A Board of Immigration Appeals Decision Is Not the End of the Road

You received a decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and now the clock matters. A petition for review after a BIA decision must be filed within 30 days of the final order of removal. This page explains when that clock starts, which court hears the petition, and what the court can and cannot review.

AG Immigration Law P.A. focuses on removal defense and BIA appeals. Use this page as general information, and check the dates on your own papers today.

What the 30-Day Petition for Review Deadline Means

A petition for review asks a federal court of appeals to examine a final order of removal. The deadline is 30 days.

Federal law sets this limit. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, the petition must be filed not later than 30 days after the date of the final order of removal. The statute also makes this petition the sole and exclusive means for judicial review of a removal order, with one exception in subsection (e).

In plain terms, the appeals court is where a removal order gets a second look under federal law. A late petition can be turned away, so treat this date as the central deadline in your case.

Many people hear “appeal” and think only of the BIA appeal. That step comes earlier, and it has its own deadline. A petition for review is a federal filing, not a new hearing before an immigration judge.

For the wider picture of removal proceedings and appeals, read our removal defense page.

When the 30-Day Clock Starts

The clock generally starts on the date of the final order of removal, which is often the BIA’s decision.

Under 8 C.F.R. § 1241.1, an order of removal becomes final when the Board dismisses the appeal. It also becomes final when the respondent waives appeal. If an immigration judge orders removal in your absence, the order is final as soon as it is entered. If no appeal is taken and the case is not certified to the Board, the immigration judge’s decision becomes final upon waiver of appeal or when the time to appeal runs out, whichever occurs first, under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.39.

The statute counts from the date of the final order, not from the day your mail arrives. Track that order date first.

For appeals of decisions issued on or after March 9, 2026, the Board shall summarily dismiss the appeal unless a majority of the permanent Board members votes en banc to accept it for adjudication on the merits, as stated in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1. When the Board summarily dismisses the appeal under this paragraph (d)(2)(ii), the immigration judge’s decision is adopted by the Board and articulates the rationale for removal that is subject to judicial review.

Whether a motion to the BIA changes the timing turns on the facts of your case. Motions have their own rules, covered below.

Which Federal Court of Appeals Receives the Petition

The petition goes to the court of appeals for the circuit where the immigration judge completed the proceedings.

That rule comes from 8 U.S.C. § 1252. The court is set by where your case was heard, not by where you live now.

For cases in the areas this page covers, the mapping is direct. Cases heard in Florida immigration courts, including Miami, Broward County and Orlando, go to the Eleventh Circuit. Cases in Texas, including Houston and San Antonio, go to the Fifth Circuit. Cases in New York and New York City go to the Second Circuit.

Confirm where your hearing took place early, because that fact sets the court.

Why the 30-Day Deadline Is Strict

The 30-day limit is written into federal statute. A late petition can close the federal review route for that order.

The petition “must be filed not later than 30 days after the date of the final order of removal.” Missing that date can end federal review of that order.

Count the 30 days from the final order, then mark the date on your calendar. Set reminders well before it arrives.

Motions to reopen run on a separate clock. Under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2, except as provided in paragraph (c)(3) of this section, an alien may file only one motion to reopen removal proceedings. That motion must be filed no later than 90 days after the date on which the final administrative decision was rendered in the proceeding sought to be reopened, except as provided in paragraph (c)(3) of this section. Treat that 90-day limit as its own deadline. Do not assume one deadline resets the other.

How the Petition for Review Process Works

A petition for review opens a federal case. The court decides it mainly on the record already built in the immigration system.

The petition goes to the proper court of appeals.

Briefing runs on tight timing. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, your brief is due not later than 40 days after the administrative record is available. A reply brief may be filed not later than 14 days after service of the government’s brief. The court may not extend these deadlines except on motion for good cause shown.

If a brief is not filed on time, the court shall dismiss the appeal unless a manifest injustice would result. Plan your drafting around the 40-day date from the day the record becomes available.

Common Legal Issues a Petition for Review Can Raise

A petition can raise questions of law and fact tied to the removal order. Those include constitutional and statutory questions.

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1252, judicial review of all questions of law and fact from a removal action is available only through a petition on the final order. That covers how a statute is interpreted and applied.

Issues must be raised early. Under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38, any issue not raised in the Notice of Appeal (Form EOIR-26) is deemed waived. The reasons for the appeal must also be stated in that notice, as 8 C.F.R. § 1240.15 provides, and a failure to do so can lead to dismissal.

That is why the BIA appeal matters so much. Write your issues down while the decision is fresh.

What a Petition for Review Cannot Do Alone

A petition for review does not add new facts to your case on its own. New facts usually come through a motion to reopen.

Under 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2, a motion to reopen must state the new facts to be proven at a hearing. It must be supported by affidavits or other evidence. The evidence must be material and must not have been available earlier.

A petition also does not decide by itself whether removal is paused. Whether you need a stay of removal, and how the court handles that request, depends on the facts of your case.

If you were ordered removed in absentia, the review is narrower. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1229a, a petition for an in absentia order is confined to the validity of the notice, the reasons you did not attend, and whether you are removable, except in cases described in section 1252(b)(5) of this title. No appeal to the BIA lies from that order, under 8 C.F.R. § 1240.15.

Ready to Talk About Your BIA Decision?

If you hold a BIA decision, the 30 days run from the final order. Start with that date.

Frequently Asked Questions