ICE Documents: Arrest, Detainer, Release, and Stay Forms

ICE documents are the numbered forms Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses to arrest, charge, release, supervise, and remove noncitizens. Each one carries different legal weight and triggers different obligations, and the difference between a request and an order, or between a release condition and a court deadline, can decide whether you stay in the country. Below is what each of the main forms does, what it requires of you, and what happens if you ignore it.

How an ICE Case Starts: Arrest Warrants and Detainers

Two forms usually open an enforcement case: the administrative arrest warrant and the immigration detainer. They look similar on paper and are often confused, but they operate very differently.

Form I-200: Warrant for Arrest

The Form I-200 is ICE’s administrative arrest warrant. It authorizes officers to take a noncitizen into custody for removal proceedings and states that an ICE official has determined there is probable cause to believe the person is removable.¹ That probable cause can come from pending removal proceedings, biometric matches in federal databases, or statements the person made to an immigration officer. Federal law authorizes these arrests under the statute that also governs detention and bond.²

Form I-247A: Immigration Detainer

A detainer is not an arrest warrant. It is a request from ICE to a local jail or police department asking them to hold a person up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release so ICE can take custody, and to notify ICE at least 48 hours before that release.³ Because it is a request rather than a court order, some jurisdictions honor detainers and others do not, depending on state or local policy.

If you receive a copy of an I-247A in local custody, ICE has determined there is probable cause you are removable, usually based on a pending case, a prior removal order, a records check, or statements you made. The form says the detainer should not affect bail or other local custody decisions, though in practice it sometimes does.

Form I-862: The Notice to Appear

The Notice to Appear is the charging document that puts you into formal removal proceedings. It is the immigration equivalent of a criminal complaint, listing the factual allegations against you and the legal grounds the government believes make you removable.⁴

The NTA may include the date and time of your first hearing. If it does not, the immigration court will send a separate Notice of Hearing.⁴⁵⁶

Missing the hearing is dangerous. If you fail to appear after receiving proper written notice, the judge can order you removed in your absence. The government must prove by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence that you received the notice, but once that standard is met, the order stands.⁷ You can move to reopen within 180 days by showing exceptional circumstances, or at any time if you never received the notice, but these motions are hard to win and the removal order remains enforceable while they are pending.

You have a statutory right to be represented by an attorney at every stage, though the government will not pay for one. Finding a lawyer before your first hearing is one of the most consequential steps you can take.

Release Paperwork: Recognizance, Bond, and Supervision

Not everyone stays detained. ICE uses several forms to release people, each with binding conditions.

Form I-220A: Order of Release on Recognizance

This form releases you without a bond payment under INA Section 236. It lists specific conditions, including appearing at all future court dates and avoiding criminal activity.⁸ Any violation can result in re-arrest.

Release on Bond

When ICE sets a bond, the statutory minimum is $1,500, though bonds are frequently set much higher.² If you believe the amount is unreasonable, you can request a bond hearing before an immigration judge, orally or in writing, at the court with jurisdiction over your detention facility. There is no filing fee. If a judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals has already ruled on your bond, you must show materially changed circumstances to get another hearing.⁹

Whoever posts the bond is the obligor and personally guarantees compliance with all conditions. Breach means the full amount is forfeited to the government.¹⁰ People with certain criminal convictions or national security concerns are subject to mandatory detention and cannot be released on bond at all.²

Form I-220B: Order of Supervision

The I-220B applies to a different situation. You already have a final removal order, but ICE cannot carry it out right now, usually because your home country will not issue travel documents. ICE releases you under supervision with strict conditions.¹¹ Those conditions typically require you to:

Report in person to a designated ICE office on a set schedule.
Stay within a specified geographic area, with no travel outside it for more than 48 hours without prior approval.
Give written notice at least 48 hours before any change of residence or employment.
Cooperate with ICE in obtaining the travel documents needed for your eventual removal.
Participate in electronic monitoring, which may include a GPS ankle bracelet. Tampering with or removing the device is a federal crime punishable by a fine, up to ten years in prison, or both.

