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USCIS Imposes New Signature Requirements

May 14, 2026

Effective July 10, 2026, DHS has issued a new rule affecting signatures on USCIS immigration benefit requests. If USCIS accepts an application and later determines that it lacked a valid signature, USCIS may now, in its discretion, reject or deny the application.

What does this new rule mean for filing applications with USCIS?

• It gives officers discretion to reject or deny an improperly signed filing, instead of treating every post-acceptance signature issue the same way.
• The rule reflects USCIS’s concern that some invalid signatures are not caught at intake.
• USCIS is not changing the underlying rule that a valid signature is still required, and it is not creating a cure process for deficient signatures.

Takeaway: Ensure every USCIS application is signed by the properly authorized person, with no stamped, typed, copied, or otherwise improper signature. Signature defects can now lead to rejection or denial, delay in adjudication, and potential loss of the filing fee.

For USCIS’s definition of a “valid signature”, see Chapter 2 – Signatures | USCIS.

Read more here: Interim final DHS rule, “Signatures on Immigration Benefit Requests”

TAGS: Immigration, USCIS