What Are Removal Proceedings?
You may have heard the terms removal proceedings, deportation proceedings or exclusion proceedings at one time or another. Although under immigration laws they have different definitions, we can generally say that they all concentrate on whether you have a right to be or remain in the United States.
Who Ends Up In Immigration Court?
There are a variety of reasons why someone may be called to immigration court for a removal or deportation hearing. These are:
- Those whose application for asylum was denied and had overstayed their initial visa period, or had applied for asylum while they had no status (such as those who arrived without any visa, or those who asked for asylum at a border).
- Those who have overstayed their visas.
- Those who have committed crimes, even if it was years ago and even if they paid their debt to society, who have left the U.S., and are “discovered” on their way back.
- Those who were convicted of a crime and then have been picked up by the immigration authorities after they did their time in jail or prison.
There are situations when someone who has violated immigration laws of the United States will not have a removal or deportation hearing. Examples of these are those who have re-entered the country after having already been ordered removed, those who agree to a removal without a hearing and those who are removed without an administrative hearing since they are deemed aggravated felons.
What Is The Immigration Court Procedure?
You are notified that you must appear in court through different written documents, the most prevalent being a Notice to Appear. This form not only has a date for your appearance, but also includes certain facts, certain factual allegations, and certain reasons or charges of removability.
The hearing is conducted in an immigration court and presided over by an immigration judge, who is a representative of the Attorney General of the United States and works for the Department of Justice. The government is represented in these proceedings by the Office of District Counsel, and the person who is in removal proceedings (known as the respondent) can be represented by a private attorney of his or her choosing, but unlike criminal proceedings, is not entitled to a free representation by an attorney afforded to him by the government.
The Master Calendar Hearing
The initial hearing is called a Master Calendar Hearing, and the respondent is expected to respond to the Notice to Appear at this hearing. The respondent has many rights under the immigration laws at this hearing. For example, the right to have the charges against him or her read to him, the right to have received notice of the hearing and the right to be represented by counsel.
There are often lots of respondents present in court in a Master Calendar Hearing, and each will spend just a few minutes in front to the judge to either respond to the Notice to Appear, have a short hearing on a motion, or other procedural issues.
At the immigration court hearings, you are entitled to have an interpreter at no charge if your best language is not English. Please note that even if you do speak English, if your best language is another one, it is advisable to allow the court to provide this free interpreter, and often the court will have an interpreter even you state that you are conversant in the English language, if it was the judge’s belief that English is not your “best” language.
There is now an Immigration Court Practice Manual, in effect since 2008. According to the Executive Office for Immigration Review, “the Practice Manual is a comprehensive guide that sets forth uniform procedures, recommendations, and requirements for practice before the Immigration Courts.”
There may be more than one Master Calendar Hearing. If the case is litigated, there are additional documents to be provided, motions are filed or if the court has re-scheduled the hearing due to its own motion or many other procedural reasons. It is not unusual for a case to have 2 or 3 Master Calendar Hearings in the span of 2 or 3 years before the case is finally scheduled for a final, or Individual Calendar Hearing.
Individual Calendar Hearing Or Merits Hearing
After you have fully litigated your case through responding to the Notice to Appear, filing the requisite documents and filing the necessary motions, the case will be scheduled for a Merits Hearing, or Individual Calendar Hearing. Please note, the immigration judges sometimes schedule a case on an individual calendar day because of various procedural or convenience-related reasons, but clearly express that the hearing is not an actual Merits Hearing.
Although a case is supposed to be heard on an individual calendar date, due to over-crowding sometimes more than one case is schedule for the same time. Judges, by-and-large tend to hear the older cases first, but based on the prevailing policy, sometimes other cases, like those where the respondent has a criminal record, are given priority. Since each court session is for only 3 hours, it is quite possible that even those cases that had been scheduled for an Individual or Merits Hearing would have to be re-scheduled, and given how full the immigration judges’ calendars have been in the recent past, it is possible that this new date may be months, or even years away.
