Immigration court deadlines
Immigration court runs on calendar days and a receipt rule. Nothing is filed until the court has it, and the one deadline everybody asks about, the appeal to the Board, is the one the published regulation currently gets wrong. This page lists every clock in a removal case, from the first filing to the petition for review.
Current as of September 2026. We re-check this page every quarter and after any rule change.
This page exists because immigration court deadlines are unforgiving, several of them changed in 2026, and at least one widely available source is now wrong. Where each deadline falls in the case is on how removal proceedings work; this page is the list.
The BIA appeal deadline is 30 calendar days
An interim final rule published in early 2026 rewrote 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(b) to cut the general appeal period to 10 calendar days. It never took effect. On March 8, 2026, the day before it would have, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated that provision in Amica Center for Immigrant Rights v. EOIR, No. 1:26-cv-00696 (D.D.C.). The government noticed an appeal and then dismissed it on August 17, 2026, so the vacatur is final and unreviewed.
The deadline to file Form EOIR-26 is 30 calendar days from the immigration judge's decision, in every case. The clock runs from the oral decision, or from the mailing or electronic notification of a written one. Thirty days is the outer limit, not a plan: filing is governed by a receipt rule under 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(c), and the Board has no authority to extend it.
If you look this up yourself, you will read the wrong rule
The Justice Department has not published a conforming amendment, so the eCFR still prints the vacated 10-day text at 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(b)(1). Reading the regulation alone gives you a number no immigration judge and no Board member will apply. EOIR's Office of the Director said so in Policy Memorandum OOD PM 26-02, effective March 13, 2026, and the EOIR Policy Manual, Part III, Chapter 3.5(a), has said 30 days throughout. We check the EOIR policy memoranda index before we publish any EOIR deadline, for exactly this reason.
What else the 2026 rule tried to do, and what survived
The same interim final rule changed Board practice in other ways. The court vacated three provisions and left the rest in place. The distinction matters if you are preparing an appeal now.
| Provision | What it did | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(b)(1) | 10-day general appeal deadline | Vacated |
| 8 C.F.R. 1003.1(d)(2)(ii) | Presumptive summary dismissal of every appeal unless the Board voted to accept it | Vacated |
| 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(b)(3), last sentence | Any issue not raised in the Notice of Appeal deemed waived | Vacated |
| 8 C.F.R. 1003.3(c) | Simultaneous 20-day merits briefing for both parties, no reply brief unless the Board invites one, extensions only in exceptional circumstances | In force |
Two practical consequences follow. Briefing is simultaneous and short, so the opening brief has to carry the whole argument. And the pre-existing summary-dismissal grounds at 8 C.F.R. 1003.1(d)(2)(i), including failure to specify the reasons for the appeal and failure to file a promised brief, were never touched by the rule and are still live. See the BIA appeal.
How the days are counted
- Deadlines run in calendar days, not business days, under the Immigration Court Practice Manual, chapter 2.1.
- There is a receipt rule. A document is not filed until the immigration court receives it. There is no mailbox rule.
- Attorneys and accredited representatives of record must file electronically through ECAS under 8 C.F.R. 1003.31.
- The Practice Manual sets the conventions for counting toward a hearing and for deadlines that land on a weekend or holiday. We do not print those conventions here because a summary of a counting rule is where mistakes get made; we compute every date from the Manual and confirm it with you in writing.
Pre-hearing filing deadlines
| Hearing | Deadline | Response | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master calendar, non-detained | 15 days before the hearing | Within 10 days | ICPM ch. 2.1 |
| Individual hearing, non-detained | At least 30 days before the hearing | Within 10 days | ICPM ch. 2.1 |
| Detained, either hearing | As specified by the immigration judge. No fixed rule | ICPM ch. 2.1 | |
| Any hearing | A date set by the judge controls over the general rule | 8 C.F.R. 1003.31 | |
| Change of address, Form EOIR-33 | Within 5 days of the change | 8 C.F.R. 1003.15(d) | |
An application for relief that is not filed by the date the judge set can be deemed abandoned. That is the deadline that ends more cases than any other on this page.
Post-decision deadlines
| Action | Deadline | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Appeal to the BIA, Form EOIR-26 | 30 calendar days from the decision; receipt rule | 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(b), (c); Amica Ctr. v. EOIR (D.D.C. Mar. 8, 2026) |
| Motion to reconsider | 30 days from the final order; one motion | INA 240(c)(6) |
| Motion to reopen | 90 days from the final order; one motion, counted across the judge and the Board | INA 240(c)(7)(A), (C)(i); Matter of M-M-L-J-, 29 I&N Dec. 843 (BIA 2026) |
| Motion to reopen, changed country conditions | No time limit by statute, and no number limit by regulation | INA 240(c)(7)(C)(ii); 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(i) |
| Motion to rescind in absentia order, exceptional circumstances | 180 days from the order | INA 240(b)(5)(C)(i) |
| Motion to rescind in absentia order, lack of notice or custody | Any time | INA 240(b)(5)(C)(ii) |
| Petition for review in the court of appeals | 30 days from the final order of removal | INA 242(b)(1), (b)(2) |
| Voluntary departure, granted before the conclusion of proceedings | Up to 120 days to leave | INA 240B(a); 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(b)(1) |
| Voluntary departure, granted at the conclusion | Up to 60 days to leave; bond posted within 5 business days | INA 240B(b); 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(c) |
The voluntary departure clocks
A grant before the conclusion of proceedings under INA 240B(a) allows up to 120 days, and must be requested at or before the master calendar at which the case is first set for a merits hearing, with removability conceded, no other relief requested, and appeal waived. A grant at the conclusion under INA 240B(b) allows up to 60 days and requires a voluntary departure bond of at least $500, which is a bond and not a fee, posted within 5 business days under 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(c). Under 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(f), only DHS may extend the period, and never beyond the statutory maximum.
