A motion to reopen or reconsider is a filing that asks an immigration adjudicator to revisit an unfavorable decision, and the two can be combined into a single filing when you have both new evidence and a legal error to raise. Reopening relies on new facts that were not available during the original case. Reconsideration argues the decision-maker misapplied the law to the record that already existed. Combining them saves a filing, but it also compresses your window: because a motion to reconsider must be filed faster than a motion to reopen, a combined motion effectively has to meet the shorter deadline, which can be as little as 30 days from the decision.
What Each Half of the Motion Does
The reopening portion asks the adjudicator to look again because something factually changed. You need new facts, supported by sworn statements or documentary evidence, significant enough to change the outcome.1eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.2 – Reopening or Reconsideration Before the Board of Immigration Appeals The same standard governs motions filed with USCIS.2eCFR. 8 CFR 103.5 – Reopening or Reconsideration The evidence also has to have been genuinely unavailable earlier. Forgetting to submit a document, or choosing not to raise an issue, will not clear the bar. Common examples include updated country-condition reports from a new conflict, a marriage or birth after the hearing, or medical records for a condition that developed since the ruling.
Reconsideration works differently. You keep the record as it stands and argue that the adjudicator got the law wrong. The motion must identify specific legal or factual errors in the prior decision and back them with authority.3eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.2 – Reopening or Reconsideration Before the Board of Immigration Appeals – Section: Motion to Reconsider This is not a second bite at the same apple. You need to pinpoint where the adjudicator misapplied a regulation, ignored binding precedent, or drew a conclusion the record does not support. Strong motions often cite a federal circuit decision that reads the law differently or point to a regulation the original ruling overlooked. No new documents, no updated facts; if you need both strands, that is why the combined filing exists.
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
One frequent basis for reopening is a claim that your former attorney’s errors drove the bad outcome. The BIA set out a mandatory three-step test in Matter of Lozada: a sworn statement detailing what the attorney agreed to do and how performance fell short, notice to the attorney with a chance to respond, and a disciplinary complaint filed with the appropriate bar (or an explanation of why you did not file one).4Executive Office for Immigration Review. Matter of Lozada, Interim Decision 3059 Adjudicators treat all three steps as prerequisites. Even then, you still have to show the attorney’s errors actually prejudiced the case.
Deadlines and the One-Motion Cap
Deadlines depend on who decided your case. For an immigration judge or the BIA, a motion to reopen is due within 90 days of the final order.5Executive Office for Immigration Review. Board Practice Manual – 4.6 – Motions to Reopen A motion to reconsider in the same proceedings is due within 30 days.6eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.2 – Reopening or Reconsideration Before the Board of Immigration Appeals A combined filing has to satisfy both, so the practical deadline is 30 days.
For USCIS and the Administrative Appeals Office, the deadline is 30 days from the unfavorable decision, or 33 days if the decision was mailed.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AAO Practice Manual Chapter 4 – Motions to Reopen and Reconsider
You get one motion to reopen and one motion to reconsider per decision.6eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.2 – Reopening or Reconsideration Before the Board of Immigration Appeals The same cap applies in immigration court.8eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.23 – Reopening or Reconsideration Before the Immigration Court You also cannot use a motion to reconsider to challenge the denial of a previous motion to reconsider; the regulation forbids that stacking. Put together, those limits mean a combined filing is often your one real shot.
When the Deadlines and Limits Don’t Apply
Several situations lift the 90-day clock and the one-motion cap on motions to reopen:
- Changed country conditions, when you are seeking asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture and new circumstances have arisen in the country of removal.6eCFR. 8 CFR 1003.2 – Reopening or Reconsideration Before the Board of Immigration Appeals
- Joint motions where you and the government both agree to reopen.
- In absentia removal orders, which run on separate rules and timelines.
- Certain motions by battered spouses, children, and parents under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- The BIA’s own authority to reopen any case at any time without a motion.
Courts have also recognized equitable tolling in rare cases. To qualify, you have to show that you pursued your rights with reasonable diligence and that an extraordinary circumstance beyond your control prevented a timely filing. Ineffective assistance of counsel and significant changes in the law are the most commonly accepted grounds. Unfamiliarity with the system or ignorance of the deadline will not qualify.
Forms and Where to File
The form depends on the agency. For USCIS or AAO decisions, you file Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion Form I-290B can be mailed to the address on your denial notice or filed online where available. Use trackable shipping if you mail it; a lost package is not an accepted excuse.
