EOIR Policy Manual, Part III, Board Practice Manual
BIA appeals · briefing · motions · filing and service
Source reviewed 2026-07-31Immigration court and BIA review
Motions to Reopen and Immigration Appeals
Appeals, motions to reopen or reconsider, rescission requests, stays, and federal petitions are different remedies. The correct filing depends on the tribunal, decision, service date, jurisdiction, deadline, time and number limits, legal error or new facts, supporting record, and removal posture.
Direct answer
What is the difference between an appeal and a motion to reopen?
An appeal generally asks the Board of Immigration Appeals to review an immigration judge’s decision for factual or legal error based on the record and issues preserved. A motion to reopen generally asks the immigration judge or Board to reopen proceedings because of new facts supported by evidence that was not previously available or because a statutory, regulatory, or equitable reopening ground applies. A motion to reconsider generally identifies errors of law or fact in the prior decision. Each uses different deadlines, limits, evidence, and stay consequences.
On this page
Obtain the exact decision and calculate the deadline from the governing rule
The oral or written decision, hearing recording or transcript, service method, mailing envelope, electronic notice, notice of appeal rights, prior filings, and docket should be preserved immediately.
Deadlines can be jurisdictional or strictly enforced and may run from decision, mailing, service, or another event. Weekends, holidays, electronic filing, detention, and mailing do not justify assumptions.
Current EOIR payment rules must be checked before filing
EOIR changed its payment process in 2026. As of February 23, 2026, EOIR states that fees paid to the immigration courts or Board must be submitted electronically through the EOIR Payment Portal rather than by check or money order.
The amount, fee-waiver availability, receipt, tribunal, and filing instructions depend on the specific appeal, motion, or application. A bond appeal has no EOIR filing fee, while many other appeals and motions require current payment or an available fee-waiver request. Do not rely on an old fee chart or payment method.
A BIA appeal should identify reviewable error and preserve the record
The notice of appeal must be timely and sufficiently identify the challenged decision and reasons. The later brief should address the standard of review, preserved legal issues, factual findings, evidentiary rulings, due process, relief eligibility, discretion, and prejudice where applicable.
New evidence generally does not become part of the appellate record merely by attaching it to a brief. Reopening or remand may require a separate procedural request.
A motion to reopen needs new facts, evidence, and a legal basis to overcome limits
The motion should identify the relief sought, new material evidence, prior unavailability, prima facie eligibility, procedural requirements, and any exception to time or number limits. Supporting applications, declarations, country conditions, civil or criminal records, and proof of service may be required.
Changed personal circumstances are not the same as changed country conditions for the statutory exception. The evidence should compare conditions at the prior hearing with current conditions and connect the change to the applicant’s claim.
In absentia orders use specific rescission and reopening rules
The record should address notice, address reporting, service, custody, exceptional circumstances, timing, court records, and what the person did after learning of the order. A claim that no notice was received requires careful review of the address and service history.
Filing a motion does not justify ignoring ICE reporting, departure, or other deadlines. Stay consequences should be identified under the governing rule.
Ineffective assistance and equitable tolling require a developed diligence record
A claim based on prior counsel can require compliance with procedural safeguards, notice to former counsel, a disciplinary complaint or explanation, proof of deficient performance, prejudice, and evidence of reasonable diligence.
The motion should show when the problem was discovered, what steps were taken, barriers encountered, records requested, consultations obtained, and why the filing occurred when it did.
Joint and discretionary reopening are distinct from ordinary statutory motions
DHS may agree to a joint motion in an appropriate case, but agreement is not guaranteed and should be supported by a clear factual, legal, and equities presentation. A request for discretionary reopening outside ordinary limits uses a separate and restricted analysis.
Neither a request to DHS nor a request for discretionary reopening should be treated as a substitute for a timely available statutory filing.
A motion or appeal does not always stay removal
Some timely appeals or specified motions carry an automatic stay; others do not. A separate emergency stay request may be necessary, and the tribunal’s authority depends on the case posture.
Removal, departure, detention, reporting, surrender, travel documents, and petitions for review should be coordinated immediately. A stay request should identify likelihood of success, irreparable harm, equities, procedural posture, and the exact relief requested under the governing standard.
Exhaustion and the administrative record shape federal judicial review
Issues that may later be raised in a petition for review often must be presented to the agency first. The appeal and motion record should preserve arguments, evidence, objections, and rulings.
Circuit-court petitions for review and district-court habeas, mandamus, or APA actions use different jurisdiction, venue, deadlines, respondents, records, and remedies.
Questions people actually ask
Frequently asked questions
Does filing a motion to reopen stop removal?
Not always. Stay rules depend on the type of motion, order, forum, and governing law. A separate stay request may be necessary.
Can a case be reopened years after a removal order?
Possibly, but ordinary motions have time and number limits. Statutory exceptions, rescission rules, equitable tolling, joint motions, or other authority require specific facts and evidence.
How are current EOIR appeal and motion fees paid?
EOIR states that fees paid to EOIR must be submitted through the EOIR Payment Portal and that the payment receipt must accompany the filing when a fee is required. The amount and fee-waiver rules depend on the filing. A bond appeal has no EOIR filing fee. Current instructions should be checked before submission.
Can new evidence be submitted on direct BIA appeal?
The BIA generally reviews the record created below. New evidence may require a motion to remand or reopen rather than simple attachment to an appellate brief.
Can missing a hearing be fixed by saying the notice was never received?
The court will examine service, addresses, notices, circumstances, timing, and evidence. A bare assertion may be insufficient.
Can federal court review a BIA decision?
Certain final orders and legal issues may be reviewed through a timely petition for review in the proper court of appeals, subject to jurisdiction and exhaustion rules. Other claims may belong in district court or may be barred.
Authority and current-source review
Official sources supporting this page
These links identify primary or official materials used to control material legal and procedural statements. They are not a substitute for advice about a particular matter.
Types of Appeals, Motions, and Required Fees
appeal types · motions to reopen · motions to reconsider · electronic payment · fees and fee waivers
Source reviewed 2026-07-31EOIR Policy Manual, Part II, Chapter 4.2, Filing a Motion
motion form and content · cover page · jurisdiction · filing requirements · time and number limits
Source reviewed 2026-07-318 C.F.R. 1003.2 and 1003.23
BIA motions · immigration judge motions · time and number limits · reopening and reconsideration
Source reviewed 2026-07-31The next useful move
Review the decision, deadline, record, and available remedy now
Bring the immigration judge or BIA decision, service and mailing records, court file, prior applications, transcript information, new evidence, counsel communications, removal or surrender notices, and a dated timeline of what happened next.
Important legal and service limitations
U.S. immigration, detention, removal, federal-court, and citizenship law is federal, fact-specific, and subject to changing statutes, regulations, agency policy, court precedent, jurisdiction, venue, exhaustion rules, filing deadlines, and procedural requirements. Website information is general information, not legal advice, and does not promise release, bond, dismissal, reopening, reversal, agency action, citizenship, or any other result.
Court, detention, appeal, motion, surrender, departure, and filing deadlines can expire quickly. A public intake form is not an emergency filing system and does not preserve a deadline.
Contacting Steel & Associates, A Professional Law Corporation does not create an attorney-client relationship. Representation begins only after conflict review and a written engagement agreement.