Checklist: your first immigration court hearing

Your first hearing is a master calendar hearing. It is short, no witnesses testify, and the judge does not decide your case that day. Your job is to be in the right courtroom on the right date, with your papers, and to avoid giving up anything before you have legal advice. This list covers the week before, the day itself, and what to ask for.

Current as of September 2026. We re-check this page every quarter and after any rule change.

Be there, bring your papers, and do not concede anything you have not discussed with a lawyer. That is the whole first hearing. Everything below is detail. For what the hearing is and how it fits into the case, read the master calendar hearing and the overview of removal proceedings. Unfamiliar words are in the glossary.

The week before

Confirm the court, the date and the time. Call the EOIR automated line at 1-800-898-7180 or check acis.eoir.justice.gov with your A-number. Then compare what it says with your hearing notice. The hearing notice is the official source. See checking your EOIR case status.
Confirm the address of the court. New York has more than one immigration court, and they are in different buildings. See New York, Newark and Miami for addresses and public hours.
If you moved, file Form EOIR-33 now. The form is due within five days of any address change under 8 C.F.R. 1003.15(d). Keep a copy with proof of how and when you filed it.
Read your Notice to Appear line by line. Mark anything that is wrong: your name, your country, the date or manner of entry, the charge. Do not correct it for the government in advance. Bring the marked copy to a lawyer. See the Notice to Appear.
Talk to a lawyer before the hearing, not at it. Under INA 239(b)(1), the first hearing cannot be set earlier than 10 days after the Notice to Appear is served unless you ask in writing for an earlier date. That is the only fixed period the law gives you to find counsel, so use the time you have.
Plan the trip. Arrange work, child care and transport for a long morning. Court buildings have security lines.

If the system shows no case

A case exists in immigration court once DHS files the Notice to Appear with the court, under 8 C.F.R. 1003.14(a). Sometimes that has not happened by the date printed on the notice. Do not assume the hearing is off. Go to the court on the date you were given, with the notice, and ask at the filing window. Keep checking the automated line afterward, and keep your address current with the court.

What to bring

The hearing notice, and the Notice to Appear.
Every paper any immigration officer gave you, including anything you signed.
Your passport and any other identification you have. If ICE kept your passport, bring the receipt or note who took it and when.
Copies of anything you have filed with USCIS or the court, with receipts: family petitions, applications, a filed EOIR-33.
If you have ever been arrested, anywhere, the court paperwork you have. Do not hand it to anyone at the hearing. It is for your lawyer.
A pen and paper. Write down the next date, the judge's name, and every deadline the judge sets.
Your lawyer, if you have one. A lawyer appears by filing Form EOIR-28.

Do not bring an interpreter for the hearing itself. The court provides one. Tell the judge the language, and the dialect, you speak best.

What will happen

Many cases are called in one session. You wait until the judge calls your name and A-number.
The judge confirms your name, your address and your language.
If you have no lawyer, the judge asks whether you want time to find one.
If the case goes forward, the judge takes pleadings: you admit or deny each factual allegation in the Notice to Appear, and you admit or contest the charge.
The judge asks what relief you will apply for and sets dates for applications and the next hearing.
You receive a new hearing notice. Read it before you leave the room.

What not to say or sign without advice

Do not admit the allegations or concede the charge because it seems polite or faster. Under 8 C.F.R. 1240.10(c), admissions are not required. If you were admitted to the United States, DHS must prove deportability by clear and convincing evidence under INA 240(c)(3)(A). See contesting removability.
Do not accept voluntary departure at the first hearing without understanding the price. Under INA 240B(a) and 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(b)(1), voluntary departure before the end of the case requires you to concede removability, request no other relief and waive appeal. See voluntary departure.
Do not waive appeal of anything.
Do not sign a paper you cannot read, in the courtroom or in the hallway, from anyone.
Do not guess. If you do not know a date or do not understand a question, say so. "I do not know" is an answer. A wrong date in the record follows you to the final hearing.
Do not discuss your facts with the government's lawyer in the hallway. The DHS trial attorney is the opposing party.

A defect in the notice has to be raised early

If your Notice to Appear left out the time or place of the hearing, that can matter. Under Matter of Fernandes, 28 I&N Dec. 605 (BIA 2022), the objection must be raised before the close of pleadings or it is generally forfeited. That is one more reason not to plead without advice. See defective Notices to Appear.

What to ask for

Time to find a lawyer, if you do not have one. A continuance requires good cause under 8 C.F.R. 1003.29, and the judge decides how much time. We do not publish a number of days or a number of continuances, because no rule fixes one. Show the judge what you have done to look.
An interpreter in your best language and dialect, for this hearing and the next one.
A copy of the Notice to Appear and of anything DHS files, if you do not have it. That includes Form I-213, the officer's record of your arrest.
The dates in writing. The next hearing, and the deadline for each application. In a non-detained case, filings for a master calendar hearing are due 15 days before it unless the judge says otherwise, under the Immigration Court Practice Manual, chapter 2.1. See immigration court deadlines.
The correct court. If you live far from the court, ask a lawyer about a change of venue. Until a judge grants one, you appear where the notice says.

Common questions

What happens if I miss my first hearing?

Under INA 240(b)(5)(A), a person who does not attend after written notice is ordered removed in absentia if DHS shows notice and removability by clear, unequivocal and convincing evidence. A motion to rescind is due within 180 days if you missed the hearing because of exceptional circumstances, and may be filed at any time if you did not receive notice or were in custody. Go to the hearing even if you are not ready. Appearing unprepared usually means more time. Not appearing means an order.

Do I have to admit what the Notice to Appear says?

No. Under 8 C.F.R. 1240.10(c), the judge asks you to plead to each factual allegation and each charge, and admissions are not required. For a person who was admitted to the United States, DHS has to prove deportability by clear and convincing evidence under INA 240(c)(3)(A). An admission at the first hearing can remove that burden, which is why pleadings should follow legal advice and not come before it.

How do I confirm my hearing date?

Call the EOIR automated line at 1-800-898-7180 or use the online system at acis.eoir.justice.gov, with your A-number. The system does not cover bond proceedings or motions, and it is not the official record. The hearing notice the court sent you is. If the two disagree, take both to a lawyer or to the court's filing window before the date.

I moved. How do I tell the court?

File Form EOIR-33 with the immigration court within five days of any change of address, under 8 C.F.R. 1003.15(d), and keep a copy. Telling USCIS, ICE or the post office does not tell the court. Hearing notices go to the last address the court has, and a notice mailed to that address counts as notice to you.

Reviewed by Mikhail Usher, Esq. Mr. Usher is the managing attorney of Usher Law Group, P.C. and is admitted in New York, New Jersey and Florida. He reviewed this page on September 17, 2026. This page explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice about your case.

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