The period interacts with every other clock on this page. Under 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(e)(1) and (i), filing a motion to reopen or reconsider during the period, or filing a petition for review, automatically terminates the grant and the alternate order of removal takes effect. Under Dada v. Mukasey, 554 U.S. 1 (2008), a person may withdraw a voluntary departure request in order to pursue a motion to reopen. Failing to leave on time carries a civil penalty of $1,000 to $5,000 under INA 240B(d)(1), inflation-adjusted to $1,992 to $9,970 with a presumed $3,000 under 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(l) and 280.53(b)(3) as of September 2026, which is a penalty set by law and not a fee, and a 10-year bar to cancellation, adjustment, registry, change of status and further voluntary departure. See voluntary departure.
The petition for review
Under INA 242(b)(1) and (b)(2), a petition for review is filed within 30 days of the final order of removal, in the court of appeals for the circuit in which the immigration judge completed proceedings. Under Stone v. INS, 514 U.S. 386 (1995), the 30 days are not tolled by a motion to reopen: if you file a motion and want review of the underlying order, both clocks run. Under Riley v. Bondi, 606 U.S. 259 (2025), the deadline is a claim-processing rule rather than a jurisdictional one, and where DHS itself issued the removal order, that order is the final order from which the 30 days run, not a later Board decision in withholding-only proceedings. See the petition for review.
Which filings stay removal, and which do not
- A timely appeal to the Board generally stays the decision while it is pending, under 8 C.F.R. 1003.6(a).
- A motion to rescind an in absentia order stays removal automatically under INA 240(b)(5)(C), whether filed under clause (i) or (ii).
- An ordinary motion to reopen or reconsider does not. 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1)(v) says so. A stay has to be requested separately.
- A changed-country-conditions motion does not stay removal automatically under 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(i), but a stay may be requested.
- A petition for review does not stay removal. INA 242(b)(3)(B). A stay must be sought from the court under the four-factor test of Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418 (2009). In the Second Circuit, under a standing arrangement described in In re Immigration Petitions for Review Pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 702 F.3d 160 (2d Cir. 2012), a petitioner who has moved for a stay is generally not removed while the motion is pending. See stays of removal.
Departure withdraws a pending motion
Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1), a departure from the United States after filing a motion to reopen or reconsider constitutes a withdrawal of the motion. Leaving the country while a motion is pending ends it.
Fees, which are now substantial
These are government fees paid to EOIR through the EOIR Payment Portal, and they are not our legal fees. Since February 23, 2026, EOIR accepts no checks or money orders.
- Form EOIR-26, appeal to the BIA This is a government filing fee under 8 C.F.R. 1103.7(b). Bond appeals carry no fee. Check the EOIR fee page for appeals filed on or after October 1, 2026.$1,030
- Motion before an immigration judge This is a government filing fee. It rises to $1,095 for motions filed on or after October 1, 2026, under 91 FR 54211.$1,065
- Motion before the Board This is a government filing fee. It rises to $1,060 for motions filed on or after October 1, 2026, under 91 FR 54211.$1,030
Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(d), a Form EOIR-26 must be accompanied by the fee or by a fee waiver request on Form EOIR-26A, or it "will not be deemed properly filed" and the judge's decision becomes final. Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.24(b)(2)(iii), no fee applies to a motion to reopen an in absentia order under INA 240(b)(5)(C)(ii). There is no government filing fee for a motion to terminate while the case is pending before the judge. Application fees for cancellation of removal and adjustment of status are separate; we do not print them because we have not confirmed the current figures against the schedule, and the EOIR fee page is authoritative.
Read next: the BIA appeal, motions to reopen, in absentia orders, or checking your case status.
Common questions
How long do I have to appeal to the BIA?
You have 30 calendar days from the immigration judge's decision, in every case. An interim final rule published in early 2026 would have cut that to 10 days for most cases, but the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the provision on March 8, 2026, the day before it would have taken effect, in Amica Center for Immigrant Rights v. EOIR, No. 1:26-cv-00696, and the government dismissed its appeal on August 17, 2026. EOIR's Policy Memorandum OOD PM 26-02 and the Policy Manual both say 30 days. The eCFR still prints the vacated 10-day text.
Is the appeal deadline a mailing rule or a receipt rule?
A receipt rule. Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(c), the Notice of Appeal is filed on the date the Board receives it. Putting it in the mail on the last day is not filing it. The same is true in the immigration court: a document is not filed until the court has it.
When are documents due before a hearing?
In non-detained cases, the Immigration Court Practice Manual, chapter 2.1, puts filings due 15 days before a master calendar hearing and at least 30 days before an individual hearing, with responses due within 10 days. In detained cases the deadlines are whatever the immigration judge specifies. The judge may also set specific dates, and those control.
How long do I have to leave under voluntary departure?
Up to 120 days if granted before the conclusion of proceedings under INA 240B(a), and up to 60 days if granted at the conclusion under INA 240B(b). A grant at the conclusion requires a bond of at least $500, which is a bond and not a fee, posted within 5 business days. Only DHS can extend the period, and never beyond the statutory maximum. Filing a motion to reopen or reconsider, or a petition for review, during the period terminates the grant automatically.
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You get a free case review with an attorney, in your language. We speak English, Russian, Spanish and Uzbek in-house, and we bring in a live interpreter for anything else. We will tell you what stage you are at, which forms of relief are open to you, what your deadlines are, and whether we can help. If we cannot, we will say so.