What changed, and when
Removal law moved a great deal in 2025 and 2026, and much of what is published about immigration court describes rules that no longer exist, or rules that were published and never took effect. Every item here links to the primary source so you can check it yourself.
Current as of September 2026. We re-check this page every quarter and after any rule change.
We monitor the Federal Register, EOIR policy releases, Board of Immigration Appeals and Attorney General precedent decisions, and published opinions from the Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeals. When something changes, we update the affected pages on this site and roll their "current as of" date forward.
Nothing here is legal advice about your case. If one of these developments touches your situation, call (718) 484-7510.
The 10-day BIA appeal deadline is dead, and the eCFR still prints it
The government dismissed its appeal from Amica Center for Immigrant Rights v. EOIR, No. 1:26-cv-00696 (D.D.C.), which on March 8, 2026 vacated the 10-day appeal deadline the day before it would have taken effect. Thirty calendar days governs every appeal. The Department of Justice has published no conforming amendment, so the regulation as displayed online is wrong.
Recent developments
The newest items come first, and each one links to the page on this site that explains what to do about it, and to the primary source.
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August 18, 2026
One motion to reopen, counted across both tribunals
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 are the same single allowance, and equitable tolling does not reach the number bar. The first motion has to be the good one. What this changes about motions to reopen -
August 14, 2026
Less time to find a lawyer
Matter of A-K-R-, 29 I&N Dec. 839 (BIA 2026), modifying Matter of C-B-. The only fixed protection for the privilege of counsel is that the first hearing cannot be set earlier than 10 days after the Notice to Appear is served. What to do at the first hearing -
May 19, 2026
Late venue requests are less likely to succeed
Matter of I-B-M-S-, 29 I&N Dec. 628 (BIA 2026). The closer a change-of-venue request is made to an individual hearing, the less likely good cause can be established. Change of venue -
May 6, 2026
Eleventh Circuit: interior arrestees who were never
admitted can get bond hearings
Hernandez Alvarez v. Warden, FDC Miami, No. 25-14065 (11th Cir.), published. Unadmitted noncitizens arrested in the interior are detained under 8 U.S.C. 1226 and are eligible for bond hearings, contrary to the Board's reading in Matter of Yajure Hurtado. Detained removal defense -
March 13, 2026
EOIR tells judges not to say the deadline is 10 days
EOIR Policy Memorandum OOD PM 26-02, issued after the Amica Center vacatur: "no IJ should be informing either party that the appellate deadline for the Board is only 10 days." EOIR policy memoranda -
March 4, 2026
The Supreme Court narrows appellate review of the facts
Urias-Orellana v. Bondi, No. 24-777. Unanimous. Courts of appeals review the agency's persecution determination for substantial evidence, not fresh, and may reverse only if the record compels the contrary. The immigration court record is close to the last word. Read the opinion -
February 23, 2026
EOIR stops accepting checks and money orders
All EOIR fees, including the $1,030 government filing fee for an appeal to the Board, are paid through the EOIR Payment Portal, with the receipt filed alongside the appeal or motion. EOIR fee page -
September 5, 2025
The Board holds that people who entered without inspection
are ineligible for bond
Matter of Yajure Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA 2025). Persons who entered without inspection are applicants for admission detained under 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(A). The Eleventh Circuit rejected this reading in May 2026; the split is live. What it means in a detained case -
June 26, 2025
Supreme Court: the petition-for-review clock runs from the
DHS removal order, not the withholding-only decision
Riley v. Bondi, 606 U.S. 259. The 30-day deadline is a claim-processing rule, not jurisdictional, and where DHS itself issued the removal order, that order is the final order from which the 30 days runs; the Board's later decision in withholding-only proceedings is not a final order of removal. Reinstatement of removal -
January 29, 2025
Congress widens mandatory detention
The Laken Riley Act, Pub. L. 119-1, adds INA 236(c)(1)(E): mandatory detention for people inadmissible for entering without admission, for fraud, or for lacking documents who are charged with, arrested for, convicted of, or admit committing theft, burglary, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or a crime causing death or serious bodily injury. Detained removal defense -
January 17, 2025
Mandatory bars may now be applied at fear screenings
89 FR 103370. Asylum officers may apply certain mandatory bars in credible fear and reasonable fear interviews where the information is easily verifiable. Expedited removal -
July 29, 2024
Termination and administrative closure are written into the
regulations
"Efficient Case and Docket Management in Immigration Proceedings," 89 FR 46742, adds 8 C.F.R. 1003.18(c) and (d). We confirm the rule is still in force before relying on it in any filing. Motions to terminate -
June 14, 2024
Supreme Court limits the defective-notice route to
rescission
Campos-Chaves v. Garland, 602 U.S. 447. Where a person received a proper notice of the hearing actually missed, a defective initial Notice to Appear does not support rescinding the in absentia order. Defective Notices to Appear -
March 19, 2024
Cancellation hardship denials are reviewable
Wilkinson v. Garland, 601 U.S. 209. Whether established facts meet the exceptional and extremely unusual hardship standard is a mixed question of law and fact that the courts of appeals may review. Cancellation for non-permanent residents
Where we watch
Here is where to check any of this yourself, or watch it directly:
- BIA and Attorney General precedent decisions
- EOIR policy memoranda
- Federal Register, EOIR documents
- Supreme Court slip opinions
- Second Circuit decisions
- Eleventh Circuit published opinions
- TRAC immigration court data
This page is updated when the primary sources change, not on a publishing schedule. If an item here is out of date, we would rather hear about it: info@usherlegal.com.
Asylum law moved even faster
New fees, restored precedent on social groups, a rule ending the universal asylum interview, and more. Our asylum site tracks those changes on their own page.
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