Immigration APPEALWORKSŽ


TERMS OF USE	OUR PURPOSE	STAY OF DEPORTATION	YOU MUST ACT PROMPTLY	WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON'T
SUMMARY REMOVAL ORDERS	REINSTATEMENT ORDERS	MOTIONS TO REOPEN	TESTIMONIALS	CONTACT US

What Can Happen If You Don't File Your Appeal Papers Promptly

If the order of deportation by an immigration judge becomes final (meaning when more than 30 days have passed after the date of the decision of the immigration judge where an appeal with the BIA was not filed), agents of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (or "ICE") will issue a letter instructing the noncitizen who did not file an appeal with the BIA, to appear ready for her deportation. The ICE letter informs the noncitizen that she may bring with her one bag or luggage of a certain weight containing personal property to the ICE office shown in the letter. This letter is referred to as the "Bag and Baggage" letter (also referred to as Form I-166). In the majority of cases, the noncitizen showing up as instructed in the "B & B" letter, ready for her deportation will be taken into custody of ICE, until all travel arrangements have been completed.

Alternatively, or when the noncitizen does not present herself on the date indicated in the "Bag and Baggage" letter, ICE agents will refer the noncitizen to the "fugitive unit" of ICE in the location where the noncitizen resides. Thereafter, the agents from the fugitive unit of ICE may appear at the noncitizen's home or residence, always at an "unexpected hour" (usually in the wee hours of the morning) to take the noncitizen into their custody and will keep the noncitizen in custody until such time when ICE is able to execute (effect or carryout) the noncitizen's deportation.

When is ICE Ready to Deport the Noncitizen Whom After Receiving an Order of Deportation from the Immigration Judge Did not File an Appeal to the BIA?

ICE's agents are unable to execute the noncitizen's deportation until they have obtained "travel documents" consisting of the noncitizen's valid unexpired passport or other foreign national verification such as a birth certificate or other temporary evidence of the noncitizen's national identity. ICE also must obtain airline (military or commercial) boarding ticket before they can effect the noncitizens removal to their home country. There are exceptions to the necessity of obtaining an airline boarding ticket requirement where the noncitizen is a national of Mexico, or a Canadian national where the ICE office is close to the international border with either country.

CAVEAT: While it is true that nearly ALWAYS it will be possible to request and obtain an emergency temporary order from ICE, or the federal courts, preventing the noncitizen's immediate deportation to her country of nationality, the likelihood that the noncitizen will be released from federal custody pending resolution of the petition for review in a federal court diminishes considerably after the noncitizen has been apprehended by ICE.

Furthermore, if the noncitizen has waited until the last minute (meaning after she was apprehended by ICE agents) to take some legal defense action, the legal fees associated with the noncitizen's defense at this juncture will likely be much higher than if the noncitizen acts promptly. Also, the likelihood of success for a noncitizen in obtaining a temporary stay from the federal courts may also diminish considerably.

Thus, if you have the intention at all to fight your deportation order, you should take immediate action and take the necessary legal steps to file a timely appeal to prevent ICE from taking action to remove you from the United States.

But if you Missed the 30-day Deadline for Filing a Timely Appeal with the BIA - What Now?

In Some Cases, a "Motion to Accept a Late Appeal" May/Could Reinstate Your Right to Appeal

In the event that you missed the 30-day deadline for filing a timely notice of appeal, you do not give up on your rights and "may" still be able to convince the BIA to accept your late Notice of Appeal if you can prove that you were not at fault in not filing the notice of appeal within the 30-days that is required. How? Well, there are two (2) case scenarios we can explain below. The first example requires a filing with the Board of Immigration Appeals and is difficult, but not impossible. The second one requires a filing with the immigration judge and is also difficult but likewise, is not impossible. Both alternatives are factually driven, meaning is completely dependant on the specific facts that caused you not to have filed the notice of appeal in a timely manner.

First example: if you hired a lawyer (or a non-lawyer) who represented to you that he/she would file the Notice of Appeal on time, and he/she did not do so, you may convince the Board that they should exercise favorable discretion to accept your belated filing by proving that you acted reasonably in hiring the lawyer (or non-lawyer); that you acted diligently in informing yourself of his/her failure of filing the Notice of Appeal as agreed. Do not get this wrong. It would not be easy to convince the BIA in accepting a belated appeal. In fact it will be extremely unlikely that the BIA will agree to accept a late filed Notice of Appeal at any time after the 30-days required by the rules because the BIA considers that it has no "authority" to accept a Notice of Appeal that is filed untimely. But (remember what we said in "OUR PURPOSE" page that for every rule there is likely an exception) if your deportation case came from one of the two (2) federal circuits that has determined that the BIA is wrong to consider that it has no "authority" to accept a belated Notice of Appeal you would be lucky because you would be able to cite to the Board the decisions from those circuits as authority for the Board to consider whether it would accept your belated Notice of Appeal. Never give up, never.

In Other Cases, a "Motion to Reissue the Order of Deportation" to the Immigration Judge May/Could Reinstate Your Appeal Rights

Second example: You may also ask the immigration judge to reissue the decision denying your case for purposes of allowing you the opportunity to appeal the decision to the Board, which you lost when the 30-days expired before you were able to file it. Here as well, you would have to convince the immigration judge that you were not at fault in not filing the Notice of Appeal on time. As with the case scenario above, do not think this is something that will be easy to do, specially if you are not an expert in presenting a motion accompanied by the proper amount and quality of evidence necessary to convince the judge to reissue the order of deportation. But a minimum, you cannot allow days and days to go by. Better yet, keep this in mind as an unbending rule that you must never forget—the worst thing that you can ever do in deportation cases is not act promptly. The judges will make you pay for your apathy, ignorance or lack of diligence by refusing to reopen your case at the mere showing that there has been a lack of expedience from your part. Judges will not hesitate one second to punish the noncitizen for not taking immediate corrective action.

We can help you file your "Notice of Appeal", "Motion to Reopen" or "Motion to Reconsider" before the Office of the Immigration Judge, or, before the Board of Immigration Appeals, no matter where you live in the United States.

We can also help you with your "Petition for Review" before any of the United States Courts of Appeal and/or provide you support with any Judicial Action in District Court no matter where you live in the United States

Immigration AppealWorks®

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This web site is being continuously updated and upgraded by Management in order to improve its form, content, readability and accuracy. However, the reader should not exclusively rely on the information contained in this web site because it is not a substitute to obtaining legal advice from an experience immigration attorney.