How do I prepare grounds of appeal? If you choose to appeal your deportation notice, it’s well worth taking the time to properly prepare your grounds for appeal, in order to avoid having your appeal promptly rejected. To discover how to prepare an appeal for the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Federal Circuit, simply continue reading to discover a helpful step by step guide.
How To Prepare The Grounds For Appels
If the presiding judge at your immigration hearing decides to issue you with a deportation notice, the first group that you should appeal to is the Board of Immigration Appeals which is also known as the BIA.
Your first step to submit your appeal is to obtain and fill out an EOIR-26 form which is also formally known as a Notice of an Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge. You have exactly 30 days since your immigration judge gives you their verdict in person or mails you their verdict, in order to fill out your EOIR-26 form in full and to submit it. In order to have your appeal accepted by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Keep in mind that the BIA must receive your appeal at their headquarters in Virginia before this relatively short 30 day period has expired.
Unfortunately, if you send your appeal to the BIA within 30 days of reaching your deportation notice but they do not receive it till the day after your 30 day period expires, your appeal will be rejected.
Pay Your EOIR-26 Fee As Soon As Possible
You’ll also need to pay a fee for your appeal to be processed at the time that you send your appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. If you are facing financial hardship and can not afford to pay the fee involved, you can fill out a Fee Waiver Request by filling out an EOIR-26A form. If you do so make sure to send your EOIR-26A form with your EOIR-26 appeal form to the BIA at the same time. As both forms need to be received together. In order for your waiver to be processed. Keep in mind that you’ll need to provide clear evidence that you are experiencing financial hardship.
Provide Facts That Prove The Legal Basis For Your Appeal
As you’ll be required to provide evidence that proves that you have a strong legal basis for your appeal, it’s important to seek legal advice from an experienced immigration attorney. As they’ll be able to gather the legal facts and evidence which you’ll need to prove to the BIA that you have a strong case. For example you may want to cite specific immigration laws that the judge failed to follow in your appeal. Or you may want to cite brand new laws that the immigration judge should have taken into account. Simply telling the BIA that you disagree with the decision which your immigration judge made, will not convince the Board of Immigration Appeals that you have a legitimate right to appeal the judge’s decision.
If you resided in the US legally as a green card holder, make sure to provide evidence of your right to live in the United States. Such as a marriage certificate if you are married to a US citizen.
Prepare A Written Brief
To further increase your chances of having your appeal approved, it’s a great idea to prepare a written brief which provides further information on why you believe that the judge in charge of immigration hearing made an incorrect, misinformed or prejudiced verdict. Please note that you are not required to send your written brief with your EOIR-26 form and instead can send a written brief to the BIA once they have gotten back to you with a scheduled date which details when your written brief is due. Again an immigration attorney is worth their weight in gold and will be able to help you construct a convincing written brief, to support your case.
Ask To Provide An Oral Argument
While it’s important to note that the BIA rarely allows individuals to give oral arguments, most immigration attorneys will recommend applying to give an oral argument. As having the opportunity to provide defense in person can only help your appeal. Just don’t be too disappointed if your request is rejected.
Preparing Grounds Of Appeal For The Federal Circuit
If your first appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals is ultimately rejected, you may be interested in preparing an appeal for the Federal Circuit. As the Federal Circuit has the power to overturn decisions made by the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals. When it comes time to appeal to the Federal Circuit, you need to file a Motion for Extension of Time. In order to ensure that you will not be prematurely deported as there is no guarantee that you’ll be permitted to remain in the United States if you do not submit a Motion for Extension of Time.
Once you are ready to submit your appeal you’ll need to file a Notice of Appeal or a Petition of Appeal. In order to formalize your intentions. With your Notice of Appeal you’ll need to submit the Entrance of Appearance, the Certificate of Interest and Docketing Statement. When you receive the schedule of your appeal to the Federal Circuit
Conclusion
It’s of the utmost importance to ensure that the BIA receives your appeal package within 30 days of the date which you received your deportation notice. As you’ll only have a short window of opportunity to appeal your immigration judge’s deportation decision. Also remember to get in touch with an immigration attorney in order to ensure that you have all the information which you require such as key facts and supplementary evidence to submit with your appeal package to the Board of Immigration Appeals. If you end up preparing an appeal package for the Federal Circuit, it also pays to prepare your appeal alongside an experienced immigration attorney.
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