How to Check Immigration Bond Status: ICE Locator, EOIR, and ERO

To check the status of an immigration bond, use one or more of three channels: the ICE Online Detainee Locator System at locator.ice.gov, the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s automated hotline at 1-800-898-7180, or a direct call to the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office handling the case. If you posted a cash bond online, you can also log into your CeBonds account. Each source shows a different piece of the picture — where the person is being held, when their next hearing is scheduled, and whether the bond payment itself has been processed — so a full answer often means checking more than one.¹

Information to Have Ready

All three channels ask for identifiers tied to the detained person, not to you. Gather these before you start:

The Alien Registration Number (A-Number), found on the Notice to Appear (Form I-862) or the bond contract (Form I-352).²
The person’s full legal name, spelled exactly as it appears in government records. A missing middle name or a small spelling difference is enough to keep the system from finding the record.¹
Date of birth and country of birth, both used as identifiers in the ICE locator system.³
Your copy of Form I-305, the bond receipt, if you were the one who posted the bond. The receipt number helps field office staff pull the bond record quickly.

Method 1: The ICE Online Detainee Locator

The Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS) at locator.ice.gov is free and public. Search by A-Number and country of birth, or by full name, date of birth, and country of birth. The system returns the detention facility name and location.³

ODLS is a location tool, not a bond-amount tracker. It won’t display the dollar figure on the bond or tell you whether a payment is pending. What it does tell you — and this is the part that matters for status — is whether the person is still in ICE custody. If someone who was detained no longer appears in the system, that usually means the bond went through and they were released.

Give the system time. Records can lag more than 24 hours behind an arrest or transfer, and people initially held by Customs and Border Protection may not appear until they have been in custody about 48 hours. If a search returns nothing, check the spelling and try again later before assuming there is a problem.

Method 2: The EOIR Case Information Hotline

The Executive Office for Immigration Review operates an automated line at 1-800-898-7180 (TDD 800-828-1120) that reports the status of immigration court proceedings.⁴ Pick a language, key in the A-Number, and the recording confirms the person’s name and reads back the date, time, and location of the next scheduled hearing.

This is how you check bond status indirectly. If an immigration judge has recently changed the bond amount or granted a bond redetermination, the updated hearing information will reflect the new posture of the case. The hotline won’t show a new hearing date until the court has actually scheduled one, so a “no upcoming hearing” message can mean any of three things: the case has ended, the next hearing hasn’t been set, or there’s a data-entry lag.⁴

Method 3: The ICE ERO Field Office

Calling or visiting the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office nearest the detention facility is the only way to get the bond’s actual administrative status. The field office can tell you whether the bond has been posted, whether payment is still being verified, and roughly when release paperwork will be finalized.¹

Bring or have on hand a government-issued ID and the original Form I-305 receipt. Two words to listen for:

Posted means ICE has received the funds and release paperwork is being prepared.
Pending means the payment is still being verified or processed.

Field office contact information is on the ICE website, and the detention facility’s information desk can also point you to the right office.

Checking a Cash Bond Through CeBonds

If you posted a cash bond through ICE’s online Cash Electronic Bonds (CeBonds) system, log into your CeBonds account to verify the bond and view any notices ICE has issued.¹ CeBonds is open to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, law firms, and nonprofit organizations located in the United States. Payments run through Fedwire or ACH, and verification generally takes one to two hours during business hours — Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the detention facility’s time zone.

Through CeBonds you can acknowledge electronic notices and see whether the bond contract has been fully processed. If the system can’t find the detained person, recheck the name and A-Number. For anything CeBonds can’t answer, it will point you to the nearest ICE field office.¹

How the Bond Type Affects Tracking

There are two main kinds of immigration bond, and the tracking route depends on which was used.

A delivery bond lets a detained person be released while their case is pending, on the condition that they attend every scheduled hearing. Missing a hearing forfeits the bond.
A voluntary departure bond applies when the person agrees to leave the country at their own expense by a set deadline. The money is returned once they depart on time.

Payment method also matters for how you check. A cash bond is paid directly to ICE, and if it was submitted electronically the obligor can track it through CeBonds. A surety bond is posted by a licensed bonding company for a non-refundable premium of roughly 15 to 20 percent of the bond amount, and status questions run through that company and the field office rather than through the ICE electronic system.

Who Can Ask About the Bond

Field offices and CeBonds will discuss a bond with the obligor — the person financially responsible for it. ICE requires the obligor to be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or an authorized representative of a law firm or nonprofit, and to present identification proving eligibility. U.S. citizens can show a passport, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, or military ID. Lawful permanent residents can show a green card or military ID. Law firms and nonprofits provide their IRS employer identification number documentation and a letter authorizing the person posting the bond. A detained person can post their own voluntary departure bond or order of supervision bond.¹

Putting the Answers Together

Combined, the three sources tell you what you need to know. ODLS confirms whether the person is still in custody. The EOIR hotline confirms whether the court has a next hearing on the calendar, which reveals whether a judge has recently acted on the bond. The field office — or CeBonds, for electronic cash bonds — confirms whether ICE has actually processed the payment and cut the release paperwork. If the three don’t line up, start with the field office; it has the definitive record of what ICE has and hasn’t done with the money.

Two related questions sit outside the status check itself. If the bond amount looks too high or was denied, the detained person or their attorney can request a bond redetermination hearing before an immigration judge, at no filing fee.⁵ And once the case ends and conditions have been met, ICE cancels the bond and sends the obligor Form I-391, which is what you’ll use to claim the refund.

1
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Post a Bond
2
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE Form I-352 – Immigration Bond
3
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Locating Individuals in Detention
4
Executive Office for Immigration Review. Check Case Status
5
Executive Office for Immigration Review. 8.3 – Bond Proceedings