The Decision Of The Immigration Judge
When a respondent has had his final hearing, the immigration judge renders a decision in this case, known as the Decision of Immigration Judge. This decision must comply with the prevailing law and precedent decisions, but the immigration judge has been given a great deal of discretion under the immigration laws of the United States. This decision is often made orally on the day of the Individual Calendar Hearing, but sometimes is done later and sent to the respondent by mail.
The decision must lay out clearly and concisely the reasons for the denial in order for the respondent to be able to appeal the case if he or she wants to. Sometimes, even with an approval or grant, the immigration judge does a comprehensive decision if the government has indicated that they intend to appeal the judge’s decision. The judge then indicates whether the parties have reserved appeal, and give instructions as to when and where an appeal needs to be filed, which is often the Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA.
There are many remedies or relief that “respondents” can seek in court depending if they are qualified, at least at technically. These include but are not limited to: seeking waivers for grounds of inadmissibility, cancellation of removal, suspension of deportation, adjustment of status based on a visa category and asylum. The list here is not all inclusive and is just a sample of many things an attorney who knows the law may be able to ask for.
Asylum Hearings In Court
An application for asylum becomes defensive when an applicant is placed in removal proceedings in immigration court, which may happen by one of three ways:
- An applicant is not granted asylum by the officer in the asylum hearing (though they may grant asylum, asylum officers lack the authority to deny an application outright) and the case is referred to an immigration judge, who may rule freely, as he is not bound to the USCIS’s decision.
- An applicant was either caught in the United States or at a U.S. port of entry without proper legal documents, or in violation of their immigration status.
- An applicant was caught trying to enter the United States without appropriate documentation, was placed in the expedited removal process, but was later found to have a credible fear of persecution by an asylum officer.
The Ins And Outs Of An Asylum Hearing In Court
At the court hearing, the application initially submitted will be made a part of the record. The applicant can and is encouraged to testify at this hearing in support of his or her application. Due to the weight of the hearing, it is important that an applicant be prepared to testify honestly, clearly, and emotively, in order to best increase his or her chances of influencing the final outcome.
Experts, supporting witnesses, and friends and family who can attest to the applicant’s country conditions and establish likelihood of persecution may be called to testify. Moreover, if the situation in the applicant’s country of origin has changed substantially in the time between the interview and the hearing, such changes should be brought to the attention of the immigration judge.
The immigration judge will hear arguments from both the applicant and the U.S. government, represented by an attorney and, upon deliberation, will decide whether the individual is eligible for asylum If found eligible, the Immigration Judge will order asylum to be granted. If found ineligible for asylum, the immigration judge will determine whether the individual is eligible for any other forms of relief from removal; if not, the immigration judge will order the individual to be removed/deported from the United States
Appealing The Decision Of The Immigration Judge
Let us assume that you are unhappy with a decision of the immigration judge on a certain motion or request, or with the immigration judge’s decision in your case. What can you do then? You have a right to file either an interlocutory appeal while the case in chief is still pending, or file an appeal at the end of the case.
If an immigration judge has ordered you removed, you generally have the right to appeal that decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals — but only if you reserve the right out loud at your hearing, and only if you file within a strict deadline. Miss either step and the removal order becomes final. Reserving the right costs nothing and simply preserves the option, so if there is any chance at all you'll want to challenge the decision, reserve it.
The BIA appeal process is deep enough — with form requirements, briefing schedules, standards of review, and a February 2026 rule change that's still being litigated — that we've written a complete guide covering it separately. That guide walks through who can appeal, on what grounds, how to file step by step, how long it takes, what it costs, and what the current status of the 2026 BIA rule changes means for your case.
Read our full guide: Appeals of Deportation Orders. If you're facing an appeal deadline right now and want an attorney on your case before it runs, call our office at (818) 382-3333 for a free consultation.
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