USCIS is the original or an acceptable copy of the very form that was signed.

FAQ

Related

Official sources

• Signatures on Immigration Benefit Requests, 91 FR 25479 (11 May 2026) - the rule and its preamble
• 8 CFR 103.2 - filing and adjudication of forms, signature requirements
• USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part B, Chapter 2 - signatures
• Docket USCIS-2026-0166 - comments on the rule
• G-1055, fee schedule

Reference material, not legal advice: rules and practice change - check the primary sources and consult a licensed attorney where needed.

Related materials - Prepare and file

• What Makes Up an O-1, EB-1, and EB-2 NIW Petition
• Examples of O-1, EB-1, EB-2 NIW Petitions from Open Sources
• Self-check for an O-1 or EB-1A petition: the RFE checklist
• O-1 Petitioners and Employers: Who Can File?
• O-1 Agent Petition: What It Is and Who Needs It
• Letters of Intent and Documents for the O-1 Agent Model
• Filing an O-1/EB-1/EB-2 petition inside the U.S. or abroad
• Attorney for US O-1/EB-1/EB-2 NIW talent visa: needed?
• Services and contractors for O-1, EB-1 and NIW petitions
• Talent Visa Services Marketplace
• How to Check an Attorney's License Through the State Bar
• US O1/EB1/EB2 talent visa: attorney agreement
• Printing and mailing an O-1/EB-1/EB-2 NIW petition
• Paying USCIS fees: checks, cards, and common mistakes
• What goes into the evidence packet
• What the whole path costs

All articles in «Prepare and file»

Next stepWhich forms do you needWhich forms you need: pick your visa and stage and we show the right USCIS forms.

From community discussions

• «My lawyer told me that at the figure skating World Championships a pair won a medal, but EB-1 was approved for only one person, because collective awards don't count.»

  Maksim · from public community chats

• «Ask them to send all the documents BEFORE they're sent to USCIS. I had errors in the draft: instead of my receipt number there was a different number and person. They apologized and fixed it without any problem. But ask them to check everything before sending - paralegals can screw up, that's a fact.»

  Anna · from public community chats

• «I recommend using completely different wording, fonts, and formatting in the recommendation letters. Each person writes and formats in their own way: Dear USCIS officer, To whom it may concern, Dear Sir/Madam. The closings are different too, the header too - sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left, sometimes a company letterhead.»

  Anastasia · from public community chats

Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.

Did this answer help?

YesNo