When exactly is the deadline, and how do I count it?
The Board must receive the form within 30 calendar days of the judge's oral decision, or of the mailing or electronic notification of a written one. After an oral decision, the clock starts that day. In 2025 the Board held that a summary memorandum mailed later does not restart it. If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. There is no mailbox rule. The form's own instructions say that simply mailing within 30 days is not enough, and the rule is the same for people in detention: handing an envelope to facility staff does not count. Be careful with the published rule. The text of 8 C.F.R. § 1003.38(b) still prints 10 days for many appeals, but a federal court set that change aside on March 8, 2026, and EOIR's memorandum PM 26-02 confirms 30 days. The Board's manual and the form, revised March 2026, also say 30.
What can and cannot be appealed on this form?
Use it for a judge's decision in removal, deportation or exclusion proceedings, in bond proceedings, or on a motion to reopen or reconsider. Mark only one box. Each decision needs its own form, so a bond appeal must not be combined with an appeal on the merits. You cannot use it to appeal a judge's review of credible fear, reasonable fear or claimed status, because the Board has no authority over those. An in absentia order cannot be appealed directly either; you first file a motion to reopen with the judge, and only the ruling on that motion goes to the Board. A decision by USCIS uses a different form, EOIR-29. The form is not a route to federal court. If you are unsure which decision you are challenging, attach it: the Board asks for a copy. If you only need the judge to look at new evidence, a motion may fit better than an appeal, and filing an appeal takes the case away from the judge.
What do I have to write for the reasons?
This is the part people underestimate. Item 6 must identify the specific findings of fact or conclusions of law you challenge. The regulation requires authority for legal questions and the specific facts for factual disputes. For discretionary relief, you must say whether the error concerns eligibility or discretion. The Board's manual warns that vague generalities and general claims that the judge erred are unlikely to be enough, and the appeal may then be summarily dismissed. The printed § 1003.38(b)(3) still says unraised issues are waived, but that sentence was among the provisions the court set aside in March 2026. List every issue anyway, naming asylum, withholding and torture protection separately, because a vague notice is still at risk. You may attach extra sheets with your name and A-number on each. A sentence such as "the judge was wrong and I am afraid" invites dismissal; "the judge found no nexus without addressing my political activity" tells the Board what to review. You must also mark whether you will file a brief. If you mark yes and file nothing, the appeal may be dismissed for that reason alone.
Where and how do I file, and how do I pay?
File with the Board, not the immigration court or DHS; a filing in the wrong place does not count and does not extend the deadline. Attorneys and accredited representatives must use ECAS in eligible cases. A person without a lawyer may file on paper at the Clerk's Office, 5107 Leesburg Pike, Suite 2000, Falls Church, VA 22041, or through the Respondent Access Portal if registered, and is not required to use the portal. Use a courier for paper filings, since delivery failures are not excused. As of October 2026 the fee is $1,060, paid in advance through the EOIR Payment Portal, because EOIR stopped taking checks and money orders on February 23, 2026. Bond appeals have no fee. If you cannot pay, file Form EOIR-26A. If that request is rejected, the manual gives 15 days to refile with the fee or a new request, and the deadline is paused for those days. Complete the proof of service showing a copy went to ICE. Apart from that fee waiver rule, a rejected filing does not stop the clock.
What happens to my removal order and my family while the appeal is pending?
A removal order is not carried out during the 30-day appeal period, or while a timely appeal of a merits decision is pending, unless appeal was waived. This does not apply to bond decisions. An appeal from the denial of a motion to reopen generally has no automatic stay, so ask a lawyer about a separate stay. Item 1 matters for families: only the people named there are part of the appeal, so list everyone with their A-numbers. Do not leave the United States. The Board's manual says departure before filing may be treated as waiving the appeal, and departure during it as withdrawing it. Report a move to the Board on Form EOIR-33 within five working days, a different count from the immigration court's 5 days. If you win before the judge, DHS can appeal too, so keep your address current and read everything the Board sends.
What happens after filing, and how fast is the brief due?
The Board sends a receipt, then a briefing schedule, usually with the transcript if one is prepared. For decisions issued on or after March 9, 2026, both sides get the same 20 calendar days, there is no reply brief unless the Board asks for one, and extensions are limited to exceptional circumstances such as those in INA § 240(e)(1). Workload and travel do not qualify. Older decisions keep the 21-day schedule. So start the brief before the schedule arrives. The Board does not find facts on appeal, and new evidence may simply be treated as a motion to remand, so do not count on adding what you forgot. The printed regulation in § 1003.1(d)(2)(ii) still describes automatic dismissal unless the Board votes to take the case. The court order of March 8, 2026 set that part aside, and the current Board manual does not include it. Check for a final rule before relying on this after October 30, 2026.
What if I waived appeal or missed the deadline?
At the end of a hearing the judge may ask whether you reserve or waive appeal. If you knowingly waive, the decision becomes final and you generally cannot change your mind, although the manual allows a timely motion or an appeal explaining why the waiver was not valid. Never waive because you feel pressured or did not understand the interpreter. If you missed the deadline, the Board has no general power to extend it. The only route is narrow. Under Matter of Morales-Morales, equitable tolling can apply if you show diligence and an extraordinary circumstance that prevented filing. File the Notice of Appeal with a motion titled MOTION TO ACCEPT LATE APPEAL, with affidavits and evidence. The manual also extends a last-day deadline during an unplanned ECAS outage. Do not assume a late appeal protects you from removal. If you are days past the deadline, treat it as an emergency and call a lawyer the same day.
What comes after the Board, and when should I call a lawyer?
If the Board rules against you, the next step is a petition for review in the federal court of appeals for the circuit where the judge completed the case, filed within 30 days of the final order. That petition does not stop removal unless the court orders it. Filing a motion with the Board does not pause that 30-day clock: in Stone v. INS the Supreme Court said orders are to be reviewed promptly regardless of a later motion. Talk to a lawyer on the day of the decision, not day 29. Ask the court for the record, keep the hearing notes you made, and bring the order. Anna Tsibel, Ace Immigration's attorney, speaks Russian, is licensed by the California bar and can tell you which issues belong on the appeal before the deadline runs. Request a consultation or read about our removal defense work.