How to Respond to Form I-229(a): Warning for Failure to Depart

If you have been served ICE Form I-229(a), the government is telling you that your removal order is final and enforceable, and you have a short window — usually 30 days — to cooperate with your own departure or face detention, fines, and possible prosecution. Responding to Form I-229(a) means doing two things at once: taking the specific cooperation steps listed on the instruction sheet attached to the form, and, if you believe you still have a legal argument, filing the right motion or petition before the deadlines run out.¹

What the Notice Is Telling You

Form I-229(a) is a written warning served by ICE to noncitizens with a final order of removal, and it is issued no later than the 30th day of the removal period. If you do not cooperate or take reasonable steps to leave, ICE will keep issuing follow-up notices every 30 days.¹ The form also goes to people whose voluntary departure period expired without them leaving.

The 90-day “removal period” starts when your order becomes administratively final, and the government is generally required to detain you during that period.² The instruction sheet attached to your I-229(a) lists specific actions you must complete within the timeframe stated on the form.

What ICE Expects You to Do

Federal law criminalizes willful noncooperation with removal, so the cooperation steps are not optional. In practical terms, you need to:³

Contact your home country’s consulate to apply in good faith for a passport or emergency travel document. Bring any expired passport, birth certificate, or national ID that proves your citizenship.
Answer truthfully when ICE officers or consular officials ask about your identity, nationality, and background. False information counts as obstruction.
Appear at every scheduled check-in, interview, and removal appointment. Missing one can trigger detention or criminal charges.
Keep ICE informed of your current address and phone number. If you are released under supervision, you must give written notice of any address change at least 48 hours before moving.⁴

Delay does not run out the clock. The removal period is extended for as long as you fail to apply for travel documents or take steps to block your own departure, which means the window during which you can be detained gets longer, not shorter.²

What Happens If You Don’t Comply

Criminal Prosecution

Willfully failing to depart, refusing to apply for travel documents, taking action to prevent your removal, or failing to show up for removal is a federal felony. A conviction carries up to four years in prison, a fine, or both.³ If you were ordered removed on certain criminal or security grounds — aggravated felonies, crimes involving moral turpitude, controlled substance offenses, firearms offenses, or national security concerns — the maximum rises to ten years.⁵

Prosecutors must show you had the ability to leave and intentionally chose not to. Someone whose home country refuses to issue travel documents is in a different position from someone who never contacted the consulate.

Daily Civil Fines

Separate from any prosecution, the government can impose a daily civil penalty for each day you remain in the country in violation of your removal order. The statute originally set this at $500 per day; after inflation adjustments the current maximum is $998 per day.⁶ It applies if you willfully fail to depart, refuse to obtain travel documents, fail to appear for removal, or conspire to prevent your departure.⁷ The debt accumulates from the date the order became final until you actually leave, and it can follow you into any future immigration proceeding.

If Your Form Relates to a Voluntary Departure Overstay

If you got Form I-229(a) because your voluntary departure period expired without you leaving, a different penalty regime applies. Overstaying voluntary departure triggers a civil penalty between $1,000 and $5,000 and a 10-year bar on eligibility for cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, voluntary departure, change of nonimmigrant status, and registry.⁸ The bar applies automatically once the departure deadline passes. A narrow Violence Against Women Act exception exists for individuals whose extreme cruelty or battery was a central reason for the overstay. The 10-year bar closes most paths to relief for a full decade, even if your circumstances later change.

If You’re Released Under Supervision Instead of Removed

If ICE cannot remove you within the 90-day removal period, you may be released under an Order of Supervision (Form I-220B) rather than held longer. Release is discretionary, and people with certain criminal convictions or security concerns can be held past 90 days.²

Supervision usually includes:⁹

Periodic in-person check-ins at your local ICE office.
Travel restrictions — you cannot leave a specified geographic area for more than 48 hours without ICE approval.
Continued cooperation on travel documents and truthful testimony under oath about your nationality and circumstances.
Written notice to ICE at least 48 hours before any change of residence.

