(a) Form and fees. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, the application must be made on the form prescribed by USCIS for this program and filed in accordance with the instructions for that form. An applicant who submitted to EOIR a completed Form EOIR-40, Application for Suspension of Deportation, before the effective date of the form prescribed by USCIS may apply with the Service by submitting the completed Form EOIR-40 attached to a completed first page of the application. Each application must be filed with the required fees as provided in 8 CFR 106.2.

(b) Applications filed with EOIR. If jurisdiction rests with the Immigration Court under §260.62(b), the application must be made on the Form I-881, if filed subsequent to June 21, 1999. The application form, along with any supporting documents, must be filed with the Immigration Court and served on the Service's district counsel in accordance with the instructions on or accompanying the form. Applications for suspension of deportation or special rule cancellation of removal filed prior to June 21, 1999 shall be filed on Form EOIR-40.

(c) Applications filed with the Service. If jurisdiction rests with the Service under §240.62(a), the Form I-881 and supporting documents must be filed in accordance with the instructions on or accompanying the form.

(d) Conditions and consequences of filing. Applications filed under this section shall be filed under the following conditions and shall have the following consequences:

(1) The information provided in the application may be used as a basis for the initiation of removal proceedings, or to satisfy any burden of proof in exclusion, deportation, or removal proceedings;

(2) The applicant and anyone other than a spouse, parent, son, or daughter of the applicant who assists the applicant in preparing the application must sign the application under penalty of perjury. The applicant's signature establishes a presumption that the applicant is aware of the contents of the application. A person other than a relative specified in this paragraph who assists the applicant in preparing the application also must provide his or her full mailing address;

(3) An application that does not include a response to each of the questions contained in the application, is unsigned, or is unaccompanied by the required materials specified in the instructions to the application is incomplete and shall be returned by mail to the applicant within 30 days of receipt of the application by the Service; and

(4) Knowing placement of false information on the application may subject the person supplying that information to criminal penalties under title 18 of the United States Code and to civil penalties under section 274C of the Act.

[64 FR 27876, May 21, 1999, as amended at 74 FR 26939, June 5, 2009; 85 FR 46926, Aug. 3, 2020]