Professional Conduct for Practitioners-Rules and Procedures, and Representation and Appearances rule (2022)
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The Professional Conduct for Practitioners-Rules and Procedures, and Representation and Appearances rule is a significant rule issued by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) effective November 14, 2022, that allowed those representing immigrants in front of the Executive Office for Immigration Review assist with immigration paperwork without becoming the immigrant's legal practitioner of record. DOJ issued this rule pursuant to the authority granted it under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).[1]
Timeline
The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:
- November 14, 2022: The final rule took effect.[1]
- September 14, 2022: DOJ issued the final rule.[1]
- October 30, 2020: The comment period closed.[1]
- September 30, 2020: DOJ issued the proposed rule and opened the comment period.[1]
Background
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) allowed immigrants to be represented before an immigration judge provided that the representative fills out an EOIR–28 form to become what is called the practitioner of record. The INA required the practitioner of record to represent the immigrant in every proceeding before a 2015 final rule that allowed the representative to either be present at all proceedings, only at custody and bond hearings, or only at all hearings other than custody and bond hearings. The Professional Conduct for Practitioners-Rules and Procedures, and Representation and Appearances final rule allowed further flexibility for representatives to provide only paperwork assistance.[1]
Summary of the rule
The following is a summary of the rule from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:
| “ |
On March 27, 2019, the Department of Justice (the Department) published in the Federal Register an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit public comments regarding whether the Department should allow practitioners who appear before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to engage in limited representation or representation of a noncitizen during only a portion of the case, beyond what the regulations permitted. On September 30, 2020, after reviewing the comments to the ANPRM, the Department published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The NPRM proposed to amend the regulations to allow practitioners the option of entering a limited appearance to assist pro se individuals with drafting, writing, or filing applications, petitions, briefs, and other documents in proceedings before EOIR, as opposed to requiring the practitioner to enter an appearance to become the 'practitioner of record' and thereby to accept certain obligations and responsibilities. This final rule responds to comments received in response to the NPRM and adopts the proposed rule with changes as described below. Specifically, this final rule permits practitioners to provide document assistance to pro se individuals by entering a limited appearance through new Forms EOIR–60 or EOIR–61, without requiring the practitioner to become the practitioner of record or to submit a motion to withdraw or substitute after completing the document assistance.[1][2] |
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Summary of provisions
The following is a summary of the provisions from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[1]
| “ | The final rule expands the circumstances in which practitioners may assist noncitizens in proceedings before an immigration court and the BIA by allowing practitioners to enter limited appearances—without further obligations or responsibilities to the immigration court, the BIA, or the noncitizen—when only providing assistance with documents filed in those proceedings. The rule clarifies when practitioners must file an appearance and the effect of the entry of a particular appearance. There is no change to the mechanism that causes a practitioner to become the 'practitioner of record,' which authorizes and requires the practitioner to appear before EOIR on behalf of the respondent, file all documents on behalf of the respondent, and accept service of process of all documents filed in the proceedings. A practitioner becomes a practitioner of record only by entering an appearance using a Form EOIR–27 or Form EOIR–28. Under this rule, practitioners may also choose to enter a limited appearance on a Form EOIR–60 or EOIR–61 when only providing document assistance to pro se noncitizens. Such a limited appearance does not restrict practitioners from later filing a Form EOIR–27 or EOIR–28 to enter an appearance as the practitioner of record.[2] | ” |
Significant impact
- See also: Significant regulatory action
Executive Order 12866, issued by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1993, directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine which agency rules qualify as significant rules and thus are subject to OMB review.
Significant rules have had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. Executive Order 12866 further defined an economically significant rule as a significant rule with an associated economic impact of $100 million or more. Executive Order 14094, issued by President Joe Biden (D) on April 6, 2023, made changes to Executive Order 12866, including referring to economically significant rules as section 3(f)(1) significant rules and raising the monetary threshold for economic significance to $200 million or more.[1]
The text of the rule states that OMB deemed this rule significant, but not economically significant:
| “ | The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has determined that this rule is a 'significant regulatory action' under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review). Accordingly, this rule has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.[2] | ” |
Text of the rule
The full text of the rule is available below:[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Federal Register, "Professional Conduct for Practitioners-Rules and Procedures, and Representation and Appearances," February 6, 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