ICE may also enroll you in Alternatives to Detention, which can include GPS ankle monitoring, the SmartLINK phone app, or both. Tampering with or removing a GPS device is a separate federal crime carrying up to ten years in prison.⁹ Violating any condition can put you back in detention.

Legal Options You May Still Have

Getting Form I-229(a) does not automatically mean every legal door is closed, but the deadlines are unforgiving. Talk to an immigration lawyer immediately if you plan to pursue any of these.

Petition for Review

You have 30 days from the date of the final removal order to file a petition for review with the appropriate federal circuit court of appeals.¹⁰ This deadline is hard. Filing a petition does not by itself stop your removal; you have to separately ask the court for a stay.

Motion to Reopen

You are allowed one motion to reopen, and it generally must be filed within 90 days of the final removal order. The motion must present new facts backed by affidavits or evidence that was not available or discoverable earlier.¹¹ The 90-day limit does not apply if you are seeking asylum, withholding of removal, or CAT protection based on material changed country conditions, or if ICE joins the motion. Separate rules cover in absentia orders. A motion to reconsider, arguing legal error, must be filed within 30 days and is also limited to one.

Stay of Removal (Form I-246)

You can ask ICE for a temporary stay of removal by filing Form I-246 with your local Enforcement and Removal Operations field office. The form generally must be submitted in person with a $155 nonrefundable fee, payable by cash, money order, or cashier’s check. Bring identity documents (valid passport or birth certificate), a written statement of your reasons, police and court records for any arrests, and medical documentation if health is your basis.¹²

A stay is entirely discretionary. The field office director can deny it for any reason, and there is no appeal. Common reasons for rejection include incorrect fees, filing at the wrong office, listing multiple applicants on one form, missing identity documents, a criminal record, or inaccurate information.¹²

Practical Steps Before You Leave

Property and Bank Accounts

If you have bank accounts, property, or other assets in the United States, arrange for someone to manage them before you go. A power of attorney lets a trusted person access accounts, sell property, or handle finances on your behalf, and the scope can be broad or task-specific. If you do not have significant assets in the country, you may not need one — many banks let customers manage accounts from abroad. Powers of attorney are not standardized and should be drafted to fit your situation, and may need to be notarized.

Bond Refund

If someone posted an immigration bond for you, the obligor may claim a refund after you depart. ICE mails a Form I-391, Notice of Immigration Bond Cancelled, to the address on file. The obligor sends Form I-391 with the original receipt (Form I-305) to the DHS Debt Management Center at P.O. Box 5000, Williston, VT 05495-5000. A signed and notarized Form I-395 affidavit can replace a lost receipt. Processing takes roughly four weeks, and the refund includes the original bond plus accrued interest.

Proving You Actually Left

If you leave at your own expense, document it. Procedures vary by country but generally involve presenting your DHS-issued departure form (such as Form I-210 for voluntary departure), your passport, boarding pass, and proof of arrival to a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Verified departure starts certain legal clocks, including any reentry bars, and puts the government on record that you complied. If ICE physically removes you, officers handle the paperwork; ask for a copy of the executed removal order for your files.

1
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Chapter 17.15 Failure to Cooperate
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1231 – Detention and Removal of Aliens Ordered Removed
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1253 – Penalties Related to Removal
4
eCFR. 8 CFR 241.5 – Conditions of Release After Removal Period
5
United States Department of Justice. Criminal Resource Manual 1915 – Willful Failure or Refusal to Depart
6
Federal Register. Imposition and Collection of Civil Penalties for Certain Immigration Related Violations
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1324d – Civil Penalties for Failure to Depart
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1229c – Voluntary Departure
9
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Order of Supervision – Form I-220B
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1252 – Judicial Review of Orders of Removal
11
United States Department of Justice. EOIR Policy Manual – 4.7 Motions to Reopen
12
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Application for a Stay of Deportation or Removal