How to Complete Form I-286 and Request a Bond Hearing

ICE Form I-286, the Notice of Custody Determination, is the document an immigration officer gives you after taking you into custody. It records the officer’s decision about whether you stay detained, are released on bond, or are released on your own recognizance, and it carries a checkbox that lets you ask an immigration judge to review that decision. What you do with that checkbox, and how quickly, drives what happens next.

What Form I-286 Tells You

The top of the form carries your identifying information: your full name, your nine-digit Alien Registration Number (A-Number), and the date the officer issued it. Below that, the officer marks one of three custody decisions.

Released on your own recognizance. You leave without paying, usually with reporting conditions or supervision requirements attached.
Released under bond in the amount of $____. You leave once someone posts the amount the officer wrote in.
Detained in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security. You stay in detention, and no bond is set.

Federal law sets the floor for an immigration bond at $1,500, but officers routinely set bonds far higher — $5,000, $10,000, or more — based on their assessment of flight risk and perceived danger to the community.¹ If the officer chose the third option and set no bond at all, that is a discretionary “no bond” determination. A judge can disagree with it, which is exactly why the redetermination checkbox exists.

A separate box on the form flags mandatory detention. If it is marked, ICE is asserting that federal law forbids your release and that a judge cannot set bond. Whether that box applies to you is itself something you can challenge, but the path is different from an ordinary bond hearing.

The Checkbox at the Bottom Is the Action Item

Near the bottom of Form I-286 sits a line where you indicate whether you accept the officer’s custody decision or request a redetermination by an immigration judge. You then sign and date the form to acknowledge receipt.

If you want a judge to look at your custody, check the box that reads “I do request a redetermination of this custody decision by an immigration judge,” sign the form, and date it. ICE is then required to file the original I-286 with the immigration court that has jurisdiction over the detention facility where you are held.² You keep a copy.

Failing to check the box or sign the form at intake does not permanently waive your right to a hearing, but it creates delays. Under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19, a request for an initial bond redetermination can also be made orally, in writing, or, at the judge’s discretion, by telephone, filed directly with the immigration court that has jurisdiction over your place of detention.³ An attorney or accredited representative can file that request for you if the moment at booking passed without the checkbox being marked.

One limit worth knowing before the first hearing: after your initial bond redetermination, you can only request another one by showing in writing that your circumstances have changed materially since the last hearing. Simply disagreeing with the judge’s ruling is not enough for a second bite.³

If the Mandatory Detention Box Is Checked

Some people in ICE custody are not eligible for bond because federal law requires their detention. If that box is marked on your I-286, ICE believes you fall into one of the categories Congress carved out under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c). Those categories include noncitizens who have been convicted of or are charged with certain criminal or security-related offenses:¹

Crimes making you inadmissible under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2), which include crimes involving moral turpitude, controlled substance violations, and multiple criminal convictions.
Controlled substance offenses, firearms offenses, and other deportable offenses under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(ii), (A)(iii), (B), (C), or (D).
Aggravated felonies for which you received a prison sentence of at least one year.
Terrorism-related grounds under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B) or 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(4)(B).
Certain immigration violations combined with specified crimes, such as burglary, theft, shoplifting, assault on a law enforcement officer, or any crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

Mandatory detention applies from the moment the person is released from criminal custody, regardless of whether that release was on parole, probation, or supervised release. The narrow statutory exception allows release only when the Attorney General determines it is necessary to protect a cooperating witness in a major criminal investigation, and only when the person poses no danger and is likely to appear for proceedings.¹

If you think ICE has misclassified you — for example, the conviction they are relying on does not actually qualify — you can challenge the classification before an immigration judge in what is sometimes called a Joseph hearing. That hearing focuses on whether the mandatory detention statute applies to your situation at all, not on the usual bond factors.

What Happens at the Bond Hearing

Bond hearings are separate from removal proceedings. The judge is not deciding whether you will be deported, only whether you should remain detained while that question is resolved. The hearing is shorter and less formal than a merits hearing, and many take place by video conference between the courtroom and the detention facility.⁴

The judge weighs three questions: whether releasing you would pose a danger to people or property, whether you are likely to appear for future proceedings, and whether you present a national security concern.⁴ There are no formal rules of evidence; the judge has wide discretion to weigh whatever you, your attorney, or the government put forward.

