Immigration Appeals
Appeals of decisions that misread the law or the facts, moved on the deadline the notice starts running.
Appeals & motions
What is an immigration appeal?
An appeal asks a higher body to correct a decision that got the law or the record wrong. It argues the existing record, and is not a second hearing.
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Where it goes depends on who decided it.
Most immigration judge decisions go to the Board of Immigration Appeals; many USCIS denials go to the Administrative Appeals Office. The wrong forum can cost the remedy.
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The clock is measured in received, not sent.
An appeal to the Board must be physically received within thirty calendar days. There are no extensions, and this is where most appeal rights are lost.
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An appeal is not always the right tool.
New evidence usually calls for a motion to reopen; something overlooked calls for a motion to reconsider. Each has its own deadline, and choosing wrong can end the matter.
Our approach
How Olvera Law Office takes an immigration appeal.
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Triage the deadline first.
The moment a decision arrives we establish what was decided, by whom, and the date the filing must be in hand — then file the notice of appeal.
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Find the error worth arguing.
We read the decision and the record for legal and factual mistakes, and say plainly when a motion would serve you better.
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Write to the forum deciding it.
The transcript and record are obtained, and the brief is written to the standard of review that body applies.
Eligibility
Eligibility.
You can appeal if you were a party, the decision is appealable, and you are inside the deadline.
The respondent in immigration court and the petitioner on a USCIS filing can each appeal. Some decisions cannot be appealed at all, and a consular refusal generally cannot.
An order entered because a hearing was missed can be reopened long after an appeal would have expired, so an old one is worth reviewing — usually alongside a records request and a look at the court file.
Book a Consultation
Start with a consultation.
As an immigration attorney, Mosiah Olvera reviews your case, identifies the strongest path forward, and helps you take the next step.
Related services
Explore related immigration services.
Your case may touch more than one area of immigration law.