Administrative Closure in Immigration Court: Motions and Recalendaring

Administrative closure in immigration court is a procedural tool that temporarily removes a case from the court’s active hearing calendar without ending removal proceedings. Federal regulation defines it as “the temporary suspension of a case” that “removes a case from the immigration court’s active calendar until the case is recalendared.”1eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.18 – Docket Management While the case is closed, no hearings occur and the judge issues no decisions on the merits. The proceedings simply sit dormant until someone files a motion to put the case back on the calendar.

What Closure Does, and What It Does Not Do

The most common misunderstanding is thinking closure ends the case. It does not. The Notice to Appear remains in effect, removal proceedings are technically still pending, and no final order of removal is issued. You do not gain any immigration status through closure alone, and closure by itself does not provide work authorization or a path to a green card. It is a pause, not a stop.

There is one narrow interaction with work authorization worth flagging. If you filed an asylum application and your case is then administratively closed, your asylum application may still be considered undecided for employment authorization purposes. An asylum applicant whose application has been pending for at least 180 days without a decision, not counting applicant-caused delays, can apply for a work permit. Closure does not grant that permit, but it may preserve your eligibility to apply for one.

Why This Matters Right Now

Closure still exists in regulation, but the enforcement climate has shifted sharply. In April 2025, EOIR Acting Director Owen issued Policy Memorandum 25-29, rescinding earlier internal guidance that had encouraged judges to use administrative closure as a docket management tool. The memo characterized the prior guidance as “factually or legally dubious” and called the widespread use of closure “an unmitigated disaster from a policy standpoint.” A policy memo does not change the underlying regulation, but it signals how the current administration views the practice and may influence how judges exercise discretion.

Since May 2025, DHS has filed motions to recalendar thousands of previously closed cases nationwide. If your case was closed years ago, you cannot assume it will remain that way.

How a Judge Decides Whether to Close a Case

The 2024 EOIR final rule codified administrative closure at 8 CFR 1003.18(c) and set up a two-tier standard.1eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.18 – Docket Management

If both parties agree, either through a joint motion or through an unopposed one, the judge must grant closure unless the judge identifies “unusual, clearly identified, and supported reasons” to say no. Unopposed motions almost always succeed.

When DHS opposes, the judge weighs the totality of the circumstances, with no single factor controlling. The regulation lists specific considerations:

  • The reason for the request, such as waiting for USCIS to process a visa petition or adjustment application.
  • The basis DHS gives for opposing.
  • Whether an outside petition or application requires the case to be administratively closed before it can be filed or approved.
  • The likelihood of success on the outside application.
  • The anticipated duration of the closure. A few months while USCIS adjudicates a straightforward petition is easier to accept than an indefinite pause.
  • Which party is responsible for any delay.
  • The ultimate outcome the judge expects when the case eventually returns, such as termination or a removal order.

The regulation makes clear that a pending outside application is not required for closure, though in practice a concrete legal process tied to the request is far more persuasive than a general request for more time. Given the current posture, expect DHS to oppose most requests. That does not automatically defeat a motion, but you will need a strong record on the other factors.

Filing the Motion

There is no official EOIR form for a motion to administratively close. You draft the motion yourself, or your attorney does, following the formatting requirements in the Immigration Court Practice Manual.2Executive Office for Immigration Review. OCIJ Immigration Court Practice Manual – 4.2 – Filing a Motion Include a cover page that accurately describes the request and attach a proposed order for the judge’s signature. Statements in the motion itself are not treated as evidence, so any facts you rely on must be supported by attached documentation. There is no court filing fee.

What to include or attach:

  • Your full legal name and Alien Registration Number, the unique seven-, eight-, or nine-digit number assigned by DHS.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A-Number/Alien Registration Number/Alien Number
  • Proof of a pending application, typically a Form I-797 receipt notice from USCIS showing you have filed a petition such as an I-130 family petition or I-140 employment petition, along with its current status.
  • Written argument walking through each regulatory factor and explaining how the totality of circumstances supports pausing your case. If USCIS has published estimated processing times, include them to address the duration factor.
  • A certificate of service showing you delivered a copy to DHS.

