Short answer: "online" describes where the work happens. It does not tell you who is legally responsible for your case. Under the federal regulation, three different things get offered under similar-sounding names. Helping someone fill in the blank spaces on a printed form, for little or no money and without holding yourself out as qualified in legal matters, is not the practice of immigration law. Studying the facts of a case and the law that applies, and giving advice on it, is. Going on the record so the agency deals with you is a further step again. Doing any of it over the internet changes none of it. This article is about cases handled inside the United States by USCIS. As of September 2026.
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The rule about who may act for you
The regulation lists the people who may represent someone before the immigration agency, and the list is short: attorneys licensed in the United States; a representative accredited by the Board for a recognized organization; law students, and law graduates not yet admitted to the bar, working under supervision and without pay from you; a reputable individual of good character who has a pre-existing relationship with you, appears on a single case at your request, and files a written declaration that they are not being paid; an accredited official of your own government, in an official capacity and with your consent; and a foreign attorney, for matters outside the United States. Several of those also need the official before whom they appear to allow it. The list closes with a sentence that leaves little room: apart from what the regulation itself sets out, no other person may represent others in any case.
Something else follows from the definitions, and it matters more than the label on the service. Representation before the agency includes preparation, and preparation here means studying the facts of your case and the applicable law and giving advice. So the moment a service moves past filling in what you dictate and starts telling you what your history means, it is doing the thing the regulation is about. Whether a person who is not a lawyer may advise you at all is a separate question answered by each state's rules on the unauthorized practice of law, and those differ from state to state. Note also that an accredited representative is not a lawyer and may still advise and represent.
What being "on the record" changes, and how to check
When an attorney or accredited representative is on the record for you, the agency deals with them: notices go to them, papers are served on them, and applications and responses can be filed by them. If no one is on the record, the agency deals with you directly. Your representative may also appear with you at an interview, question you and any witnesses, put objections on the record, submit evidence, and file briefs. You still answer the officer's questions yourself.
There is a way to check this that does not depend on anyone's word. An appearance is recognized only when the appearance form is filed and you have signed it to authorize the representation. If you never signed one, no one is on the record for you. USCIS calls that form G-28.
Five questions worth asking any online service
- Who is the attorney, by name, and where are they licensed? A bar admission is public and can be looked up in that state.
- Will an attorney go on the record for me, or will the agency treat me as filing for myself? Both can be legitimate; they are different services with different prices.
- What exactly does the fee cover, and what is billed separately?
- Who reads my answers before anything is filed, and who answers if the agency asks for more evidence later?
- Who do I write to when something changes in my case, and how fast do they answer?
None of those questions are rude. They are the questions that separate the three kinds of work described above.
Where the answer splits
- A case with nothing unusual in it still has to clear the eligibility rules and the timing rules before anything is filed. "Nothing unusual" is a conclusion, not a starting assumption, and it is checked rather than assumed.
- A case with something in it is a different job. An overstay, work without permission, an arrest, a prior petition, a status gap, a spouse who is a permanent resident rather than a citizen: each of those changes which rules apply and what has to be shown. Judging that is the part that the three kinds of work do not share.
- Online or on paper does not change the rules about representation. Working with a lawyer remotely and filing electronically are two separate things, and how a particular application may be filed follows the current instructions for that form.
- A case going through a consulate abroad is outside this article. Whether an attorney may attend a consular interview is decided by that post.
How our own service is set up
The legal service here is provided by Cho & Associates, the Law Office of Jin D. Cho, P.C. Jin D. Cho is admitted to practice law in New York. The website is operated by Kopernikus LLC, which is not a law firm, does not provide legal services, and does not receive legal fees.
There are two fixed service fees. Limited-Scope Attorney Preparation, $1,499: the attorney reviews your answers and prepares the complete package, and you file it yourself. Form G-28 is not filed in this tier, so USCIS treats you as self-represented and sends every notice directly to you. Full Attorney Representation, $2,999: the attorney goes on the record, files the case as your representative, and responds to a standard request for further evidence or notice of intent to deny in this marriage case.
Billed separately in both: government filing fees; attorney attendance in person at the interview, which is a separate written add-on available for the New York City and Newark USCIS field offices; translations beyond what a service includes; highly complex evidence requests, and any request that arises from facts not disclosed before filing; and anything outside this one marriage-based filing. The written scope of each service, including what is not included, is published at greencard4spouse.com/scope.
FAQ
Can an online service file my case for me? Only if the person doing it is on the list of people who may represent others, and only if they are on the record in your case. That is a fact about the person, not about the website.
Can a company answer my legal questions if a lawyer works there somewhere? Advice about your case has to come from someone allowed to give it. If you cannot find out who that person is, treat the question as unanswered.
Can a friend or relative act as my representative? Within the rule, yes: on a single case, at your request, without being paid, with a written declaration to that effect, and normally with a pre-existing relationship, which the agency may waive if you would otherwise have no representation at all. The official before whom they appear has to allow it, and permission is not given to anyone who regularly does immigration work or who holds themselves out to the public as qualified to do it. Helping you in ordinary ways, such as translating or coming with you, is not what this rule is about.
What is the difference between preparing my case and representing me? Preparing a case in the legal sense already includes studying your facts and the law and advising you, and the regulation treats that as representation. What the record adds is the agency dealing with your representative instead of with you. The fee, the paperwork, and who receives the notices all differ.
General information only — not legal advice for your case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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