EOIR-26: How to Appeal an Immigration Judge’s Decision

Form EOIR-26, the Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge, is the document you file with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to challenge an unfavorable ruling by an Immigration Judge. The BIA must receive the completed form, along with the filing fee or a fee waiver request, within 30 calendar days of the judge’s decision. Miss that window, or leave the grounds-for-appeal section blank, and the appeal is almost certainly over before it starts.

What You Can Appeal With This Form

Form EOIR-26 covers three kinds of Immigration Judge (IJ) decisions, and the form asks you to identify which one applies:

Merits decisions, including removal orders and denials of asylum, withholding of removal, cancellation of removal, or other relief.
Bond decisions, whether the IJ denied bond outright or set an amount you want to challenge.
Denials of motions to reopen or reconsider. When appealing a motion denial, attach a copy of the IJ’s decision.

Each IJ decision must be appealed separately. A bond appeal cannot ride along on the same form as a merits appeal, even in the same case. Two decisions mean two forms and, where applicable, two fees.¹

The 30-Day Filing Deadline

The BIA Clerk’s Office must physically receive your Form EOIR-26 within 30 calendar days of the IJ’s decision. The clock starts on the date the IJ announces an oral decision in court or the date the IJ mails or electronically serves a written decision. If day 30 lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.²

There is no mailbox rule here. Mailing on day 29 does not preserve your appeal if the form arrives on day 31. The rule is the same for people in detention: handing the appeal to facility staff or dropping it in the facility mail system before day 30 does not make it timely.³

The BIA cannot extend this deadline. There is no good-cause exception and no procedure to ask for extra time. Late filings are summarily dismissed, and the IJ’s decision becomes final.³

Because everything depends on the date of receipt, keep proof of delivery. Electronic filers get a system receipt through ECAS. Paper filers should use a courier or overnight service with tracking. You can also request a conformed copy stamped with the arrival date and time.

One caveat: in February 2026, the Department of Justice published an interim final rule that would have cut the appeal window to 10 days for most cases, keeping 30 days only for certain asylum denials. It was set to take effect March 9, 2026, but a federal court blocked it before implementation.⁴ The litigation is ongoing, so confirm the current deadline with the BIA or an immigration attorney before relying on 30 days.

Filing Fee and Fee Waivers

The appeal filing fee is $1,030, subject to annual inflation adjustments. Check the current amount on the EOIR website before you send anything. Bond appeals are the one clear exception: they carry no filing fee.⁵

If you cannot afford the fee, submit Form EOIR-26A (Fee Waiver Request) with your Notice of Appeal. The waiver form asks you to list monthly income from all sources, monthly expenses, and the difference. Waivers are granted on a showing of inability to pay. If the request does not establish that inability, the appeal is not properly filed.⁶ Do not send the form without either the fee or a waiver request. It will be rejected.

Families sometimes get tripped up here. If the IJ consolidated a family’s cases into a single proceeding, one Form EOIR-26 and one fee cover everyone, as long as each person’s name and Alien Registration Number (A-number) appears on the form. If the proceedings were not consolidated, each family member needs a separate appeal and separate fee. This surprises spouses whose relief claims were decided separately.

Filling Out the Form

Identifying Information

List the name and A-number of every person included in the appeal. Anyone left off may lose the right to appeal. Give the exact date of the IJ’s decision and identify the type of proceeding: merits, bond, or motion denial.⁷¹

Stating Your Grounds for Appeal

This is the part people underestimate. You must identify the specific reasons the IJ’s decision was wrong. Failing to state any reasons is by itself grounds for summary dismissal.⁸ Any issue you leave off the form is treated as waived, so you cannot raise it later in a brief or at oral argument.²

“The Immigration Judge made errors” is not enough. Identify the legal standard the judge misapplied, the factual finding you dispute, or the discretionary factor weighed incorrectly. The BIA reviews legal questions fresh with no deference to the IJ, but overturns factual findings only when they are clearly erroneous, so pointing to a legal error is often the stronger route.⁹ If you need more space, continue on separate sheets and put your name and A-number on each attachment.

Language

The form and every supporting document must be in English. Any non-English document requires a certified translation and a signed statement from the translator confirming their competence and the accuracy of the translation.¹⁰

How to Submit the Form

Electronic Filing

Attorneys and accredited representatives are required to file BIA documents electronically through the EOIR Courts and Appeals System (ECAS) in cases eligible for e-filing, and can pay the fee through the same system.¹¹ Unrepresented respondents who have received an official eligibility notice from the immigration court can file through the Respondent Access Portal.

