What Is an Administrative Stay and How Does It Work?

An administrative stay is a temporary pause on the enforcement of a government agency’s decision while that decision is being reviewed or reconsidered. The agency that issued the order can grant one on its own authority, and a court reviewing the order can grant one too. Either way, the practical effect is the same: the order still exists, but it cannot be enforced until the stay is lifted or expires.

Stays matter because agency actions often cause harm that cannot be undone. A removal order carried out cannot be reversed by winning an appeal later. A regulatory penalty paid, a license revoked, a rule enforced against a business that then closes — these create facts on the ground that outlast the legal fight over whether the agency was right. The stay is the mechanism that keeps the fight meaningful.

Where the Authority Comes From

The Administrative Procedure Act is the source. Under 5 U.S.C. § 705, an agency may postpone the effective date of its own action when it finds that “justice so requires.” The same statute lets a reviewing court postpone an agency action “to the extent necessary to prevent irreparable injury.”¹ An agency staying its own action has broad discretion. A court staying an agency action must find irreparable injury would result without the pause.

Individual agencies then build their own procedures on top of that statutory authority. In immigration, for example, designated officials within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can grant a stay of removal “for such time and under such conditions as [they] may deem appropriate.”² Environmental, workplace safety, and other regulatory agencies have their own equivalents.

The Four Factors That Decide a Stay Request

Whether the decision-maker is an agency or a court, the analysis generally follows the four factors the Supreme Court set out in Nken v. Holder:

Likelihood of success on the merits. The applicant must show a reasonable probability of winning the underlying challenge. Not proof — just enough strength that the case isn’t frivolous.
Irreparable harm. The applicant must show the enforcement would cause harm money cannot fix. Deportation, loss of constitutional rights, environmental destruction, and damage to professional licenses are common examples.
Harm to other parties. Would the pause seriously injure anyone on the other side of the dispute?
Public interest. Does the stay serve or undermine the broader public good?

The Court described these as the “traditional” stay factors and said all four must be weighed together, with no single factor treated as decisive.³ In practice, the first two tend to carry the most weight. Without a credible chance of winning or meaningful harm from enforcement, the other factors rarely rescue a stay request.

How to Request One

The procedure depends on which agency issued the order. Each agency has its own forms, filing rules, and fees. The general pattern is consistent: a written request to the agency that made the decision, an explanation of why the four factors weigh in the applicant’s favor, and supporting documentation.

ICE’s Form I-246 illustrates how this works in practice. Anyone under a final order of removal applies by filing the form in person with the Enforcement and Removal Operations field office that has jurisdiction — the office overseeing custody if the person is detained, otherwise the office nearest the person’s residence. Each family member needs a separate form. The application requires a valid passport or proof of application for one, a written statement explaining why the stay is needed, and supporting evidence such as medical records or conviction documents when relevant. The processing fee is $155, payable by cash, money order, or cashier’s check, and it is nonrefundable regardless of the outcome.⁴

Applications are often rejected on paperwork grounds before a decision-maker ever reviews the merits. Submitting the wrong fee, filing with the wrong office, combining multiple applicants on one form, or missing required identity documents will all stop the application cold. Getting these mechanics right matters as much as the legal argument.

Filing a Request Does Not Pause Enforcement

This is the single most important thing to understand. Submitting a stay request does not stop the agency from acting. The immigration regulations state this plainly: neither the request itself nor a failure to receive notice about its outcome delays removal or relieves anyone from complying with an outstanding surrender notice.² Until the stay is actually granted, the original order remains fully enforceable. Anyone facing an imminent agency action should treat the timeline as if no stay exists until the grant is in hand.

What a Stay Does and Doesn’t Do

While a stay is in effect, the original order is frozen but not canceled. A stayed removal order means the person remains in the country. A stayed penalty means the business doesn’t have to pay or comply yet. The underlying proceedings continue; enforcement waits.

Stays usually carry conditions. In immigration cases, a person granted a stay typically receives an Order of Supervision requiring reporting and other compliance. The agency can also require a bond, with a minimum of $1,500.⁴ Conditions vary by agency and context, but a stay comes with strings attached rather than full freedom from the proceeding.

How a Stay Ends

An administrative stay is always temporary. It can end in several ways:

The agency lifts it, either after reaching a final decision on the underlying matter or because circumstances changed.
It expires. Some stays are granted for a fixed period, and enforcement resumes when that period runs out unless the stay is renewed.
A court dissolves it, or a judicial stay ends when the court issues its ruling.
The underlying appeal or reconsideration is resolved, and the stay no longer has a purpose.

The immigration regulation sets no fixed duration. The designated official grants the stay “for such time and under such conditions as he or she may deem appropriate.”² Other agencies may tie stays to specific timeframes or external events.

If a stay is approaching expiration and the dispute isn’t resolved, an extension is possible. Extensions generally require a written motion showing good cause. Filing the request doesn’t automatically keep the stay alive, so if the original stay expires first, the applicant may need to show good cause for the lapse or start over with a new stay request entirely.

If the Agency Denies Your Stay

A denial at the agency level isn’t necessarily the end. In immigration, an ICE denial cannot be appealed through the agency, but an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals can still grant a stay in connection with a motion to reopen or reconsider.²

Federal courts offer another route. Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 8, a party seeking a stay of an agency order generally must ask the agency first. If the agency refuses, the party can then move for a stay in the court of appeals. The motion has to explain why agency relief was inadequate, set out the facts and legal reasons supporting the stay, and include relevant parts of the record. In genuinely urgent situations, a single appellate judge can consider and rule on the motion.⁵

The court applies the same four-factor test from Nken.³ Time pressure at this stage is usually intense, so having arguments and supporting evidence organized before the agency denies the stay is often what separates a successful emergency motion from one that runs out of time.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 705 Relief Pending Review
2
eCFR. 8 CFR 241.6 Administrative Stay of Removal
3
Justia. Nken v. Holder, 556 US 418 (2009)
4
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Application for a Stay of Deportation or Removal
5
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 8 – Stay or Injunction Pending Appeal