Stays of removal
A stay is what keeps you in the United States while something is pending. Only two vehicles carry one automatically: a timely appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and a motion to rescind an in absentia order. Everything else, including a motion to reopen and a petition for review, leaves the removal order in force unless a stay is asked for and granted. This page is the map, and the request is often the first thing filed.
Current as of September 2026. We re-check this page every quarter and after any rule change.
People assume that filing something stops the removal. Most of the time it does not. The removal order stays in force while a motion or a petition is pending unless a rule says otherwise or a judge orders otherwise, and ICE can execute it. Which rule applies depends entirely on which vehicle was filed. The vehicles themselves are compared at after a removal order; this page is only about whether each one holds the door.
The map
| Vehicle | Stay? | How | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timely appeal to the BIA from an immigration judge's decision | Automatic | Filing the Notice of Appeal within 30 calendar days generally stays execution while the appeal is pending | 8 C.F.R. 1003.6(a); 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(b) |
| Motion to rescind an in absentia order, either route | Automatic | Filing stays removal pending the immigration judge's decision on the motion | INA 240(b)(5)(C); 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(ii) |
| Motion to reopen, ordinary | None automatic | A stay may be requested from the judge or the Board and granted in discretion | 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1)(v) |
| Motion to reopen, changed country conditions | None automatic | The regulation says so expressly and permits a stay to be requested | 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(i) |
| Motion to reconsider | None automatic | Same as an ordinary motion to reopen | 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1)(v) |
| Petition for review in the court of appeals | None | Motion for a stay under the four Nken factors; in the Second Circuit, the government's forbearance policy while the petition is pending | INA 242(b)(3)(B); Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418 (2009); No. 12-4096 (2d Cir. Oct. 16, 2012), 702 F.3d 160 |
| ICE administrative stay, Form I-246 | Only if ICE grants it | Request filed in person at the ICE ERO field office, in ICE's discretion; $155 ICE fee, waivable; a pending request does not stop removal | 8 C.F.R. 241.6; 8 C.F.R. 103.7(d)(6) |
"Automatic" means the stay arises on filing, with no separate request. "None automatic" means the order remains executable until a stay is specifically granted. In every case the stay lasts only as long as the vehicle it attaches to.
The two automatic stays
The BIA appeal. Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.6(a), a timely appeal from an immigration judge's decision generally stays execution of that decision while the appeal is pending. The word that matters is timely: the Notice of Appeal must be received by the Board within 30 calendar days under 8 C.F.R. 1003.38(b), with the government filing fee or a fee waiver request, or there is no appeal and no stay. The stay ends the day the Board decides. See the BIA appeal.
The in absentia rescission motion. INA 240(b)(5)(C) provides that filing a motion to reopen under either of its two routes "shall stay the removal of the alien pending disposition of the motion by the immigration judge," and 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(ii) implements it. The stay arises on filing. It is the reason the in absentia motion is filed first and fast when someone with an old in absentia order is picked up. See in absentia orders.
The motions that carry none
Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1)(v), the filing of a motion to reopen or a motion to reconsider does not stay execution of the decision, except in in absentia cases. Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(i), a changed-country-conditions motion carries no automatic stay either, and the regulation expressly permits a stay to be requested. In each case the immigration judge or the Board may grant a stay in discretion, on a separate request that explains why removal before the motion is decided would defeat the motion.
File the stay request with the motion, not after
Where removal is scheduled or the person is detained, the stay request is filed at the same time as the motion and is often argued first. A motion to reopen that is granted after the person has been removed is a much harder thing to make use of. And under 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1), departure from the United States after filing a motion to reopen or reconsider withdraws the motion, so an executed order can end the motion itself.
The petition for review and Nken
INA 242(b)(3)(B) provides that filing a petition for review does not stay the removal order. A stay is sought by motion in the court of appeals under Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418 (2009), which sets four factors: likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable injury absent a stay, injury to the other party, and the public interest, with the first two the most critical. The motion has to show a real legal argument, not merely that removal would be a hardship.
