3.19 - Federal Court Remands

(a) Nature of Federal Court Remands

The decisions of the Board are reviewable in certain federal courts, depending on the nature of the appeal.  Where an appeal is taken from a Board decision regarding an Immigration Judge’s ruling, the federal court may remand the case back to the Board for further proceedings.  For example, the federal court may remand to allow the Board to consider our prior decision because of a change in law or ask the Board to re-examine our prior decision in light of the court’s rulings.

(b) Notification

When the Board receives notification of a federal court’s order from the Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) or the United States Attorney’s Office, a written notification is sent to both the alien and DHS.

(c) Notice of Appearance

If a party is represented, a Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative Before the Board of Immigration Appeals (Form EOIR-27) must be filed to become the practitioner of record on remand.  See Chapter 3.3(c) (Representation).  Registered attorneys and fully accredited representatives must electronically file their Form EOIR-27s through ECAS in cases eligible for electronic filing.  If the submission of the Form EOIR-27 precedes issuance of notification of a federal court remand, the electronic submission may be rejected.

(d) Briefing and Transcript

In appropriate cases, a briefing schedule is provided to both parties and informs the parties of their respective deadlines for filing briefs.  

(1) Appeals of Immigration Judges’ decisions issued before March 9, 2026 - If a briefing schedule is set, the parties are both given the same 21 calendar days in which to file their initial briefs.  If either party wishes to reply to the appeal brief of the other, that party should comply with the rules for reply briefs.  See Chapter 3.6(h)(1) (Reply briefs).  The Board, however, will not suspend or delay adjudication of the appeal in anticipation of, or in response to the filing of a reply brief.

(2) Appeals of Immigration Judges’ decisions issued on or after March 9, 2026 - If a briefing schedule is set, the parties are both given the same 20 calendar days in which to file their initial briefs.  The Board will not accept a reply brief in any case, unless the Board has invited or ordered a party to submit a reply brief.  See Chapter 3.6(h)(2) (Reply briefs).

Filing guidance can be found Chapter 2 (Filing with the Board) and Chapter 3.2(e) (Briefing schedule), 3.6 (Appeal Briefs), 3.7(c) (Extensions).  Also, in appropriate cases, a transcript is sent to the parties along with the briefing schedule.  See Chapter 3.2(f) (Transcription).