Federal court blocks key provisions of the appeals reform
A federal court in Washington temporarily halted part of a new rule issued by the U.S. Department of Justice that would radically change the appeals process before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
This concerns the Interim Final Rule published on February 6, 2026. It was supposed to take effect on March 9, 2026 and significantly change the process for reviewing appeals of immigration judge decisions.
What the new rule planned
The rule introduced several major changes:
- Reduction of the appeal deadline from 30 to 10 days in certain cases.
- Automatic dismissal of most appeals.
If the full BIA did not vote to review the case within 10 days, the appeal would be considered automatically dismissed. - Review without the case record.
The decision whether to accept an appeal could be made before the transcript was prepared and before the full case file was transferred from the immigration court. - All arguments had to be stated immediately.
If an argument was not included in the Notice of Appeal - it would be considered waived. - Very short briefing deadlines - only about 20 days.
According to immigrant rights organizations, this would have made appeals almost inaccessible, especially for people without attorneys or those held in detention.
Court decision
The court ordered that the key provisions of the rule must not be applied pending further litigation.
Specifically, the court blocked:
- the 10-day appeal filing deadline rule
- the automatic (summary) dismissal mechanism for appeals
- the requirement to include all arguments immediately in the Notice of Appeal
What this means in practice
While the court's order remains in effect:
- the appeal deadline remains 30 days
- BIA cannot automatically dismiss appeals without review
- the appeals process remains under the old rules
The case Amica Center for Immigrant Rights v. EOIR will continue, and a final decision on the legality of the reform has not yet been made.
Disclaimer: The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Translations are provided for convenience and may contain errors or omissions. For guidance on your specific situation, always consult official sources or a qualified attorney.
