Immigration Appeals

When an immigration case doesn’t go your way, you often have the right to an appeal. An appeal is a request that another court (or other body) with greater authority review the first decision. Generally, the first place to appeal an immigration judge’s decision is called the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which exists only to hear appeals of immigration cases. If the BIA makes an unfavorable decision, you can appeal that decision to a federal appeals court—which, here in Minnesota, would be the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ojala-Barbour Law Firm handles appeals to the BIA, the 8th Circuit, and also the Administrative Appeals Office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Not every case should necessarily be appealed. To be successful in an appeal, you must be able to show that the judge (or other decision-maker) made a mistake or error of the facts or the law of the case. In addition, there may be practical considerations. You are entitled to stay in the United States while you are waiting for an appeal to be heard—but if you are in immigration detention, it is often the case that you will stay in detention while you wait for the higher court to decide your case. For these and other reasons, you should talk to our experienced immigration attorneys as soon as possible about whether to appeal.