Motions before an immigration judge or the BIA do not use a numbered form. You file a written motion with your supporting evidence and legal brief.10Executive Office for Immigration Review. Types of Appeals, Motions, and Required Fees Those filings must go through the EOIR Courts and Appeals System (ECAS). Electronic filing has been mandatory at all immigration courts and the BIA since February 2022.11Executive Office for Immigration Review. EOIR Courts and Appeals System (ECAS) – Online Filing
Filing Fees and Payment
EOIR motion fees rose substantially for fiscal year 2026. A motion to reopen or reconsider before an immigration judge is $1,065, and the same motion before the BIA is $1,030.12Federal Register. Inflation Adjustment for EOIR OBBBA Fees, Fiscal Year 2026 Fees apply per motion. The fee is waived for motions to reopen in absentia removal orders filed under certain provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. USCIS fees for Form I-290B vary with the underlying petition type; check the USCIS fee calculator before filing.
Both agencies offer fee waivers. For USCIS, submit Form I-912 with your motion, documenting inability to pay through receipt of means-tested benefits or household income under the federal poverty guidelines.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-912, Request for Fee Waiver The waiver has to go in with the motion, not later. For EOIR motions, a waiver request can accompany the filing; if denied, the BIA gives you 15 days to refile with either the full fee or a new waiver request, and the filing deadline is paused during that cure period.14Executive Office for Immigration Review. Board Practice Manual – 4.7 – Motions to Reconsider
USCIS no longer accepts personal checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks for paper-filed forms. Pay by credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450, or by direct U.S. bank withdrawal using Form G-1650.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Pay With a Credit Card by Mail ECAS handles payment inside the electronic system.
Evidence and Translation Requirements
Every motion needs a legal brief that connects your arguments to the supporting record. The reopening portion needs sworn statements and documentary exhibits establishing the new facts: updated country-condition reports, medical records, official certificates. The reconsideration portion needs a brief that walks through the specific legal errors and cites the regulations or case law the adjudicator missed. Each factual claim should have a labeled exhibit the adjudicator can find without hunting.
All documents must be in English or come with a certified English translation.16Executive Office for Immigration Review. Immigration Court Practice Manual – 2.3 – Documents The certification must be typed, signed by the translator, and include a statement that the translation is accurate and the translator is competent, along with the translator’s address and phone number. A sworn statement originally given in another language needs both a translation and a certificate of interpretation confirming the statement was read back to the signer in a language they understand. Certified translation for legal documents typically runs $20 to $60 per page.
Does Filing Stop Removal?
No, not automatically in most cases. Filing a motion to reopen or reconsider does not by itself halt a removal order. Two situations trigger an automatic stay:
- In absentia removal orders. If you were ordered removed for not appearing at your hearing, the order is automatically stayed from the time you file a motion to reopen until the judge rules.17Executive Office for Immigration Review. Board Practice Manual – 5.2 – Automatic Stays
- Certain motions filed by battered spouses, children, and parents receive an automatic stay while the BIA decides the appeal of the immigration judge’s ruling.
Everyone else has to apply for a discretionary stay. That means Form I-246, filed in person at your local Enforcement and Removal Operations field office.18U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Application for a Stay of Deportation or Removal, Form I-246 It requires identity documents (including a valid passport or proof you applied for one), a written statement explaining why removal should be paused, and a $155 processing fee. The decision rests with the field office director, cannot be appealed, and a pending application does not prevent the government from executing removal while the request is under review. A strong underlying motion helps your case, but nothing guarantees approval.
After You File
USCIS issues a Form I-797C receipt notice confirming the filing and giving you a tracking number.19U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action That receipt is proof of filing only; it does not mean anyone has evaluated your eligibility.
Processing times vary. USCIS field offices and service centers aim to decide motions within 90 days, and the AAO targets 180 days from receipt of the complete case file.20U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Questions and Answers: Appeals and Motions Complex or incomplete files can push well past six months. If a USCIS motion goes past the expected timeframe, you can call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 and request a service inquiry.
The decision comes in writing. The adjudicator can grant the motion in full, grant only the reopening or only the reconsideration portion, deny both, or dismiss the filing for procedural defects such as a missed deadline or missing fee. A granted motion to reopen puts your case back on the calendar for a new hearing where the new evidence comes in. A granted motion to reconsider sends the original record back through the correct legal framework. A BIA denial can be challenged through a petition for review in the appropriate federal circuit court, which carries its own separate deadlines and procedural rules.