OCAHO Frequently Asked Questions

The rules governing proceedings before the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (we, our(s) or us) can be found at Part 68, Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Yes. You may represent yourself or be represented by an attorney or other authorized individual, as described in our rules at 28 C.F.R. § 68.33(c). Please note that advance approval or application is required for non-attorney representatives. See 28 C.F.R. § 68.33(c)(2)-(3).

You must file your answer to the complaint at the following address:

Executive Office for Immigration Review 
Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer 
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2519 
Falls Church, VA 22041 

You should also familiarize yourself with our rules (Part 68, Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations). We provide the electronic link to a copy of these rules to each party at the time we issue the Notice of Case Assignment. The rules can be accessed at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2021-title28-vol2/pdf/CFR-2021-title28-vol2- part68.pdf.

When filing the complaint, file with us one signed original and four copies. When filing any other document, file one signed original and two copies. See 28 C.F.R. § 68.6(a).

Yes. We will refuse any filing that does not include a certificate of service stating that you sent a copy to the other party or parties. This rule applies to letters, motions, and all other pleadings and their attachments. See 28 C.F.R. § 68.6(a). The Notice of Case Assignment that we issue includes the service list for your case.

No. Prior to filing any pleading or other document with us, remove all confidential personal information, about yourself or others, from your filings. In particular, do not include in any pleading, document, brief, or exhibit a whole Social Security number. Where a Social Security number must be referenced, whether it is yours or someone else’s, use only the last four (4) digits (for example, XXX-XX-1234). If, for some reason, it becomes necessary for a whole Social Security number or alien registration number to be disclosed, you should contact us before disclosing this information.

Generally speaking, parties should not initiate discovery until the presiding Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) has set a discovery schedule or otherwise authorized the start of discovery. Should either party believe it is necessary to begin discovery prior to that time, a party may file a motion with the ALJ seeking leave to commence discovery. Parties should familiarize themselves with 28 C.F.R. §§ 68.18-68.23 before making any discovery requests to the other party or parties.

Before filing an unfair immigration-related employment practices complaint with us, you must first file a charge with the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER). Information on how to file a charge with IER can be found on their website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/filing-charge. 

IER will then investigate your allegations. If, after 120 days, IER decides not to file a complaint with us based on your allegations, or decides to continue its investigation, IER will issue you a “120-day letter.” This letter will notify you of your right to file a complaint directly with OCAHO. See 28 C.F.R. §§ 44.300-44.303. For more information, including special filing instructions, you may contact IER at 1-800-255-7688 or visit their website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/immigrant-and-employee-rights-section.

 Once you have received your “120-day letter” from IER, you may file a complaint directly with us. Please note: You must file your complaint within 90 days of receiving IER’s letter. For more information on how to file a complaint with us, see https://www.justice.gov/eoir/how-to-file-274b-compliant.

Our published decisions may be accessed in the Westlaw database “FIM-OCAHO” or in the LexisNexis database “OCAHO.” They are also available, at no charge, as PDF documents on our website at https://www.justice.gov/eoir/office-of-the-chief-administrative-hearing-officer-decisions 

EOIR developed the OCAHO Portal—a secure public application with case access and electronic filing capabilities for OCAHO—to integrate with OCAHO’s internal case management system. OCAHO has discontinued the voluntary email filing pilot program, and electronic filing through the OCAHO Portal is mandatory for all parties and authorized representatives in OCAHO cases.   

Attorneys, authorized representatives, or pro se complainants or respondents need to register with OCAHO using DOJ Login. 

All attorneys and other authorized representatives who represent complainants or respondents in OCAHO cases must register and file through the OCAHO Portal. 28 C.F.R. § 68.6(b)(1). Generally, unrepresented complainants and respondents are not required to electronically file, but Administrative Law Judges or the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer may require electronic filing in limited circumstances. 28 C.F.R. § 68.6(b)(2).  

All cases, regardless of whether the case is filed by DHS, the Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section, or private complainants, are subject to the electronic filing rule.

No. The OCAHO Portal is not rated for classified information. 28 C.F.R. § 68.6(b)(6). Classified information is never allowed to be electronically filed. Users must continue to file any classified information by paper and follow existing procedures for the filing of classified information. 28 C.F.R. § 68.42(b). 

Certificates of service are still required for all filings. OCAHO will complete service electronically on behalf of parties for all cases in which all parties are using electronic filing. If one or more parties to an OCAHO case are not participating in electronic filing for a particular case, the electronic filer must complete service of process on the opposing party by another authorized means. See 28 C.F.R. § 68.6(c)(2)-(4). Similarly, in circumstances where a filer is otherwise allowed to file outside of the OCAHO Portal, either due to system unavailability or pursuant to OCAHO’s discretion, the filer must complete service on the opposing party.  

Under the electronic filing rule, four different types of signatures are permitted: (1) original, handwritten ink signatures; (2) encrypted, digital signatures; (3) electronic signatures; and (4) conformed signatures. (Conformed signatures typically consist of the user types “/s/” followed by the user’s name into the signature block. 28 C.F.R. §§ 68.6(b)(7), 68.7(a)(2).