Stay of Removal Form I-246: Filing, Review, and Approval

A Stay of Removal, Form I-246, is the application you file with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations to ask the government to temporarily hold off on deporting you after a final removal order has been issued. The stay is discretionary, meaning ICE can say no even when your paperwork is perfect, and filing the form does not by itself pause your removal. You submit it in person at your local ICE ERO field office with a $155 non-refundable fee, identity and travel documents, and evidence supporting the reasons a temporary reprieve is warranted.

Do You Actually Need to File Form I-246?

Some removal situations pause automatically without any application. If an immigration judge orders your removal and you file a timely appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, the removal is stayed during the 30-day appeal window and throughout the BIA’s review. Filing a motion to reopen an in absentia removal order also triggers an automatic stay while the judge considers the motion.¹²

You need Form I-246 when no automatic stay applies. The typical situation: you have a final removal order, appeals are exhausted or were never available, and ICE has the legal authority to deport you at any time. The form is the mechanism for asking ICE to hold off, governed by 8 CFR 241.6.³

If your case is still pending before an immigration judge, the BIA, or a federal circuit court on a petition for review, those bodies handle stay requests differently and the ICE form is not the right path. Circuit courts apply the four-factor test from Nken v. Holder, and some circuits (the Second, Third, and Ninth) provide a temporary automatic stay the moment the motion is filed.⁴ The rest of this article covers the ICE administrative stay, which is the path for people who have already reached a final removal order.

What Goes on the Form

Form I-246 asks for biographical details, aliases, current address, and the complete history of your immigration proceedings including the date and location of the removal order. You must also disclose every arrest and conviction, supported by police reports and court records.⁵

The narrative section is where most applications live or die. A general statement that removal would be hard is not enough. You need a specific account of why a temporary stay is warranted in your case, tied directly to the evidence you attach.

Identity and Travel Document Requirements

The form has a strict identity documentation rule that gets many applications rejected outright. You must submit one of three things:

Your original passport, valid for at least six months past the stay period you are requesting.
A copy of your passport (still valid for six months past the requested period) along with a copy of your birth certificate or other identity documents, if you cannot surrender the original.
Proof that you applied for a passport, including a copy of the application, proof of payment, and copies of all documentation you submitted, if you have no valid passport at all.

ICE retains all documents you submit while the case is pending. Missing identity documents is a specific ground for rejection.⁵

Supporting Evidence

Because the decision is discretionary, the strength of your supporting package is often what separates approval from denial. Build your evidence around your ties to the United States and the hardship removal would cause:

Family ties: birth certificates of U.S. citizen children, marriage certificates, and evidence that family members depend on you financially or for caregiving.
Community roots: employment records, property ownership documents, tax returns, and anything showing you are established.
Medical necessity: records with diagnoses, treatment plans, and information about whether comparable treatment exists in your home country.
Criminal history mitigation: certified court records with evidence of rehabilitation, such as program completion, character references, or community service.
Pending immigration applications: receipts and proof of filing for any visa, adjustment of status, or other benefit currently in progress.

Every document should tie to a specific reason the stay is warranted. Filler dilutes the strong evidence.

Any document not in English needs a certified translation. The translator must certify in writing that they are fluent in both languages and that the translation is accurate, and the certification must include the translator’s name, signature, address, and date. You do not have to use a professional service, though notarization adds credibility.

Where and How to File

You must file the completed form in person at the ICE ERO Field Office with jurisdiction over your location. If you are detained, that is the office responsible for your detention facility. If you are not detained, file at the ERO office closest to where you live. In-person filing lets ERO verify your identity and conduct a preliminary review.⁵

The filing fee is $155 and is non-refundable regardless of outcome. Each family member seeking a stay must file a separate application with a separate fee and its own supporting documents.⁵

Filing Does Not Pause Removal

This is the detail that catches people off guard. The regulation says plainly that neither the act of filing nor the wait for a response delays removal or excuses you from complying with any outstanding surrender notice.³ If a surrender date is on the calendar, you still have to show up. If a deportation flight is scheduled, ICE can put you on it while your application is sitting in someone’s inbox.

