How to file a motion to reopen your immigration court case

A motion to reopen immigration court allows you to request that a judge vacate a previous deportation order to present new facts. Even if a judge issued the order while you were not present, this legal filing serves as your primary tool to restart proceedings and stop a final removal.

Submitting this request involves technical rules that often necessitate the expertise of immigration appeals attorneys to ensure the filing meets EOIR standards. Navigating these requirements successfully requires a clear understanding of the evidence and deadlines involved in your specific case.

Immigration attorney and client analyzing new witness affidavits and country reports during a legal consultation.

Legal effects of filing a motion to reopen immigration court

Filing a motion to reopen immigration court is a formal request asking the judge to set aside their previous decision and look at the case with fresh information. When this motion is submitted, it does not automatically cancel the existing order but initiates a review process where the judge determines if the new evidence justifies a second hearing.

The court follows a specific procedural flow once the documents are received, allowing the judge to evaluate the merits of the new evidence against the previous order of removal:

Document submission: You file the motion and supporting evidence with the immigration court that issued the order. For many clients, that means the immigration court in Phoenix, which handles cases throughout Arizona.
Government response: The DHS attorney has the opportunity to oppose the motion by arguing the evidence is insufficient.
Judicial decision: The immigration judge issues a written order either granting the reopening or maintaining the deportation.

In practice, you submit the motion to whichever body currently holds your case: the same immigration judge who issued the original order, or the Board of Immigration Appeals if your case is already on appeal there.

Along with the motion itself, you generally need to include the new evidence and, if applicable, the underlying application for relief, such as an asylum application or a waiver request, that you are asking the judge to reconsider.

A filing fee typically applies, though you can request a fee waiver if you cannot afford it. Check the EOIR’s current fee schedule for the exact amount and process, since this information can change and is accurate only as of August 2026.

Filing the motion does not, on its own, pause your removal from the United States: the automatic stay described later in this article only applies to the in absentia scenario.

A common procedural mistake is simply re-stating an original asylum claim rather than providing new facts. The court rejects these applications because they fail to present evidence that was physically unavailable during the first trial or previous hearing.

How long do I have to submit a motion to reopen eoir?

The timeframe for submitting a motion to reopen eoir is strictly enforced and generally expires 90 days after the final administrative order was issued. Missing this window often results in the permanent loss of the right to ask for a new hearing, regardless of the strength of your evidence.

However, specific scenarios allow for exceptions to the 90-day rule. If you did not receive proper notice of your court date, resulting in an in absentia order, you may be eligible to file the motion at any time after discovering the order.

If instead you missed your hearing because of exceptional circumstances, such as a serious illness or an emergency, rather than a lack of notice, the deadline is 180 days from the removal order, not an unlimited window. Similarly, applications based on changed country conditions regarding an asylum claim are not restricted by the standard 90-day deadline.

Filing scenario	Standard deadline	Exception eligibility
General motion to reopen	90 days	None
Lack of notice	None	In absentia order
Exceptional circumstances	180 days	In absentia order due to exceptional circumstances
Asylum conditions	None	Changed country conditions
Motion to reconsider	30 days	Legal errors only

It is necessary to distinguish between a motion to reopen and a motion to reconsider, as the latter focuses only on legal errors and must be filed within 30 days. Most individuals seeking to present new witness testimony or updated records will need to focus on the 90-day motion to reopen eoir requirements.

Person organizing medical records and supporting evidence for a filing with the immigration court.

Required evidence for a successful motion to reopen immigration court

A judge will grant a motion to reopen immigration court if the evidence provided is new, material, and was not available at the time of the original hearing. This means you cannot simply present documents that you forgot to bring to court or evidence that was already discussed during the trial.

To build a persuasive case, the following types of documentation are frequently utilized to demonstrate that the information was previously unavailable or material to the case:

Updated country reports: Documentation showing that safety conditions in your home country have deteriorated significantly.
Affidavits from witnesses: Sworn statements from individuals who were unable to testify previously due to safety or logistics.
New family ties: Proof of marriage to a U.S. citizen or the birth of children that occurred after the final order, such as an approved I-130 petition filed on your behalf.
Medical records: Evidence of a serious health condition that requires specialized treatment available only in the United States.

When basing a request on changed country conditions, the evidence must specifically demonstrate that the changes directly affect your personal safety. General political unrest is often insufficient; the judge looks for a direct connection between the new facts and your eligibility for relief from deportation.

Official written judicial order and Form I-246 regarding a stay of removal on courtroom desk.

