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BIA appeal 2026: the $1,060 fee, the deadline and the March 2026 summary-dismissal rule

An appeal of an immigration judge's decision goes to the Board of Immigration Appeals on Form EOIR-26, with a $1,060 fee or a fee waiver request, and under 8 CFR 1003.38(b) it must reach the Board within 10 calendar days (30 days only where the judge adjudicated an asylum application on the merits). Since 9 March 2026 the Board must dismiss most appeals unless a majority votes to accept them.

The Board of Immigration Appeals, the BIA, hears appeals from decisions of immigration judges. For most people with a removal case, the BIA is the last administrative step before a federal court. It is also a step with a short fuse. The deadline is counted in calendar days, the notice has to arrive at the Board with the fee, and a rule that took effect in March 2026 changed what happens once it does.

This page sets out, as at 9 October 2026, what the regulations say: the deadline and how it is counted, the filing fee for the 2026-27 federal fiscal year, what has to be in the notice, how the 2026 interim final rule works, what comes after a BIA decision, and where the rules treat appeals differently (appeals of USCIS decisions, appeals of in absentia orders). It describes the rules. It does not say whether a particular decision should be appealed, which is a legal judgement that depends on the record. Because the deadlines are strict and the Board's review is now discretionary in most cases, a person with a decision to consider should speak to an attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative immediately. Notaries public, notarios and immigration consultants are not lawyers and cannot give immigration legal advice. Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can.

The general deadline is the short one: under the regulation in force on 1 October 2026 it is 10 calendar days. The 30-day period is the exception.

Which decisions the Board hears

8 CFR 1003.1(b) lists the decisions that "may be filed with the Board of Immigration Appeals". The main ones for readers of this page are:

  • decisions of immigration judges in removal proceedings (1003.1(b)(3)), with no appeal lying "seeking review of the length of a period of voluntary departure";
  • decisions on petitions filed in accordance with INA section 204 (immigrant petitions), with listed exceptions, and related revalidation and revocation decisions (1003.1(b)(5));
  • decisions on waivers under INA 212(d)(3) (1003.1(b)(6));
  • bond, parole and detention determinations (1003.1(b)(7));
  • decisions on Temporary Protected Status in proceedings (1003.1(b)(10)); and
  • decisions on asylum proceedings under 8 CFR 1208.2(b) and (c) (1003.1(b)(9)).

Who is the appealing party: either side. DHS can appeal too, and the notice must name the parties covered (1003.3(a)(1)).

An order entered in absentia cannot be appealed. 8 CFR 1240.15: "an appeal shall lie from a decision of an immigration judge to the Board of Immigration Appeals, except that no appeal shall lie from an order of removal entered in absentia." The route for that order is a motion to reopen before the immigration judge. See our page on in absentia removal orders. EOIR's practice manual says the same: "The Board of Immigration Appeals does not have jurisdiction to consider direct appeals of in absentia orders in removal proceedings."

The deadline: 10 days, and when it is 30

8 CFR 1003.38(b) is the rule.

(b)(1): "Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, in all cases the Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge (Form EOIR-26) shall be filed directly with the Board within 10 calendar days of the Immigration Judge's decision."

(b)(2): "In cases where an Immigration Judge has adjudicated an asylum application and did not deny the application under 208(a)(2)(A), (B), or (C) of the Act, the Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge (Form EOIR-26) shall be filed directly with the Board within 30 calendar days of the Immigration Judge's decision."

(b)(3): "In all cases, the Board appeal filing deadline shall be calculated from the date of the stating of an Immigration Judge's oral decision or the mailing or electronic notification of an Immigration Judge's written decision. If the final date for filing falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, this appeal time shall be extended to the next business day."

