Is my hearing at 26 Federal Plaza, 290 Broadway or Varick Street?
EOIR lists three separate Manhattan courts: this one, the Broadway court at 290 Broadway and the Varick Street court at 201 Varick Street. This court's own entrance is on Broadway, so it is easy to confuse them. Your most recent Notice of Hearing decides, not this page and not an old notice. Check it against the automated line, 1-800-898-7180, as our guide on confirming your hearing date, court and judge explains. If they disagree, call the court at 212-602-6500. EOIR's judge listings show who is listed at a court, not who has your case, so a name search for a judge at this court proves nothing about your hearing.
Which entrance, floor and room do I go to, and how early?
EOIR says visitors use the main entrance on Broadway, in the center of the building, between Duane and Worth Streets, even though the postal address is Federal Plaza. The court is on the 12th Floor, Room 1237, and public hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Everyone passes a metal detector and bag screening on each visit, and you may be asked to remove your shoes. The Policy Manual is blunt: you must be through security and in the courtroom at the scheduled time, and a delay in the line is not an excuse. Lateness can lead to an order in your absence, so plan well ahead. EOIR's parking section for this court is blank, and we give no parking advice we could not verify.
What other immigration offices are in this building?
This matters, because a wrong floor means a wrong office. ICE lists its New York check-in location at 26 Federal Plaza, 9th Floor, Suite 9-110, with appointments Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and its bond office in Room 9-110. An undated ICE handout places the ICE attorneys (OPLA) in Room 1130. None of these is the court. A hearing and an ICE check-in are separate duties, and attending one does not cover the other. If your paper says Suite 9-110, that is an ICE appointment, not a hearing before a judge; read it carefully and call a lawyer if you are unsure which you have.
Can ICE arrest me at my hearing at 26 Federal Plaza?
Possibly. On September 30, 2026, Judge Castel entered final judgment in African Communities Together v. Venturella, No. 25-cv-6366, calling ICE's 2025 courthouse arrest policy arbitrary and capricious. He vacated it to the extent it rescinded ICE's April 27, 2021 guidance for arrests in or near immigration courts, and refused to limit that relief to the plaintiffs. This followed his May 18, 2026 stay, which covered only 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street and 290 Broadway. A California court separately vacated the policies in Pablo Sequen v. Albarran on June 23, and refused to pause that ruling on July 10. We found no later appeals ruling as of October 30, 2026. The 2021 guidance still allows arrests for a national security threat; an imminent risk of death, violence or physical harm; hot pursuit of someone who threatens public safety; an imminent risk that evidence in a criminal case will be destroyed; or, with advance approval, a person who threatens public safety when no safe alternative location exists. The Intercept reported further arrests here by July 1, 2026; ICE denied breaking any order. Do not skip court; see a lawyer first, above all with an old order or criminal record.
How do I file papers with this court before my hearing?
The window opens at 8:30 a.m., later than many courts, and closes at 4 p.m. on weekdays except federal holidays. If you have no lawyer and file on paper, a copy must also go to DHS, the other side, and your filing needs a signed proof of service giving the office served, its address, the date, the method and the documents. Without it, a filing can be returned unconsidered. An undated ICE handout puts the ICE attorneys here in Room 1130; confirm that first. A hearing next week means you have missed the 15-day mark for a ruling at a master calendar hearing, but an unrepresented, non-detained person may otherwise file in open court, and papers served on DHS there need no written proof. An individual hearing has a 30-day deadline. Paper counts when the court receives it, not when mailed. The court gives no receipts: for a stamped copy, add one marked CONFORMED COPY; RETURN TO SENDER and a prepaid return envelope. Email to NYFederalPlaza.Immigration.Court@usdoj.gov is discarded unless staff or the judge asked for it. If you move, file Form EOIR-33 within five days.
Can my family come, may I use my phone, and could this be on Webex?
EOIR's Policy Memorandum 26-06 of July 15, 2026 says visitors need no permission to observe an open hearing and may use the waiting areas, though respondents, lawyers and witnesses have priority there when crowded. An asylum hearing is open unless you ask the judge to close it. Children who are not taking part should not be brought, and they cannot wait alone. Phones may be carried but must be off during hearings, and photographing anything, including the posted docket, is prohibited. Without a lawyer of record your default is in person, whatever EOIR's list shows; a posted Webex link is only for those the court approved. What happens once you are inside is covered in our master calendar hearing guide.
My hearing is next week. What should I do now?
Confirm the date, the court and the room today. Write down how you will reach the Broadway entrance and leave time for the security line. Bring your Notice to Appear, every hearing notice and your identification. If you have no lawyer, say so to the judge and show what you have done to find one, but do not rely on a further delay being given. If you fear return to any country, say so. A lawyer can read your actual file before you answer the charges, which this page cannot do. Anna Tsibel, our Russian-speaking attorney licensed by the California bar, focuses on asylum and deportation defense. You can request a consultation or read about our deportation defense work.