How ICE Decides

An ERO Field Office Director or designated officer reviews the application under factors drawn from 8 CFR 212.5 and section 241(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The statutory language in 8 USC 1231(c) authorizes a stay when immediate removal is not practicable or proper, or when you are needed as a witness in a federal or state criminal prosecution.⁶ The regulatory factors add considerations like severity of hardship, ties to the community, and whether you pose a public safety concern.

The officer weighs these against each other. Strong community ties can be undercut by a serious criminal record. A pending immigration application likely to lead to lawful status carries more weight than a speculative one. The officer has broad discretion and no formula guarantees approval.

If Your Stay Is Approved

An approved stay runs for a specific period. The form offers preset options of three months, six months, or one year, with room for a different period at the officer’s discretion.⁵ The regulation sets no fixed maximum.³

Order of Supervision Conditions

Approval comes with an Order of Supervision (Form I-220B) setting the conditions you must follow. Standard conditions include:⁷

Regular in-person check-ins with a designated officer, answering questions under oath.
Travel restrictions requiring advance approval before leaving specified areas. Leaving your state without ICE permission can be treated as a violation.
Written notice to ICE of any change of address.
Continued efforts to obtain a passport or travel document, and cooperation with the government in doing so.
Medical or mental health examinations if directed.

A financial bond of at least $1,500 may also be required to secure compliance and your surrender for removal if it becomes necessary.⁵ ICE may place you in the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, which can involve GPS ankle monitors, the SmartLINK phone app, or more frequent in-person reporting.

The Field Office Director keeps the authority to revoke the stay and execute the removal order at any time. Approval is not a guarantee that you will remain in the country for the full period.

Employment Authorization

Supervision does not automatically come with permission to work. The officer who issued the supervision order can grant employment authorization if they find you cannot be removed in a timely manner or that removal is impracticable or contrary to the public interest.⁷ If granted, you file Form I-765 with a copy of your Order of Supervision to obtain an Employment Authorization Document under the (c)(18) category, renewable annually.

Renewing the Stay

A stay does not renew on its own. As the granted period nears its end, the ERO office will schedule an in-person appointment. You submit a new Form I-246, a new $155 fee, and updated evidence. The officer may extend the stay, deny it, or bring you back at a later date while the new application is reviewed. Treat every renewal as seriously as the original. Fresh evidence of continued ties, rehabilitation, or progress on a pending immigration case strengthens the case for another period.

If Your Stay Is Denied

Denial of Form I-246 is not appealable. The regulation is explicit: no administrative appeal is available from an ICE denial.³ You remain subject to your final removal order and the government can execute it.

A denial by ICE does not prevent an immigration judge or the BIA from granting a stay tied to a pending motion to reopen or reconsider. If such a motion is pending, that channel remains open even after ICE says no.³ You can also refile a new I-246 if your circumstances have genuinely changed, though resubmitting the same evidence rarely produces a different result.

Where you have grounds to challenge the underlying removal order in federal court, filing a petition for review with the appropriate circuit court and requesting a judicial stay at the same time is a separate path. The federal standard is more demanding, requiring a strong showing of likely success on the merits, but the court’s authority is independent of ICE’s.

Emergency Situations

If you are in ICE custody and have a confirmed removal date, the BIA’s Emergency Stay Unit handles requests when deportation is imminent. You or your attorney must contact the Emergency Stay Unit directly by phone for instructions. The regular BIA Clerk’s Office cannot process emergency requests.⁸

For circuit court emergency stays, the Second, Third, and Ninth Circuits provide a temporary automatic stay when the motion is filed, holding removal in place until the court rules. In other circuits, the government can execute removal unless the court affirmatively grants the motion, so filing early matters.

Because filing Form I-246 does not itself stop removal, an imminent deportation date is not the time to file the I-246 alone and wait. If your removal is days away, pursue emergency relief through the BIA or a federal court at the same time. People have been removed with a pending stay request still sitting unopened at an ERO office.

1
eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.6 – Stay of Execution of Decision
2
Executive Office for Immigration Review. Motions to Reopen In Absentia Orders
3
eCFR. 8 CFR 241.6 – Administrative Stay of Removal
4
Library of Congress. Nken v Holder, 556 US 418 (2009)
5
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Application for a Stay of Deportation or Removal
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1231 – Detention and Removal of Aliens Ordered Removed
7
eCFR. 8 CFR 241.5 – Conditions of Release After Removal Period
8
Department of Justice. BIA Emergency Stay Requests