Motions to reopen
INA 240(c)(7) gives you one motion to reopen, within 90 days of a final administrative order, and the Board now counts a motion to the immigration judge and a motion to the Board as the same single motion. The exceptions matter: changed country conditions has no time or number limit, an in absentia rescission motion has its own rules and an automatic stay, and ineffective assistance of counsel can toll the 90 days in the Second and Eleventh Circuits.
Current as of September 2026. We re-check this page every quarter and after any rule change.
A motion to reopen asks the immigration judge or the Board to reopen a closed case because of new facts or new evidence that were not available before. A motion to reconsider asks them to look again at a decision because it was legally or factually wrong on the record they already had. They are different motions, with different deadlines and different arguments, and this page is about the first. The comparison with every other vehicle is at after a removal order.
The deadlines
| Motion | Deadline | Number | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reconsider | 30 days from the final administrative order | One | INA 240(c)(6) |
| Reopen, general | 90 days from the final administrative order | One, counting motions to the judge and to the Board together | INA 240(c)(7)(A), (C)(i); Matter of M-M-L-J-, 29 I&N Dec. 843 (BIA 2026) |
| Reopen, changed country conditions | No time limit | No numerical limit under the regulation | INA 240(c)(7)(C)(ii); 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(i) |
| Reopen, ineffective assistance | 90 days, subject to equitable tolling in the Second and Eleventh Circuits | One | Matter of Lozada, 19 I&N Dec. 637 (BIA 1988); Iavorski v. INS, 232 F.3d 124 (2d Cir. 2000); Avila-Santoyo v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 713 F.3d 1357 (11th Cir. 2013) (en banc) |
| Rescind in absentia, exceptional circumstances | 180 days | One | INA 240(b)(5)(C)(i) |
| Rescind in absentia, no notice or custody | Any time | One | INA 240(b)(5)(C)(ii) |
Every deadline runs from the date the order became final: the immigration judge's decision if no appeal was taken, or the Board's decision if one was. Fixing that date is the first task in any motion.
One motion means one motion, across both tribunals
On August 18, 2026 the Board decided Matter of M-M-L-J-, 29 I&N Dec. 843 (BIA 2026): a person is permitted to file only one motion to reopen, whether with the immigration court or the Board, subject to the limited statutory exception for battered spouses, children and parents, and equitable tolling does not apply to the number bar.
Two things follow. A motion filed with the immigration judge and a later motion filed with the Board are not two separate allowances; they are one allowance already spent. And the equitable tolling argument that can rescue a late motion does nothing for a second one. Tolling addresses the 90 days. It does not address the number.
The first motion has to be the good one. If prior counsel already filed something thin, say so at the first consultation, because it changes the strategy completely.
The grounds that lift the limits
Changed country conditions
INA 240(c)(7)(C)(ii) provides that there is no time limit on a motion to reopen if the basis of the motion is to apply for asylum or withholding of removal and it is based on changed country conditions arising in the country of nationality or the country to which removal has been ordered, if the evidence is material and was not available and would not have been discovered or presented at the previous proceeding. The statute lifts the time limit. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(i) lifts the numerical limit as well, and covers CAT protection alongside asylum and withholding. The change has to be in conditions in the country, not in your personal circumstances here, and the evidence has to be new in the sense that it could not have been obtained before. The motion has to show conditions then against conditions now, with both sets of evidence in the record.
This is an asylum motion, and the full treatment of its four elements and the evidence that proves them is on our asylum site, linked below.
In absentia rescission
A motion to rescind an order entered because you missed a hearing is a separate track under INA 240(b)(5)(C): within 180 days for exceptional circumstances, or at any time for lack of notice or for having been in federal or state custody through no fault of your own. Filing it stays removal automatically, and under 8 C.F.R. 1003.24(b)(2)(iii) there is no government fee for the no-notice or custody motion. The in absentia page has the full treatment, including what Campos-Chaves v. Garland changed.
Ineffective assistance of counsel
A motion to reopen because your prior lawyer, or someone posing as one, failed you must satisfy Matter of Lozada, 19 I&N Dec. 637 (BIA 1988): an affidavit setting out your agreement with the representative and what was done or not done, notice to the representative with an opportunity to respond, and a statement whether a complaint was filed with the appropriate disciplinary authority and, if not, why. These steps are not optional. In the Second Circuit, under Iavorski v. INS, 232 F.3d 124 (2d Cir. 2000), and in the Eleventh Circuit, under Avila-Santoyo v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 713 F.3d 1357 (11th Cir. 2013) (en banc), the 90-day deadline is subject to equitable tolling, which can save a motion that the representative's own failure made late. The tolling reaches the time limit, not the number limit. The dedicated page is ineffective assistance of counsel.
