Amicus Curiae
An amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief is a written document making legal arguments from a person or organization that is not a party to a case, but may have a strong interest in the issue being considered.
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) may occasionally request the submission of amicus curiae briefs to help us review complex or unusual issues of law or policy. We will post solicitations for amicus curiae briefs on this webpage. Each solicitation will include instructions on the brief's format, page length and deadline for submission.
A person or organization that wishes to submit an unsolicited amicus curiae brief may coordinate with the applicant or petitioner. An amicus curiae brief that the AAO has not solicited must be submitted by the recognized party in the proceeding.
The AAO limits amicus curiae to the filing of briefs. Since appearing as an amicus curiae is not the same as representing a party before the AAO, we do not require amici to file a Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative.
Past Amicus Solicitations
In response to a 2015 solicitation (PDF, 60.79 KB) regarding whether the beneficiaries of certain immigrant visa petitions have standing to participate in the administrative adjudication process, the AAO received six responsive amicus briefs: Brief 1, Brief 2 (PDF, 1.47 MB), Brief 3 (PDF, 967.41 KB), Brief 4 (PDF, 2.53 MB), Brief 5 (PDF, 6.58 MB), Brief 6 (PDF, 2.34 MB).
In response to a 2011 solicitation (PDF, 35.57 KB)regarding extraordinary ability petitions, we received five amicus briefs: Brief 1, Brief 2, Brief 3, Brief 4, Brief 5.