Since February 2022, electronic filing through the EOIR Courts and Appeals System (ECAS) has been mandatory for DHS attorneys and all private attorneys and accredited representatives.4Executive Office for Immigration Review. EOIR Courts and Appeals System (ECAS) – Online Filing Self-represented respondents should check whether their court requires filing through the Respondent Access Portal; if you are not enrolled, paper filing at the court’s filing window or by mail is available.

Service on DHS means delivering a complete copy of the motion to the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), which is ICE’s legal arm. Attorneys filing through ECAS complete service electronically.5Executive Office for Immigration Review. ECAS – DHS For paper filings, mail or deliver a copy to the OPLA office handling your case and include a proof of service with the court filing.

Your Responsibilities While the Case Is Paused

A paused case is still an open case, and you remain in removal proceedings the entire time. Two obligations matter above all others.

First, keep the court informed of your current address. File Form EOIR-33 (Change of Address) within five business days of any move.6EOIR Respondent Access. Change of Address Form (EOIR-33/IC) The court updates your contact information only when it receives this form. It will not pull an address from other paperwork you have filed elsewhere. If DHS files a motion to recalendar and the court mails a hearing notice to a stale address, failing to appear can result in an in absentia removal order entered against you in your absence, and DHS may take you into custody. This risk is not theoretical anymore. If your case was closed five or ten years ago and you have moved without updating your address, fix that today.

Second, keep pursuing whatever legal benefit justified the closure. If you asked for closure while an I-130 was pending, follow up with USCIS. A judge later reviewing a recalendaring motion will look at whether you used the pause productively or let it sit.

Recalendaring

Either side can move to recalendar at any time. The judge applies the same two-tier framework used for closure. Joint or unopposed motions must be granted absent unusual reasons. Opposed motions are decided on the totality of the circumstances using a separate set of factors:

  • The reason for recalendaring.
  • How long the case has been closed.
  • Whether you actually filed the outside application closure was granted for, and how quickly.
  • The result of that outside application, whether approved, denied, or still pending.
  • The anticipated outcome if the case returns to the active calendar.
  • Whether you are currently in ICE custody.

Since May 2025, DHS has filed motions to recalendar thousands of administratively closed cases across immigration courts nationwide. These motions have generally relied on a broad government interest in resolving cases quickly rather than case-specific justifications. If you receive notice that DHS has moved to recalendar your case, you have the right to oppose, and you should seriously consider doing so with an attorney’s help.

An effective opposition argues that the original reasons for closure still apply. If your outside application is still pending and progressing, that undercuts the government’s argument that the case needs to move now. The regulation requires the judge to weigh case-specific factors, so a generic docket-clearing interest may not overcome a well-documented opposition showing that closure continues to serve a valid purpose.

When Termination Is the Better Move

Closure pauses. Termination ends. If your circumstances support it, termination is almost always the stronger outcome.

The 2024 regulation codified termination at 8 CFR 1003.18(d) and split it into mandatory and discretionary categories. A judge must terminate when certain conditions are met, including:

  • No charge of removability can be sustained.
  • You obtained U.S. citizenship since proceedings began.
  • You obtained certain statuses since proceedings began, including lawful permanent residence, refugee status, asylee status, or T, U, or S nonimmigrant status, provided that status has not been revoked and you would not have been removable had you held it before proceedings started.
  • Both parties agree. A joint or unopposed motion to terminate must be granted absent unusual reasons.

Discretionary termination is available in additional situations, such as when you are prima facie eligible for naturalization, adjustment of status, or another form of relief that USCIS has jurisdiction to decide.1eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.18 – Docket Management

If you obtained administrative closure while waiting for a benefit and that benefit has since been granted, file a motion to terminate rather than leave the case in closed status. A terminated case cannot be recalendared by a DHS motion. To restart proceedings, the government would need to issue a new Notice to Appear, which is a far higher bar. In the current wave of recalendaring, anyone sitting on a closed case who now qualifies for termination should treat that filing as an urgent priority.