Separately, nearly all noncitizens must report any change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving. That obligation exists whether or not you are on supervision.¹²

Form I-246: Application for a Stay of Deportation or Removal

If you have a final removal order and face imminent deportation, Form I-246 lets you ask ICE for a temporary pause. This is an administrative request, not a court filing, and it is entirely within the Field Office Director’s discretion. A denial cannot be appealed, though an immigration judge can still grant a stay in connection with a separate motion to reopen.¹³

The form asks for detailed biographical information: full name, aliases, current address, passport number with issuing country and expiration, criminal history, prior removals, family members and their immigration status, and travel history. You must also explain why you need the stay, with common grounds including serious medical conditions and extreme family hardship. If your request rests on a medical condition, you need documentation from your doctor covering diagnosis, treatment plan, prognosis, and any assistance you require. Missing medical evidence is a valid ground for denial.¹⁴

You submit the I-246 in person at your local ERO field office. The filing fee is $155, non-refundable regardless of outcome. Payment must be U.S. cash, money order, or cashier’s check made payable to “Department of Homeland Security” or “Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” Personal checks and credit cards are not accepted.¹⁴

There is no guaranteed timeline for a decision, and a critical point that many people miss: filing the form does not delay your removal. The regulation is explicit that neither the request nor a lack of response relieves you from complying with an outstanding surrender notice.¹³ If granted, the stay lasts for a set period. There is no automatic renewal, so watch the expiration date.

Voluntary Departure

Voluntary departure is an alternative to a formal removal order. You agree to leave the United States at your own expense by a specific date, and you avoid the future immigration bars that a removal order carries.

There are two windows. Before or during removal proceedings, an immigration judge can grant up to 120 days. At the conclusion of proceedings, the maximum drops to 60 days and the requirements tighten: at least one year of physical presence before the Notice to Appear was served, five years of good moral character, and clear evidence that you have the means and intent to leave.¹⁵ People with aggravated felony convictions or certain national security issues are ineligible.

The penalty for accepting voluntary departure and then failing to leave on time is severe. A civil fine between $1,000 and $5,000 attaches, and you become ineligible for cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, and several other forms of relief for ten years.¹⁵ That ten-year bar can effectively end a future immigration case. If you are not certain you can leave by the deadline, requesting voluntary departure may be worse than not requesting it.

Criminal Penalties for Ignoring ICE Orders

The consequences for defying a removal order escalate quickly. Anyone with a final order who willfully fails to leave within 90 days, refuses to apply for travel documents, or does not appear at the required time and place for removal faces up to four years in federal prison and a fine. For certain categories of deportable noncitizens, including those convicted of aggravated felonies or involved in terrorist activity, the maximum sentence rises to ten years.¹⁶

Violating supervision terms has its own penalties. Willfully failing to comply with an Order of Supervision or providing false information during check-ins carries a fine up to $1,000, up to one year in prison, or both.¹⁶ Tampering with a GPS device is prosecuted separately as destruction of government property, carrying up to ten years.¹¹

Taking lawful steps to challenge your removal, whether by filing a motion to reopen, seeking judicial review, or pursuing other relief, is not a violation even if it delays your departure. The penalties apply to willful refusal, not to people exercising their legal rights.¹⁶

Getting Copies of Your Own ICE Records

You can request copies of your immigration records through a Freedom of Information Act request. ICE accepts FOIA requests through its online portal or by mail. You complete a Certification of Identity form and describe the records with enough detail for the agency to find them, using dates, names, case numbers, or A-Numbers.¹⁷

One point that trips people up: most individual immigration records live in an A-File held by USCIS, not by ICE. ICE’s own FOIA page recommends sending requests for individual immigration records to USCIS instead. Use ICE for enforcement-specific material like detainer documents, check-in histories, or ERO notes.¹⁷

If you find errors in ICE records, corrections are requested in writing through the ICE Privacy Office at 500 12th Street SW, Stop 5004, Washington, DC 20536-5004. Errors can cause real problems during court proceedings or benefit applications, so catching them early is worth the effort.

1
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Warrant for Arrest of Alien
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1226 – Apprehension and Detention of Aliens
3
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration Detainer – Notice of Action
4
Department of Justice. The Notice to Appear
5
Department of Justice. Check Case Status
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A-Number Alien Registration Number Alien Number
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1229a – Removal Proceedings
8
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Order of Release on Recognizance
9
Department of Justice. EOIR Policy Manual – 8.3 Bond Proceedings
10
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Post a Bond
11
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Order of Supervision
12
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE Online Change of Address Tool for Noncitizens Fully Operational
13
eCFR. 8 CFR 241.6 – Administrative Stay of Removal
14
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Application for a Stay of Deportation or Removal
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1229c – Voluntary Departure
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1253 – Penalties Related to Removal
17
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Freedom of Information Act