Today, August 17, 2015, USCIS published a new version of Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, which includes a revised version of the "Preparer's Declaration" section.
The revisions come following changes made to in the Preparer's Declaration in the version of the Form I-129 with an an edition date of October 23, 2014. In that version, the I-129 Preparer's Declaration included the following language:
By my signature, I certify, swear or affirm, under penalty of perjury, that I prepared this form on behalf of, at the request of, and with the express consent of, the petitioner. I completed the form based only on responses the petitioner provided to me. After completing the form, I reviewed it and all of the petitioner's responses with the petitioner, who agreed with every answer provided for every question on the form and, when required, supplied additional information to respond to a question on the form.
Many practitioners felt this wording, which appeared to dictate the procedures used by preparers and their clients to gather the information required to complete petitions for immigration benefits, imposed an undue burden on preparers and petitioners alike. The revised Preparer's Declaration now reads:
By my signature, I certify, swear, or affirm, under penalty of perjury, that I prepared this petition on behalf of, at the request of, and with the express consent of the petitioner or authorized signatory.
The petitioner has reviewed this completed petition as prepared by me and informed me that all of the information in the form and in the supporting documents, is complete, true, and correct.
The new language appears to be more in line with the applicable regulations which require that preparers and petitioners certify that the documentation and information submitted to USCIS is true and correct but does not mandate any specific procedures for preparation and review.