Paper Filing

Send paper filings, including the form, fee or fee waiver request, and any attachments, to:

Board of Immigration Appeals
Office of the Chief Clerk
5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2000
Falls Church, VA 22041¹²

The address handles USPS mail, hand delivery, courier, and overnight service. Because only the receipt date counts, tracked overnight delivery is safer than standard mail.

Certificate of Service

Every Form EOIR-26 must include a signed Certificate of Service showing you sent a copy of the appeal to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Chief Counsel (or the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor). The certificate must state the person or office served, their full address, the date of service, the method (first-class mail, hand delivery, etc.), what was served, and who completed the service.¹³ The form itself has this section built in. Fill it in; do not leave it blank.

Keep Your Address Current

If your address or contact information changes while the appeal is pending, file Form EOIR-33 with the BIA within five working days and serve DHS with a copy. The BIA updates its records only when it receives that specific form. Mentioning a new address on some other filing does not count.¹⁴ Missing a BIA decision because it went to a stale address is a preventable loss.

After You File

Automatic Stay of Removal

An appeal from a merits decision, such as a removal order or a denial of relief, automatically stays removal while the appeal is pending. The stay actually begins earlier: once the IJ issues a final merits decision, removal is stayed for the full appeal filing period unless you waive appeal.¹⁵

Bond appeals and most appeals of denied motions to reopen or reconsider do not carry an automatic stay. In those cases, DHS can still remove you unless the IJ or BIA grants a discretionary stay on a separate motion.¹⁵

Voluntary Departure

If the IJ granted voluntary departure, filing an appeal does not void it. The voluntary departure period is paused during the appeal. If the BIA dismisses the appeal, it generally reinstates voluntary departure for the same length of time the IJ originally allowed. That matters because failing to depart within the allotted period brings fines and bars on future relief.

Briefing

Filing the Form EOIR-26 is the opening move. On the form, you say whether you intend to file a written brief. If the BIA sets a briefing schedule, both sides get their deadlines at the same time, typically running from when the transcript becomes available.⁴ The BIA’s policy on extensions is to add 21 days to the original deadline regardless of how much time you asked for, and second extensions are almost never granted. The extension request must arrive before the brief is due, and the deadline is not extended until the BIA affirmatively grants it.¹⁶

How Appeals Get Dismissed Without a Merits Ruling

The BIA can throw out an appeal without reaching the substance. The common traps:

Grounds for appeal left blank or written so vaguely they say nothing.
Checking the box promising a brief and then missing the deadline with no explanation.
Filing late.
An appeal the BIA concludes is frivolous or filed only to delay.

When the BIA summarily dismisses, the IJ’s original order becomes the final order of removal for purposes of any further review.⁸

If the BIA Denies Your Appeal

A dismissal by the BIA is not automatically the end. You can file a petition for review with the federal circuit court of appeals covering the state where your immigration court proceedings took place. The deadline is 30 days from the date of the BIA’s final order, and it is jurisdictional: federal courts cannot extend it. In represented cases, filing usually happens through the court’s electronic case management system; pro se petitioners must get a paper copy to the clerk’s office within the 30 days. This is a separate process from anything filed with the BIA, with its own procedural rules.

1
Executive Office for Immigration Review. 3.4 – Filing an Appeal
2
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.38 – Appeals
3
Executive Office for Immigration Review. 3.5 – Appeal Deadlines
4
Federal Register. Appellate Procedures for the Board of Immigration Appeals
5
Executive Office for Immigration Review. Forms and Fees
6
U.S. Department of Justice. Fee Waiver Request
7
U.S. Department of Justice. EOIR-26 – Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge
8
eCFR. 8 CFR Part 1003 Subpart A – Board of Immigration Appeals
9
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.1 – Organization, Jurisdiction, and Powers of the Board of Immigration Appeals
10
Executive Office for Immigration Review. 2.3 – Documents
11
Executive Office for Immigration Review. EOIR Courts and Appeals System (ECAS) – Online Filing
12
Executive Office for Immigration Review. Contact the Board of Immigration Appeals
13
Executive Office for Immigration Review. 2.2 – Service
14
U.S. Department of Justice. Form EOIR-33 Change of Address/Contact Information Form
15
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.6 – Stay of Execution of Decision
16
Executive Office for Immigration Review. 3.7 – Briefing Deadlines