In the Second Circuit, the court of appeals has described a government forbearance policy under which removal does not occur while a petition for review is pending there, and has said that if forbearance ends the petitioner may promptly apply for a stay. In re Immigration Petitions for Review Pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, No. 12-4096 (2d Cir. Oct. 16, 2012) (en banc), reported at 702 F.3d 160. It is the government's policy, not an order, so the stay motion is prepared and ready. We do not publish whether any other circuit has a comparable arrangement; in the First, Third and Eleventh Circuits we file the stay motion with the petition and ask for emergency consideration where a removal date is set. See the petition for review.
The ICE administrative stay: Form I-246
Separate from every court vehicle, 8 C.F.R. 241.6 allows a person with a final removal order to ask ICE itself not to execute it, for a period of time, on Form I-246, filed in person at the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office that has the case. The decision is entirely within ICE's discretion. The form carries an ICE filing fee of $155 as of September 2026, set at 8 C.F.R. 103.7(d)(6) and payable to DHS/ICE by money order or cashier's check; ICE may waive it. It is not our legal fee. The form's own instructions warn that a pending request does not stop removal, so the request is filed early and the court vehicles are pursued alongside it. The form and instructions are on ice.gov.
The I-246 is used when nothing in court carries a stay and time is needed for something concrete: a pending motion that the judge has not yet acted on, a pending petition at USCIS that would resolve the case, a medical situation, or a family circumstance that a specific date would resolve. A request that identifies the specific reason, the specific period, and the evidence for both is stronger than one that asks for time in general.
Voluntary departure and stays do not mix
Under 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(e)(1), filing a motion to reopen or reconsider during a voluntary departure period automatically terminates the grant of voluntary departure and the alternate order of removal takes effect. Under 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(i), filing a petition for review does the same. A person who has voluntary departure and wants to contest the order has to give up one to pursue the other, and under Dada v. Mukasey, 554 U.S. 1 (2008), may withdraw the voluntary departure request in order to pursue a motion to reopen. See voluntary departure.
What a stay is not
A stay is not status. It does not undo the removal order, and it does not make a person lawfully present. It holds the order in place while a vehicle is decided. When the vehicle is denied, the stay ends with it, and the next clock, if there is one, starts that day. A stay from ICE is not a decision by any court and does not affect the deadlines in court. And no stay of any kind protects a person who leaves the United States; departure executes the order and, for motions, withdraws them.
Read next: the BIA appeal, in absentia orders, motions to reopen, or the petition for review.
Common questions
Which filings stop my deportation automatically?
Two. A timely appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals from an immigration judge's decision generally stays execution of that decision under 8 C.F.R. 1003.6(a). And a motion to rescind an in absentia order, under either route in INA 240(b)(5)(C), stays removal pending the immigration judge's decision on the motion. Nothing else does.
Does a motion to reopen stop my deportation?
Not by itself. Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1)(v), filing a motion to reopen or reconsider does not stay execution of the decision, except in in absentia cases. A stay may be requested from the immigration judge or the Board and granted in discretion, and for a changed-country-conditions motion 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(i) says the same. The stay request is filed with the motion.
Does a petition for review stop my deportation?
No. INA 242(b)(3)(B) provides that filing a petition for review does not stay the removal order. A stay is requested by motion in the court of appeals under Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418 (2009). In the Second Circuit, under a standing arrangement with the government, a petitioner who has moved for a stay is generally not removed while the motion is pending. Elsewhere, the motion has to be decided.
What is an ICE stay of removal?
A request to ICE itself, on Form I-246, filed with the ICE field office under 8 C.F.R. 241.6, asking the agency not to execute a removal order for a period of time. It is entirely discretionary, it is not a court vehicle, and it carries an ICE filing fee of $155 as of September 2026, which ICE may waive and which is not our legal fee. Filing it does not stop removal while ICE decides. It is used when no court filing carries a stay and time is needed for something specific.
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