Flight risk is typically evaluated through how long you have lived in the United States, whether you have a fixed address, your family ties, your employment history, your record of showing up for past court dates, the manner in which you entered the country, and whether you have viable forms of immigration relief available to you. Danger to the community is assessed mainly through your criminal record: the seriousness of past offenses, how recent they are, and evidence of rehabilitation.

At the end of the hearing the judge usually announces the decision orally. The judge can grant release on recognizance, set a bond (higher or lower than the amount ICE originally set), or order continued detention without bond.³

What to Bring

The burden at a bond hearing falls on you to show you deserve release, so documentation makes a real difference. The hearings that succeed usually have a paper trail that speaks directly to flight risk and community safety.

Ties to the community: birth certificates of U.S. citizen children, a marriage certificate, lease agreements or mortgage documents, utility bills showing a stable address, letters from community organizations, churches, or employers.
Employment and financial stability: recent pay stubs, tax returns, a letter from your employer confirming your position, or evidence of a business you operate. If you are arguing the bond amount is too high, a detailed household budget helps the judge see what is realistic.
Criminal history documentation. If you have no record, a background check showing no convictions is powerful. If you do have a record, evidence of rehabilitation matters: completion certificates from treatment programs, proof of community service, or letters from probation officers.
Character references from people who know you personally, explaining your role in the community and vouching for your reliability.
Immigration relief. A pending visa petition, an approved labor certification, or eligibility for cancellation of removal suggests you have reason to keep showing up.
A reliable sponsor prepared to appear or submit a declaration explaining their relationship to you and their ability to help you comply with release conditions.

Organize the documents in advance and get copies to the court and to ICE’s trial attorney before the hearing. Arriving with an unsorted stack on the day itself does not help; the judge needs time to read what you submit.

Posting the Bond Once It Is Set

If ICE or the judge sets a bond amount, someone needs to pay it before you leave the facility. That person is the “obligor,” and they take on legal responsibility for ensuring you comply with hearing requirements. The detainee cannot post their own delivery bond.

ICE’s electronic bond system, CeBONDS, is the primary method. The obligor creates an account at cebonds.ice.gov, verifies the bond information using the detainee’s A-Number, and submits payment. Only ACH bank transfers and Fedwire payments are accepted; no credit cards, debit cards, or personal checks. CeBONDS is open to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, law firms, and nonprofit organizations. Processing takes roughly one to two hours during bond posting hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the time zone where the detainee is held, excluding government holidays.⁵

ICE has been transitioning toward electronic-only bond processing, so in-person payments at field offices are now reserved for exceptional cases such as technical failures or accessibility issues. If you need to pay in person, contact the nearest ICE field office to confirm they are accepting walk-in bond payments and to schedule an appointment. Payment must be by certified check or money order made payable to “U.S. Department of Homeland Security.”⁵

If the full amount is out of reach, a private immigration bond company can post a surety bond on your behalf. The company charges a nonrefundable premium, may require collateral, and must appear on the Treasury Department’s Circular 570 list of approved sureties. The premium is money you do not get back, so weigh it carefully.

Appealing a Bad Decision

If the judge denies bond or sets an amount you cannot afford, either side can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals on Form EOIR-26, the Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge.³ Under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38, the regulatory deadline is 10 calendar days from the judge’s decision.⁶ As of March 2026, however, a federal court order has blocked enforcement of a recent rule change that shortened the appeal window, and appeals currently remain due within 30 days of the judge’s order. Because the litigation is ongoing, confirm the applicable deadline with the immigration court or an attorney before relying on either timeframe.

Filing an appeal does not automatically stay the bond decision. If the judge granted bond, ICE can ask the BIA for a stay to keep you detained while the appeal is pending. If the judge denied bond, filing an appeal will not get you released; you stay in custody until the BIA rules or you obtain a different form of relief.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1226 – Apprehension and Detention of Aliens
2
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ERO Bond Management Handbook
3
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.19 – Custody/Bond
4
Executive Office for Immigration Review. 8.3 – Bond Proceedings
5
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Post a Bond
6
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.38 – Appeals