Worked through:

  • An oral decision on Monday 5 October 2026 in a case with no asylum application adjudicated. Ten calendar days from 5 October is Thursday 15 October. A Notice of Appeal must be received by the Board on or before that date.
  • A written decision mailed on Wednesday 7 October 2026. The count runs from the mailing (or electronic notification), not from when the envelope arrives. Ten calendar days from 7 October is Saturday 17 October. Because the last day falls on a Saturday, the period "shall be extended to the next business day", Monday 19 October.
  • An asylum application adjudicated on the merits. The 30-day period applies only where the judge "adjudicated an asylum application and did not deny the application under 208(a)(2)(A), (B), or (C)" of the Act. Those are statutory bars to applying for asylum. Which period applies to a mixed case is a legal question.

The filing date is the receipt date. 1003.38(c): "The date of filing of the Notice of Appeal (Form EOIR-26) shall be the date the Notice is received by the Board." Sending on day ten does not meet a ten-day deadline. 1003.3(a)(1) adds that an appeal "is not properly filed unless it is received at the Board, along with all required documents, fees or fee waiver requests, and proof of service, within the time specified".

Waiver. A person who waives appeal cannot file one (1003.38(b)(3)), and the decision becomes final "upon waiver of appeal or upon expiration of the time to appeal" (1003.39).

The fee: $1,060, and what the number is made of

8 CFR 1103.7(b)(1) sets the amounts. For Form EOIR-26, Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge:

  • EOIR fee under INA section 286(m): $110;
  • One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) fee: $950;
  • total: $1,060.

Form EOIR-29, the appeal from a decision of a DHS officer, has the same total, $1,060. The amounts are those in the eCFR text for 1 October 2026 and in the final rule published at 91 FR 54211 (21 August 2026), effective 1 October 2026. Congress required the OBBBA fees to be adjusted for inflation each year, so the numbers can change at the start of each fiscal year. Check the current figure on EOIR's forms and fees page before paying.

Related fees (same section).

  • Motion to reopen or reconsider a decision of an immigration judge: $1,095 ($145 + $950).
  • Motion to reopen or reconsider a decision of the Board: $1,060.
  • A motion to reopen, or to reconsider, based only on an application for relief that carries no fee: $950.
  • One fee covers a group: "When an appeal or motion is filed on behalf of two or more aliens and the aliens are covered by one decision, only one fee is required" (1103.7(b)(3)).

How it is paid. 1103.7(a)(1): "The only accepted form of fee payment is payment through the EOIR Payment Portal". The same sentence of the regulation warns: "Payment of any fee under this section does not constitute filing of the appeal, motion, or application with the Board of Immigration Appeals or with the Immigration Court." Filing and paying are separate steps, and the filing is not complete until the notice, with proof of payment or a fee waiver request, reaches the Board. Fees "generally are non-refundable regardless of the outcome".

Fee waiver. 1003.8(a)(3): the Board "has the discretion to waive a fee ... upon a showing that the filing party is unable to pay the fee". The request goes on Form EOIR-26A with a declaration under penalty of perjury, filed with the notice. If the waiver request does not establish inability to pay, "the appeal or motion will not be deemed properly filed, provided the Board grants 15 days to re-file ... and tolls any applicable filing deadline during the 15-day cure period." The regulation therefore treats a failed waiver request as a correctable defect only if the Board grants the cure period.

No fee at all. 1003.8(a)(2) lists appeals and motions that need no fee, including a custody bond appeal, an appeal or motion filed by DHS, and a motion requesting only a stay of removal.

What goes in the notice of appeal

Form EOIR-26 is more than a request. Under 8 CFR 1003.3(b) the party "must identify the reasons for the appeal in the Notice of Appeal ... or in any attachments thereto, in order to avoid summary dismissal". The statement "must specifically identify the findings of fact, the conclusions of law, or both, that are being challenged". If a question of law is presented, supporting authority must be cited. If the dispute is over facts, the specific facts contested must be identified. For discretionary relief the appellant must say whether the error is about eligibility or about discretion.

The notice must also say whether the appellant "desires oral argument before the Board and whether he or she will be filing a separate written brief".

Then 1003.38(b)(3) adds: "Any issue not raised in the Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge (Form EOIR-26) shall be deemed waived."

That sentence is why the notice is the most important document in the appeal, and why it is prepared by someone who has the hearing transcript or recording and the decision in front of them.

Other things filed with it.

