U.S. Department
of Justice
Learn About the Board of Immigration Appeals
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is the highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws. The BIA is located at EOIR headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia.
BIA decisions designated for publication are printed in bound volumes entitled Administrative Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States.
Procedures before the BIA are outlined in Chapter 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations as well as in the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual.
If you believe the Immigration Judge made a legal or factual error when deciding your case, you can ask the BIA to review the decision by appealing your case. The BIA is able to review certain decisions of the immigration judge, such as decisions made on removability and eligibility for relief and bond. The BIA is not able to review decisions made in credible or reasonable fear reviews or claimed status review proceedings.
To reserve your right to appeal a decision, you must inform the immigration judge of your desire to appeal and properly complete and file a Notice of Appeal, Form EOIR-26. The Form EOIR-26 must be received by the BIA no later than 30 calendar days after the immigration judge renders an oral decision or mails a written decision. The appeal must also be accompanied by the appropriate filing fee or a completed Fee Waiver Request, Form EOIR-26A. If you tell the immigration judge that you wish to waive (give up) your right to appeal or if you fail to file your Form EOIR-26 within 30 days, the immigration judge's decision will become final.
For detailed information on the requirements for filing an appeal, see the instructions on the EOIR-26 and the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual.
The BIA is composed of 23 Appellate Immigration Judges, including a chief appellate immigration judge and one or two deputy Chief Appellate Immigration Judges. Biographical information on the current appellate immigration judges can be accessed on the BIA webpage.
Motions Before the BIA
Only a respondent who is in proceedings before the BIA (or a respondent's representative) or the Department of Homeland Security may file a motion with the BIA. A motion must identify all parties covered by the motion and state clearly their full names and registration numbers ("A numbers"), including all family members in proceedings. The BIA will not assume that the motion includes all family members.
For information on specific types of motions, please select an option below. For additional information on filing motions with the BIA, please see Chapter 5 of the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual.
A motion to reopen asks the BIA to reopen proceedings in which the BIA has already rendered a decision, so that the BIA can consider new facts or evidence in the case.
A motion to reopen must state the new facts that will be proven at a reopened hearing if the motion is granted, and the motion must be supported by affidavits or other evidentiary material. The BIA will only grant a motion to reopen if the evidence offered is material and was not available and could not have been discovered or presented at an earlier stage in the proceedings.
A motion to reopen based on an application for relief will not be granted if it appears the alien's right to apply for that relief was fully explained and the alien had an opportunity to apply for that relief at an earlier stage in the proceedings (unless the relief is sought on the basis of circumstances that have arisen subsequent to that stage of the proceedings).
As a general rule, a motion to reopen must be filed within 90 days of the BIA's final administrative decision. However, some exceptions to the deadline may apply. Please see Chapter 5.6(e) of the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual for exceptions to the filing deadline.
A motion to remand seeks to return jurisdiction of a case pending before the BIA to the Immigration Judge. Parties may, in appropriate circumstances, move to remand proceedings to the immigration judge to consider newly available evidence or newly acquired eligibility for relief.
A motion to remand must state the new facts that will be proven at a new hearing if the motion is granted, and the motion must be supported by affidavits or other evidentiary material. The BIA will only grant a motion to remand if the evidence offered is material and was not available and could not have been discovered or presented at an earlier stage in the proceedings.
Please see Chapter 5.8 of the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual for additional information on motions to remand.
A motion to reconsider either identifies an error in law or fact in a prior BIA decision or identifies a change in law that affects a prior BIA decision and asks the BIA to reexamine its ruling. A motion to reconsider is based on the existing record and does not seek to introduce new facts or evidence.
A motion to reconsider must state with particularity the errors of fact or law in the BIA's prior decision, with appropriate citation to authority and the record. If a motion to reconsider is premised upon changes in the law, the motion should identify the changes and, where appropriate, provide copies of that law.
A motion to reconsider must be filed within 30 days of the BIA's decision.
Please see Chapter 5.7 of the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual for additional information on motions to reconsider.
Removable / Removability:
An individual is removable from the United States if they are subject to any grounds of inadmissibility or deportability. To see the grounds of inadmissibility, see INA § 212. To see the grounds of deportability, see INA § 237.