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Immigration court (EOIR)

What actually happens in immigration court

Master calendar, individual and bond hearings, your rights in the courtroom, the forms of relief a judge can consider, what to bring, and what happens if a hearing is missed.

Never ignore a notice from immigration court

Missing a single hearing can produce a removal order issued while you are not in the room. If the court or immigration authorities have sent you anything, read it the day it arrives, keep the envelope, and get advice before the date printed on it.

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Immigration court is not criminal court

People arrive expecting the protections they have seen in criminal cases. Several of them do not exist here, and that changes how you have to prepare.

  • These are civil proceedings, not criminal ones. The judge cannot send you to prison, but can order you removed from the United States.
  • You have the right to a lawyer, but at your own expense. The government does not appoint one for you, and that includes children.
  • Immigration judges are Department of Justice employees, not federal judges appointed for life.
  • The standard of proof is lower than in a criminal case. The government does not have to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt.
  • The court provides an interpreter in your language at no cost. Ask for one instead of trying to get through the hearing in English.

The three hearings you are most likely to have

Master Calendar Hearing

What it is

A short scheduling hearing, usually with many other people's cases on the same docket. The judge confirms who you are, explains the charges in the Notice to Appear, takes your response to them, and sets the schedule for the rest of your case.

When it happens

Your first appearance. The date is printed on your Notice to Appear, or on a hearing notice the court mails to you.

What happens in the room

  • The judge explains the charges against you and your rights.
  • You admit or deny the charges in the Notice to Appear.
  • You name the country of removal if the judge asks for one.
  • You tell the judge which forms of relief you intend to apply for.
  • The judge sets filing deadlines and the date of your individual hearing.

How to prepare

  • Go, even if you do not have a lawyer yet. You can ask the judge for time to find one.
  • Arrive early and allow time for security screening.
  • Bring the Notice to Appear and every notice the court has sent you.
  • Ask for an interpreter in your language. The court provides one at no cost.
  • Write down every date and deadline the judge gives you before you leave the room.

Individual (Merits) Hearing

What it is

Your actual trial. The judge hears your application for relief, your testimony and your witnesses, and the government lawyer cross-examines you. This hearing is scheduled for your case alone and can last hours.

When it happens

After the master calendar hearing, often long after it. Courts carry heavy backlogs and hearings get rescheduled, so treat the date on your notice as the only reliable one.

What happens in the room

  • Your application for relief and your evidence are already in the record, filed by the deadline the judge set.
  • You testify under oath and answer the government lawyer's questions.
  • Your witnesses, and any expert, testify.
  • Both sides make their legal arguments.
  • The judge gives an oral decision that day, or issues a written decision later.

How to prepare

  • File everything by the judge's deadline. Evidence filed late can be refused.
  • Bring original documents, not only copies, plus certified translations.
  • Review your own written declaration until you know it. Inconsistencies are what get tested.
  • Confirm your witnesses know the date, the address and the security rules.
  • Answer only what is asked, and say so plainly when you do not remember something.

Bond Hearing

What it is

A separate hearing for someone who is detained, asking the judge to set a bond so the person can be released while the case continues. Not everyone is eligible, because some people are subject to mandatory detention.

When it happens

It can usually be requested soon after detention, and it runs separately from the removal case itself.

What happens in the room

  • The judge considers whether the person would be a danger to the community.
  • The judge considers whether the person is a flight risk who would not return to court.
  • Family ties, time in the United States, work history and community support are presented.
  • Any criminal record is examined closely, including old and dismissed charges.
  • If bond is set it has to be paid before release, and the removal case continues afterwards.

How to prepare

  • Gather letters of support, proof of address and proof of employment.
  • Collect certified court dispositions for every charge, including dismissals.
  • Identify who will pay the bond and where the person will live.
  • Document U.S. citizen or permanent resident family members.
  • Check eligibility first. Mandatory detention categories exist, and the record needs a lawyer's review.

Your rights in immigration court

  • A lawyer of your choice

    At your own expense. EOIR publishes a list of free and low-cost legal service providers, linked below.

  • A free interpreter

    In your own language, for the whole hearing. Say so immediately if the interpretation is not clear.

  • To see the government's evidence

    You are entitled to review what the government has filed against you before it is used.

  • To present your own evidence

    Documents, witnesses and your own testimony, filed by the deadline the judge sets.

  • To apply for relief you qualify for

    You can ask the judge to consider every form of relief your record supports.

  • To appeal

    An adverse decision can generally be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals within 30 days.

These rights apply to everyone physically present in the United States, whatever their immigration status.

Forms of relief a judge can consider

Being in removal proceedings does not automatically mean removal. These are the applications an immigration judge can consider. Whether any of them is available to you depends on your own record, your entries and your history, and the judge decides. Nothing below is a prediction about your case.

