Immigration court and deportation defense

How a case in immigration court works

Removal proceedings begin when the Department of Homeland Security files a Notice to Appear with an immigration court. The courts are part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), in the Department of Justice. An immigration judge decides whether you can be removed from the United States and whether you qualify for any form of relief that lets you stay.

Most cases start with one or more short master calendar hearings, where the judge reviews the charges, sets deadlines and asks what relief you will apply for. The case is then decided at an individual hearing, where you present testimony, witnesses and evidence.

You have the right to be represented by an attorney, but the government does not provide one. Missing a hearing can lead to a removal order issued in your absence, so keeping your address current with the court and knowing your next hearing date matters from the first day.

Relief an immigration judge can grant

Which options exist depends on your history: how you entered, how long you have been here, your family ties, any arrests, and any earlier applications. The main ones are:

• Asylum, withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture, for people who fear harm in their country.
• Cancellation of removal for permanent residents, for certain residents who have lived here for years and are facing deportation.
• Cancellation of removal for people without status, for certain people who have lived here at least ten years and whose removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a spouse, parent or child who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Adjustment of status before the judge, when a family or employment petition makes a green card available.
• Waivers of certain grounds of inadmissibility or deportability.
• Voluntary departure, which avoids a removal order and some of its consequences.
• Termination or dismissal of the case, when the charges cannot be sustained or the case should not go forward.

Detention and bond

A person detained by immigration authorities may be able to ask an immigration judge for a bond hearing. The judge looks at whether the person is a danger to the community and whether they are likely to come to their hearings. Family ties, time in the country, work history and any criminal record all count. Not everyone is eligible: some people are subject to mandatory detention, and who falls into that group depends on how they entered and on their history, under rules that have been changing. It is one of the first things to find out. The firm takes detained cases and bond hearings, and they have their own page.

Appeals and motions to reopen

A judge's decision can be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the deadline is short. A case that already ended can sometimes be reopened or reconsidered through a motion, for example when circumstances have changed, when new relief has become available, or when a removal order was issued at a hearing you did not know about. These deadlines are strict, and the exceptions are narrow.

The firm's appellate work is before the Board of Immigration Appeals. It does not file petitions for review in the federal courts of appeals; when a case needs that step, we say so and help you find counsel who does.