Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review
	Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Executive Office for Immigration Review Announces
BIA Filing Deadline Changes Due to Hurricane Sandy

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – On October 29-30, 2012, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) was closed due to Hurricane Sandy. The BIA will consider timely filed any filing that meets both of these criteria:

1. the filing was due on a weekday during the week of October 29, 2012; and
2. the BIA received the filing on or before November 5, 2012.

No request or documentation is required for filings that arrive by November 5, 2012. Filings that arrive after November 5, 2012, are subject to normal filing deadlines. If weather is an issue for any filings that the BIA receives after November 5, 2012, parties should consult the BIA Practice Manual, Chapter 3.1(b)(v), on page 34 (“Natural or manmade disasters”). The BIA Practice Manual is available on-line at http://1.usa.gov/Md03oi.

- EOIR -

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is an agency within the Department of Justice. Under delegated authority from the Attorney General, immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals interpret and adjudicate immigration cases according to United States immigration laws. EOIR’s immigration judges conduct administrative court proceedings in immigration courts located throughout the nation. They determine whether foreign-born individuals—whom the Department of Homeland Security charges with violating immigration law—should be ordered removed from the United States or should be granted relief from removal and be permitted to remain in this country. The Board of Immigration Appeals primarily reviews appeals of decisions by immigration judges. EOIR’s Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer adjudicates immigration-related employment cases. EOIR is committed to ensuring fairness in all of the cases it adjudicates.