Your Asylum Case Has Been Referred to Immigration Court. Here Is What Comes Next.

Wondering what to do after asylum case referred to immigration court before hearing? Start with three jobs. Track your case and keep your court address current. Keep your fees and filings up to date. Then prepare your story and documents before the first hearing.

This guide covers each step in order. It explains the rules that matter most and links each rule to its source.

What a Referral to Immigration Court Means for Your Asylum Case

A referral to an immigration judge, for an applicant who appears inadmissible or deportable under section 212(a) or 237(a) of the Act, means the judge decides the asylum application within removal proceedings. USCIS is no longer the only office handling it. Under 8 CFR 1208.14, when an applicant appears to be inadmissible or deportable, an asylum officer shall refer the application to an immigration judge for removal proceedings, except for applicants described in paragraph (c)(4)(ii) who have not already been subject to proceedings in accordance with 8 CFR 235.3; where charging documents may not be issued, the officer shall dismiss the application instead. Treat the referral as the start of a court case, not a pause. Most of the steps below apply whichever route brought you here.

There are two common routes. Some applicants file with USCIS, attend an interview, and are then referred to court. Others are placed in court and raise asylum there as a defense to removal.

If your path began with a credible fear interview, read the guide to that route. If you still have USCIS obligations after the referral, see USCIS appointments after a referral.

Many people plan around a window of about 60 days before the first hearing. That window is a planning tool. It is not a fixed legal deadline, and your own schedule may be shorter or longer.

Track Your Case and Keep Your Court Address Current

Your hearing notice is your roadmap. It lists the court, the date, the time, and your case details. Keep the original and a copy in one place.

When you call or check status, use the identifiers on that notice. Have your A-number and case details ready so the court can match your file. Compare what you find with the notices you received. If a date or court name does not match, follow the written notice and ask the court to confirm.

Your address matters just as much. Within five days of any change of address, you must file written notice on Form EOIR-33 with the immigration court. A separate federal law also requires each alien required to be registered who is within the United States to notify the Attorney General in writing of each change of address within ten days, under 8 U.S.C. § 1305.

Missed notices carry serious results. Under 8 CFR 1003.26, an immigration judge shall order a person removed in absentia if the person fails to appear and DHS establishes by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence that the person is removable and that written notice of the time, place, and consequences of failure to appear was provided to the person or to counsel of record. Written notice sent to the most recent address the person provided is considered sufficient for this purpose. That order requires clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence that you are removable and that written notice of the time and place of proceedings and of the consequences of failure to appear was provided to you or your counsel of record.

Keep Your Filings, Fees, and Work Authorization Current

Yes, you may owe an annual asylum fee each year your application stays pending. The fee cannot be waived or reduced.

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1808, the fee applies for each calendar year an asylum application remains pending. For fiscal year 2025, it is the greater of $100 or the amount the Secretary of Homeland Security sets by rule. The amount can adjust for inflation each fiscal year after that.

Work permits carry their own fee. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1810, each renewal or extension of work authorization based on a pending asylum application costs not less than $275, and that fee cannot be waived or reduced. Before you pay any government fee, confirm the current amount and the payment method required.

Keep every notice, receipt, and filing in one folder. Write the date each item arrived or was sent on the front. Mark renewal dates on a calendar and review them early, so your work permit does not lapse.

Prepare Your Asylum Story, Evidence, and Documents

Your asylum claim rests on your own testimony and the proof that supports it. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, your testimony can carry the claim on its own only if the judge finds it credible, persuasive, and refers to specific facts sufficient to demonstrate that you are a refugee. Where the judge asks for corroborating evidence, you must provide it unless you do not have it and cannot reasonably obtain it.

Start now. Write down dates, places, names, and events while your memory is fresh. Keep a simple timeline you can update.

Useful documents often include identity papers, reports on country conditions, medical or police records, news articles, and proof of the harm or fear of harm you describe. The same statute lets a judge compare your account with other evidence, including State Department country condition reports.

Consistency matters. Keep your written statement consistent with your application and with what you said at any earlier interview. A judge may weigh an inconsistency even if it does not go to the heart of your claim.

Foreign-language documents need an English translation. The translator must sign a certification that states the translator is competent and that the translation is true and accurate. See 8 CFR 1003.33.

What Usually Happens at the First Immigration Court Hearing

At a first hearing, the judge usually confirms who you are, reviews the charges, and asks whether you have a lawyer. The judge may also set deadlines or a next hearing date. What happens next depends on the facts of your case and the court’s calendar.

Arrive early. Bring every notice, copies of your filings, and your identity documents. Write down your questions before the hearing so you don’t forget them. If you need an interpreter, raise it with the court in advance.

If you need more time to find a lawyer or prepare, you can ask the judge. Under 8 CFR 1003.29, a judge may grant a continuance for good cause shown. That delay cannot push an asylum decision past 180 days without exceptional circumstances. For how the request works, read how to ask an immigration judge for more time.

If the Asylum Claim Is Denied: The Options Before the Board of Immigration Appeals

Any appeal of a decision granting or denying asylum is due within 30 days of the decision, or within 30 days after removal proceedings end, whichever is later. That rule comes from 8 U.S.C. § 1158.

The appeal goes to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). Under 8 CFR 1003.3, briefs are due within 20 days of the Board’s briefing order when no transcript is needed, and no later than 35 days after the appeal was filed.

When a judge orders removal, the judge must tell you about your right to appeal.

Your work permit based on the asylum application ends 30 days after an immigration judge denies it. The exception is a timely appeal to the BIA, under 8 U.S.C. § 1810.

If dependents are included in your application, a denial of your application also denies asylum to them. A dependent who is otherwise eligible can still file a separate application, under 8 CFR 1208.14.

The judge can also consider withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture in the same case, whether or not asylum is granted. See 8 CFR 1208.16. Eligibility turns on specific facts. For an overview of your options, see the removal defense overview.

Talk With a Removal Defense Lawyer About Your Case

Many readers of this page are helping a relative, friend, or client. A court date, a stack of notices, and the possibility of a denial can feel like too much to handle at once.

Common questions

How long do I have to appeal an asylum denial?