§485.40. Maximum Fees for Services

a)         Preparation and Completion of Forms.  Immigration service providers shall charge no more than $5 per quarter hour (15 minutes) for permissible services listed below:

 

1)         Completing a government agency form, requested by the customer and appropriate to the customer's needs, only if the completion of that form does not involve a legal judgment for that particular matter.

 

2)         Transcribing responses to a government agency form that is related to an immigration matter, but not advising a customer as to his or her answers on those forms.

 

3)         Translating information on forms to a customer and translating the customer's answers to questions posed on those forms.

 

4)         Securing for the customer supporting documents currently in existence, such as birth and marriage certificates, that may need to be submitted with government agency forms.

 

5)         Translating documents from a foreign language into English.

 

6)         Preparing or arranging for the preparation of photographs and fingerprints.

 

7)         Arranging for the performance of medical testing (including X-rays and AIDS tests) and the obtaining of reports of such test results.

 

b)         No Attorney Referral Fees.  No person subject to these regulations may charge fees directly or indirectly for referring an individual to an attorney who could undertake legal representation for a person in an immigration matter.

 

c)         Notarization Fees.  Persons subject to these regulations may charge a fee for notarizing documents as permitted by the Illinois Notary Public Act [5 ILCS 312].

 

d)         English, Civics Courses.  Persons subject to this Part may charge reasonable fees for the provision of English and Civics courses, but these fees shall not exceed $5 per classroom hour of instruction.

 

e)         Envelopes, Photographs.  Any person subject to this Part may charge for the provision of envelopes and photographs only if the person who is charged is advised, orally and in writing, and in a language understood by that person, that s/he is free to obtain his or her own photographs and envelopes, and may supply them for use in any submission to INS at no additional charge.  No person subject to this Part may charge for the provision of more photographs than are required by the INS and that are to be provided to INS as part of any submission prepared in whole or in part by such person.