Sua sponte reopening
The immigration judge and the Board each retain authority under 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1) and 8 C.F.R. 1003.2(a) to reopen a case on their own motion, at any time. Under Matter of J-J-, 21 I&N Dec. 976 (BIA 1997), that authority is reserved for exceptional situations. It is asked for in almost every late motion and granted in few. A motion that depends on it alone is a motion with no deadline and no entitlement, and it should be built as a request for an exception, with the exceptional facts stated plainly, rather than as a right.
Evidence that is new, and proof that it is
Whatever the ground, the motion has to show that the facts or evidence were not available, and could not have been discovered or presented, at the earlier hearing. Evidence that existed and could have been obtained before does not qualify, however good it is. That means dated reporting, dated correspondence, dated declarations, and an explanation of when each item became available and why it was not before.
What stays removal, and what does not
- An in absentia rescission motion carries an automatic stay under INA 240(b)(5)(C) and 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(ii).
- An ordinary motion to reopen or reconsider carries no automatic stay. 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1)(v) provides that, except in in absentia cases, filing does not stay execution of the decision. A stay may be requested from the immigration judge or the Board and granted in discretion.
- A changed country conditions motion carries no automatic stay. 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(i) says so expressly and permits a stay to be requested.
- A petition for review carries no stay under INA 242(b)(3)(B). A stay is sought under the four-factor standard of Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418 (2009), where likelihood of success and irreparable injury are the most critical factors.
Where removal is imminent, the stay request is not an afterthought to the motion. It is filed with it, and often argued first. The full map is at stays of removal.
Do not leave the country
Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1), a departure from the United States after filing a motion to reopen or reconsider "shall constitute a withdrawal of such motion." Departure ends the motion, whatever its merits. And under 8 C.F.R. 1240.26(e)(1), filing a motion to reopen or reconsider during a voluntary departure period automatically terminates the grant of voluntary departure and the alternate removal order takes effect. If you have voluntary departure, that trade-off has to be made deliberately.
Fees
Motion fees at EOIR are government filing fees paid to the Department of Justice, not our legal fees, and they are substantial: $1,065 for a motion before an immigration judge and $1,030 for a motion before the Board, rising to $1,095 and $1,060 for motions filed on or after October 1, 2026 under 91 FR 54211. Since February 23, 2026 EOIR no longer accepts checks or money orders, and fees are paid through the EOIR Payment Portal. A fee waiver may be requested on a showing of inability to pay. No fee applies to a motion to reopen an in absentia order under INA 240(b)(5)(C)(ii). The current schedule is on the EOIR fee page.
Before you file
- Fix the date of the final administrative order. Every deadline runs from it.
- Find out whether a motion to reopen has already been filed, by anyone, in either tribunal. After M-M-L-J-, that decides whether the ordinary route is still open.
- Identify which exception, if any, you are relying on, and plead it expressly.
- Assemble the new evidence with proof of when it became available.
- File the stay request with the motion, unless the motion carries an automatic stay.
- Do not depart the United States.
A motion to reopen on changed country conditions is an asylum motion. Our asylum site carries the full treatment of the four elements, the then-and-now comparison, and the evidence that proves it.
Changed country conditions at asylumadvocate.com →
icebail.comPeople with final orders are often taken into custody while a motion is being prepared. Bond, detention and federal habeas corpus are handled at our detention site.
Detention and habeas at icebail.com →
Read next: ineffective assistance of counsel, in absentia orders, motions to reconsider, or stays of removal.
Common questions
How long do I have to file a motion to reopen?
Ninety days from the date of entry of a final administrative order of removal, and you get one motion, under INA 240(c)(7)(A) and (C)(i). Under Matter of M-M-L-J-, 29 I&N Dec. 843 (BIA 2026), a motion filed with the immigration judge and one filed with the Board count as that single motion. A motion to reconsider is different: it is due within 30 days under INA 240(c)(6).
What is the changed country conditions exception?
INA 240(c)(7)(C)(ii) removes the time limit on a motion to reopen whose basis is to apply for asylum or withholding of removal because of changed country conditions in the country of nationality or removal, if the evidence is material and was not available and would not have been discovered or presented at the previous proceeding. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(4)(i) removes the numerical limit as well and extends the exception to CAT protection.
Does filing a motion to reopen stop my removal?
Usually not. 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1)(v) provides that, except in in absentia cases, filing a motion to reopen or reconsider does not stay execution of the decision. A stay may be requested from the immigration judge or the Board and granted in discretion. The one motion that stays removal automatically is a motion to rescind an in absentia order under INA 240(b)(5)(C).
What if I leave the United States while the motion is pending?
Under 8 C.F.R. 1003.23(b)(1), a departure from the United States after filing a motion to reopen or reconsider constitutes a withdrawal of the motion. Leaving ends it, whatever its merits.
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