Motions to Reopen & Reconsider

Motions to reopen and reconsider are tightly regulated. Common situations include:

Deadlines drive these cases. As a general rule, a motion to reopen is due within 90 days of the final administrative decision and a motion to reconsider within 30 days, and a party is usually limited to one motion of each type. Those rules are the starting point, not the whole picture — several recognized exceptions can extend or remove the time limit, and whether one applies depends closely on the facts and on current law in the relevant circuit.

• In-absentia orders and defective notice — where a removal order was entered because a hearing was missed, a motion arguing that the required notice was never properly served may be filed without the ordinary time limit. Where the absence was caused by exceptional circumstances, a shorter deadline typically applies.
• Exceptional circumstances — serious illness, a medical emergency, a death in the immediate family, detention, or comparable events beyond your control that prevented attendance. Documentation carries the argument here.
• Changed country conditions — motions to reopen asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture based on material changes in the country of removal are generally not subject to the standard time and number limits, but they require substantial, well-sourced evidence of what changed and when.
• Joint motions with DHS — where government counsel agrees to reopening, a joint or unopposed motion is typically not bound by the usual time and number restrictions. Agreement is discretionary and has to be negotiated.
• Equitable tolling — some courts allow a late motion where a deadline was missed through no fault of the person filing, for example after ineffective assistance by a prior representative or a notario, and where the person acted diligently once the problem was discovered. Availability and requirements vary by circuit, and specific procedural steps are usually expected before the argument will be considered.
• Sua sponte reopening — an immigration judge or the Board may reopen a case on its own authority in unusual situations. This is discretionary, used sparingly, and not something any applicant is entitled to.

Because these rules shift with new decisions and policy changes, an assessment of the deadline question should be made on your actual record and on the law that applies where your case was decided.

A motion is only as strong as the record behind it. Old orders are rarely reopened on argument alone, so most of the work is reconstructing what happened and documenting what has changed. Depending on the case, that can include:

• The prior decision and hearing record — the removal order, any written decision, hearing transcripts or recordings, and the immigration court file from EOIR.
• Notices and proof of service — the Notice to Appear, every hearing notice, the address information in the file, and any returned or misdirected mail, which is central to a defective-notice argument.
• Government records — your A-file and agency records obtained from USCIS, CBP, and ICE, and where relevant an FBI identity-history summary or state criminal records, including certified dispositions.
• Prior counsel materials — the earlier representative's file, engagement documents, and correspondence, which matter when ineffective assistance is part of the argument.
• Eligibility documents — approved or pending petitions, receipt and approval notices, marriage and birth certificates, and evidence of continuous presence or qualifying relationships.
• Hardship and equity evidence — medical and psychological records, school records, treatment plans, financial documentation, and letters from employers, clergy, and community members.
• Country-conditions evidence — State Department and international organization reporting, credible news coverage, and where appropriate a country-conditions or medical expert declaration.
• Sworn statements — your own detailed declaration plus affidavits from witnesses who can corroborate the timeline, with certified translations where required.

Some of these records take weeks or months to obtain, which is another reason to begin as early as possible rather than waiting for the deadline to approach.