Missing a Hearing and What To Do

What will happen to me if I miss my Immigration Court hearing?

If you miss your Immigration Court hearing, the Immigration Judge will order you deported without you being there. After that, Immigration can pick you up at home or at work and arrest you. After 3 days, Immigration can deport you without giving you another court hearing. Immigration must, however, have travel documents ready for your deportation, which usually takes at least a few weeks.

If Immigration has arrested you but not given you a notice to appear, you may have been ordered deported sometime in the past for missing a court hearing. Immigration will deport you as soon as it gets the papers from your country. So you must act quickly to stop your deportation.

If you missed your hearing, you need to file a motion to reopen with the Immigration Judge and request a stay of deportation. You must explain why you missed your hearing. For example, if you can prove that you never got notice of your hearing, the Immigration Judge will reopen your case. If you were in jail at the time of your Immigration Court hearing, the Immigration Judge will reopen your case. If there were exceptional circumstances for missing your hearing, the judge will reopen your case. You must act quickly. For sample forms, call PAIR at 617-742-9296.