Protection from deportation while the motion is pending

Filing a motion does not always provide a stay of removal, meaning ICE can legally deport you while you wait for the judge’s decision. Without an explicit protection order, the physical removal process continues despite the pending legal arguments in the immigration court system.

An automatic stay of removal only applies when you file a motion to reopen based on an in absentia order where notice was never received. In almost every other situation, you must proactively request a stay from the judge or file Form I-246 with ICE to pause the deportation process.

It is important not to confuse these three paths. A stay of removal is relief you can request either from the immigration judge while your motion is pending, or directly from ICE using Form I-246, simply to pause enforcement of an existing order while other options move forward; it does not reopen or change the underlying decision.

A motion to reopen, by contrast, is a procedural request filed with the immigration court or the Board of Immigration Appeals that asks a judge to reconsider a case that has already been decided.

If you want a broader look at your options, we cover the general paths in our article on whether a deportation order can be lifted. This article, instead, focuses specifically on the motion to reopen process.

Situation	Automatic stay	Action required
Missed hearing (no notice)	Yes	File motion immediately
New evidence (family/medical)	No	Request stay from judge
Administrative stay	No	File Form I-246 with ICE

To secure protection, you may benefit from the guidance of a deportation defense lawyer. Because you are generally limited to one motion to reopen immigration court, ensuring the stay request is filed correctly the first time is needed for remaining in the country during the review.

Options available after a judge denies the motion

If an immigration judge denies your request, the case does not necessarily end there, as you have the right to appeal the decision. You have exactly 30 days from the date of the denial to file an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).

This 30-day appeal deadline is a different process from the 30-day motion to reconsider covered earlier: the appeal goes to the BIA to review the judge’s decision, while a motion to reconsider stays with the same judge to fix a legal error. Both simply happen to share the same 30-day window.

During this stage, the BIA will review whether the judge abused their discretion by refusing to reopen the proceedings. If you remain in immigration custody while the appeal is pending, that raises separate legal considerations beyond the scope of this motion, and it is best to discuss your specific custody situation directly with your attorney.

The success of a request to reopen proceedings often depends on the precision of the legal arguments and the timing of the submission. If the BIA also denies the appeal, the finality of the removal order becomes much harder to challenge, making the initial motion the most meaningful opportunity to fix a flawed court record.

Failing to challenge a removal order within the required timeframe often results in permanent exclusion from the United States. At our firm, we understand the stress of these deadlines because we are immigrants helping immigrants ourselves. Based in Phoenix, AZ, we focus on identifying the specific procedural errors or new evidence that can restore your legal standing before deportation occurs. Contact us to review your options.

Frequently asked questions about reopening immigration cases

Can I file a motion to reopen if I have already been deported and am outside the U.S.?

It is possible in certain circumstances, though legal standards regarding the ‘departure bar’ have evolved. Individuals who have already been removed might seek a reopening if they can prove they meet specific criteria, such as ineffective assistance of counsel or significant changes in country conditions. However, being outside the United States complicates the logistics of returning even if the motion is granted, so a detailed review of the previous court record is necessary.

What happens to my work permit if I file a motion to reopen?

Filing the motion itself does not grant a new work permit or automatically extend an existing one. Since a work permit, known as an Employment Authorization Document, is usually tied to a pending application for relief, the permit typically remains invalid as long as the removal order is in place. If the judge grants the motion and restarts the proceedings, you may then become eligible to apply for or renew a permit based on the reopened case.

Can I file a second motion to reopen if the first one was filed by a different lawyer and denied?

Regulations generally limit individuals to only one motion to reopen per case, a rule known as the numerical limit. However, exceptions exist for cases involving lack of notice or changed country conditions. If a previous attorney provided incompetent representation, a second motion might be possible under a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, provided you follow the specific procedural requirements established by the Board of Immigration Appeals to report the error.

What if I missed my court date because my previous lawyer never told me about it?

This situation is often treated as a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel. To reopen a case based on a lawyer’s mistake, you must generally provide an affidavit detailing the agreement you had with them, prove that you informed the lawyer of the error, and potentially file a complaint with the relevant bar association. The judge will evaluate whether the attorney’s failure directly resulted in the in absentia deportation order before deciding to reopen the case.

Does filing a motion to reopen fix a criminal record that caused the deportation?

A motion to reopen focuses on immigration court proceedings and does not directly change or erase a criminal conviction. If a criminal record was the basis for the deportation, you may first need to seek post-conviction relief in criminal court to vacate or modify the sentence. Once the criminal record is altered, that new development can serve as the new evidence required to ask the immigration judge to reconsider the removal order and restore your legal status.