Cancellation of Removal (non-permanent residents)

What it generally requires

  • At least 10 years of continuous physical presence in the United States
  • Good moral character during that period
  • No disqualifying criminal convictions
  • Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent or child

Cancellation of Removal (lawful permanent residents)

What it generally requires

  • At least 5 years as a lawful permanent resident
  • At least 7 years of continuous residence after being admitted in any status
  • No aggravated felony conviction
  • The judge weighs your positive equities against the negatives and decides

Asylum

What it generally requires

  • A well-founded fear of persecution in your country
  • The persecution is because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group
  • Your government cannot or will not protect you
  • Filed within one year of your last arrival, unless a narrow exception applies

Withholding of Removal

What it generally requires

  • A higher legal standard than asylum: that persecution is more likely than not
  • Available even after the one-year asylum deadline has passed
  • Certain criminal bars still apply
  • It stops removal to that country but does not grant permanent residence or a path to it

Protection under the Convention Against Torture

What it generally requires

  • That it is more likely than not you would be tortured if returned
  • By the government, or with its consent or acquiescence
  • That you could not safely relocate within the country
  • Available even with a serious criminal record

Adjustment of Status before the judge

What it generally requires

  • An approved or approvable immigrant petition
  • An immigrant visa immediately available in your category
  • Admissibility, or an available waiver
  • The judge exercises discretion

Voluntary Departure

What it generally requires

  • You leave at your own expense by a date the judge sets
  • No aggravated felony conviction
  • You must show you can pay for your own departure
  • It avoids a removal order, but failing to leave on time carries serious penalties

Termination or administrative closure

What it generally requires

  • A legal defect in the Notice to Appear, or a lack of jurisdiction
  • Evidence that you are in fact a U.S. citizen
  • That the government has not met its burden on the charges
  • Availability shifts with policy and case law, so it has to be checked while your case is active

Deadlines that end cases

Immigration court deadlines are firm, and several of them are short. Confirm every date against the paperwork the court gave you, because that document controls, not this page.

Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals
Generally 30 days from the immigration judge's decision. The controlling date is on the paperwork the court gives you. Count from that, not from memory.
Change of address
File Form EOIR-33 with the court as soon as you move. The regulations give you only a few days, and a notice mailed to your old address still counts as notice to you.
Asylum application
Generally within one year of your last arrival in the United States. The exceptions are narrow and have to be raised and proven, not assumed.
The filing deadlines the judge sets
Applications and evidence filed after the judge's deadline can be refused, which can end a defense before it is ever heard.
Motions after a decision
Motions to reopen and to reconsider have their own short windows, and some situations have none at all. Act immediately rather than waiting weeks for an appointment.

Official EOIR forms, including Form EOIR-33 (opens the official government page in a new tab)

If you have already missed a hearing

  • A judge can order you removed in your absence. That order can be carried out without another hearing, and it follows you for years.
  • There are limited ways to reopen an order issued in your absence, for example if you never actually received notice, or if exceptional circumstances kept you away. The windows are short and the evidence requirements are strict.
  • If you have already missed a hearing, get legal help the same week. Do not assume the case went away because nothing has happened yet.

What to bring with you

Documents

  • The hearing notice and your Notice to Appear
  • Photo identification, from any country
  • Every immigration document you have, including receipt and approval notices
  • Originals plus copies of all your evidence, with certified translations
  • Birth, marriage and divorce certificates
  • Certified court dispositions for any arrest

Practical

  • Arrive at least 30 minutes early for security screening
  • Dress as you would for a serious appointment
  • Turn your phone off before you enter the courtroom
  • Bring water and something to eat, because waits can be long
  • Bring a notebook and pen to write down dates
  • Bring your lawyer's contact details and an emergency contact

Check your own hearing date and case status

EOIR runs a free automated line and a free online case lookup. Both ask for your A-Number, which is printed on your Notice to Appear and on documents immigration authorities gave you.

EOIR automated case information line

1-800-898-7180

Free, automated, available around the clock. Have your A-Number ready.

EOIR case information online

https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/ (opens the official government page in a new tab)

Look up your case with Imigrar

About your A-Number and receipt numbers

Those numbers identify your entire immigration file, so treat them the way you would treat a passport number. The government systems need your A-Number, but this page does not collect, store or log it, and Imigrar will not ask you for it by email or text message.

Find your court, and free legal help

The court holding your case is named on your Notice to Appear and on every hearing notice. Use the official EOIR locator to confirm the address and whether your hearing is in person or by video before you travel. We do not publish court addresses here, because dockets and locations change and a stale address sends people to the wrong building.

Before you rely on this page

  • This is general information about U.S. immigration processes. It is not legal advice and it is not a substitute for advice about your own case. No attorney-client relationship is formed by viewing this website or submitting information.
  • Only the official government source is authoritative. Where this page and the linked USCIS, U.S. Department of State or EOIR page say different things, the government page controls.
  • Immigration law, forms, fees and filing requirements change frequently, sometimes on nothing more than a Federal Register notice. Verify current USCIS requirements on the official page before you file anything.
  • We do not publish processing-time estimates. Real times shift constantly and vary by office and case type, so any number printed here would be wrong within weeks. Check the official page instead: USCIS processing times (opens the official government page in a new tab)
  • Nothing here predicts or guarantees an outcome, and no filing fees or legal fees are quoted on this page. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Source and date: written from the official government pages linked on this page, last read on September 18, 2026. If that date looks old to you, treat the government page as current and this page as out of date.

If you have a hearing date, time is the thing you cannot get back

The earlier a lawyer sees your file, the more time there is to gather evidence and meet the judge’s deadlines. Consultations are free and available in English and Spanish.

Request a free consultationCall 786-791-3106

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