A motion for voluntary departure is a formal request asking an immigration judge, during removal proceedings, to let you leave the United States on your own by a set deadline rather than receive a removal order. Filing it means meeting statutory eligibility rules that depend on when in the case you ask, giving up certain rights, and — if granted — leaving by the date the judge sets. The judge has full discretion to grant or deny.
Why People Ask for It
A formal removal order makes you inadmissible to the United States for 10 years from the date you leave or are removed. A second removal pushes that to 20 years, and an aggravated felony conviction makes the bar permanent.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
Voluntary departure avoids those removal-based bars. Separate inadmissibility rules tied to unlawful presence still apply — three years if you accrued more than 180 days but less than one year, ten years for one year or more — but you do not stack a removal order on top of that.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens EOIR’s self-help guidance notes that a deportation order “may prevent you from coming to the U.S. for up to ten years or make you ineligible for certain immigration benefits,” while voluntary departure may allow a return much sooner.3Executive Office for Immigration Review. Self-Help Guide – Information on Voluntary Departure
Two Timing Tracks, Two Sets of Rules
Eligibility turns on when you ask. The pre-conclusion track is easier to qualify for but costs you more rights. The post-conclusion track lets you fight your case first but demands more proof.
Pre-Conclusion Voluntary Departure
To request voluntary departure before the merits hearing, you must concede that you are removable, withdraw any other requests for relief, and waive your right to appeal. The request has to be made no later than the master calendar hearing at which the case is first scheduled for a merits hearing. You cannot have been convicted of an aggravated felony or be deportable on terrorism grounds.4eCFR. 8 CFR 1240.26 – Voluntary Departure, Authority of the Executive Office for Immigration Review
In return, you can get up to 120 days to leave, and you do not have to prove good moral character or post a bond.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1229c – Voluntary Departure This path fits best when no realistic form of other relief is available and you want the most time to arrange departure.
Post-Conclusion Voluntary Departure
If you pursue asylum, cancellation of removal, or other relief and lose, you can still request voluntary departure at the end of the case. The eligibility showing is stricter. You must prove:
- Physical presence in the United States for at least one year before DHS served the Notice to Appear.
- Good moral character for at least five years before filing.
- No aggravated felony conviction.
- A valid passport and the financial means to leave.
The departure window is shorter, capped at 60 days, and the judge must order a bond of at least $500. The judge can set the amount higher.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1229c – Voluntary Departure
Who Cannot Get Voluntary Departure
An aggravated felony conviction is an absolute bar at any stage. The category in immigration law is broad: it reaches more than 30 offense types and can pick up crimes that are misdemeanors under state law, including some theft, tax, and failure-to-appear offenses. The designation applies regardless of when the conviction occurred.
A prior grant of voluntary departure that you failed to honor is also disqualifying. Someone who did not leave within a previous deadline is ineligible for another grant of voluntary departure for 10 years, and the same bar blocks cancellation of removal and adjustment of status during that period.4eCFR. 8 CFR 1240.26 – Voluntary Departure, Authority of the Executive Office for Immigration Review
What Goes in the Motion
The written motion follows the formatting rules in the EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual. Every motion needs a caption with the immigration court’s name, your full name, your A-Number, the type of motion, and the date and time of your next hearing.6Executive Office for Immigration Review. Immigration Court Practice Manual
The body lays out the facts that satisfy each eligibility requirement. For a post-conclusion request, that means how long you have lived in the country, evidence of good moral character over the past five years, and a straightforward accounting of any criminal history. Letters or affidavits from employers, community members, or religious leaders can support the moral character showing.
Attach the documents that prove you can actually leave and cover the cost:
- A valid passport or other government-issued travel document letting you enter the destination country.
- Financial evidence such as bank statements, pay stubs, or a letter from someone funding the trip.
- For post-conclusion motions, character affidavits or letters covering the five-year period.
- The voluntary departure converts to a formal removal order, with all the reentry bars that carries.
- A civil penalty of $1,000 to $5,000.
- A 10-year bar on receiving voluntary departure, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, change of nonimmigrant status, or registry.
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Missing or vague documentation gives the judge an easy reason to deny. If travel documents are not yet in hand but you are working to obtain them, the judge can grant up to 120 days on the condition that the documents are presented to DHS within 60 days.4eCFR. 8 CFR 1240.26 – Voluntary Departure, Authority of the Executive Office for Immigration Review
How to File
Filing runs through the EOIR Courts and Appeals System (ECAS), which has been mandatory since February 2022. Attorneys and accredited representatives must file electronically. Unrepresented respondents are being phased in through a Respondent Access Portal that allows electronic filing and case viewing.7Department of Justice. EOIR Courts and Appeals System (ECAS) – Online Filing
You also have to serve a complete copy of the motion and every attachment on the DHS attorney assigned to your case. A proof of service, showing that you sent the government its copy and how you sent it, must be included with the court filing. An incomplete proof of service can hold up the ruling.
File early enough that the judge can review the motion before the next hearing, and keep going to every scheduled court date while the motion is pending. Missing a hearing can produce an in-absentia removal order and end any chance at voluntary departure.
Bond and the Departure Deadline
When a post-conclusion motion is granted, the bond of at least $500 must be posted with the ICE Field Office Director within five business days of the judge’s order. The judge states the exact amount before granting the motion, and ICE may hold you in custody until it is posted.4eCFR. 8 CFR 1240.26 – Voluntary Departure, Authority of the Executive Office for Immigration Review You, a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, a law firm, or a nonprofit can post the bond.8Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Post a Bond A pre-conclusion grant does not require a bond.
The departure deadline in the judge’s order is firm: up to 120 days for a pre-conclusion grant, a maximum of 60 days for a post-conclusion grant.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1229c – Voluntary Departure
To get the bond refunded, whoever posted it must give ICE proof that you actually left on or before the deadline, submitted within 30 days of the departure date.8Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Post a Bond Boarding passes, a passport entry stamp from the destination country, or similar records typically satisfy this. Keep the original bond receipt, Form I-305, because it is needed to process the refund.
The Motion-to-Reopen Trap
Filing a motion to reopen or reconsider during the voluntary departure period automatically terminates the grant. The alternate removal order the judge entered as a backup takes effect immediately.4eCFR. 8 CFR 1240.26 – Voluntary Departure, Authority of the Executive Office for Immigration Review
If new evidence turns up after the grant, the choice is stark. File the motion and lose voluntary departure, or leave as ordered and pursue the new evidence from abroad. There is no way to do both.
If You Miss the Deadline
Failing to leave by the date the judge set triggers three consequences at once:
The 10-year bar closes off nearly every route to legal status inside the United States for a full decade. The judge must inform you of these penalties when granting the motion, but the clock is already running by then. The departure date on the order is the single most important date in the case.