  • Proof of service on the opposing party (1003.3(a)(1)).
  • Payment proof or a fee waiver request (1003.3(a)(3)).
  • A Form EOIR-27 if the appellant is represented (1003.3(a)(3); 1003.38(g)(1)). A practitioner who only helps a self-represented person with a document files Form EOIR-60 instead (1003.38(g)(2)); that person "remains pro se".
  • English, or a certified English translation, for the appeal and all attachments (1003.3(a)(3)).

Electronic filing. Under 1003.3(g)(1), DHS "and all attorneys and accredited representatives of record" must file through EOIR's electronic filing application in eligible cases. Unrepresented respondents may file electronically but are not required to, and if they opt in they must stay in for that case unless the Board grants leave.

What changed on 9 March 2026: summary dismissal unless the Board votes to accept

On 6 February 2026 EOIR published an interim final rule titled "Appellate Procedures for the Board of Immigration Appeals" (91 FR 5267). Its abstract says it "amends Department of Justice ... regulations to streamline administrative appellate review by the Board of Immigration Appeals ... by making review of such decisions on the merits discretionary, by setting appropriate times for briefing in cases that are reviewed on the merits, and by streamlining other aspects of the appellate process". It took effect on 9 March 2026. The comment period was later extended (91 FR 9705, 27 February 2026).

The operative text is 8 CFR 1003.1(d)(2)(ii):

"Except for appeals pursuant to paragraphs (b)(5), (6), (7), and (14) of this section, and notwithstanding any other provision of this part, for all appeals of any decision issued on or after March 9, 2026, the Board shall summarily dismiss the appeal unless a majority of the permanent Board members vote en banc to accept the appeal for adjudication on the merits."

In plain terms:

  1. Default is dismissal. For an immigration judge's decision issued on or after 9 March 2026 in a removal case, the Board "shall summarily dismiss" unless a majority of permanent Board members votes, en banc, to accept it.
  2. Four categories are excluded. Appeals under paragraphs (b)(5) (petitions under INA section 204 and related revalidation and revocation decisions), (b)(6) (INA 212(d)(3) waivers), (b)(7) (bond, parole and detention determinations) and (b)(14) (custody of people with a final removal order) are not subject to this default.
  3. It is fast. Dismissal is by a single Board member "without further consideration" unless that member refers the appeal to the Board. If referred, the Board "shall vote en banc on whether to accept the appeal no later than 10 days after the appeal is filed. If the Board fails to vote en banc within that time, the appeal shall be deemed to have been summarily dismissed". Dismissal orders are "no later than 15 days after the appeal is filed".
  4. What the dismissal does. "When an appeal is summarily dismissed under this paragraph (d)(2)(ii), the Immigration Judge's decision is adopted by the Board and articulates the rationale for removal that is subject to judicial review."

A summary dismissal order "shall constitute the final decision of the Board" and counts as the "final order of removal" for purposes of the 30-day court deadline in INA section 242(b)(1) (1003.1(d)(2)(iii)).

The ordinary grounds for summary dismissal also remain in 1003.1(d)(2)(i): failing to specify the reasons for the appeal; conceding the only point appealed; appealing an order that granted the relief requested; an appeal filed for an improper purpose or without an arguable basis; failing to file a promised brief; lack of jurisdiction; untimeliness; and failure to meet essential statutory or regulatory requirements. A practitioner who files an appeal that is summarily dismissed under (d)(2)(i) may face discipline for frivolous behavior (1003.1(d)(2)(iv)).

Status. The text above is the regulation in the eCFR for 1 October 2026. It is an interim final rule issued with a request for comments, so check EOIR's litigation notices page and the Federal Register for any change or court order.

If the Board accepts the appeal: briefs, review and decision

For an appeal that is not dismissed at the outset, the regulation sets the schedule.

  • Briefing. 1003.3(c)(1): "briefs shall be due simultaneously from both parties within 20 days of the Board order setting the schedule and in no case more than 35 days after the appeal was filed" where no transcript is warranted. Where a transcript is warranted, 20 days from the order setting the schedule and making the transcript available. "The Board shall not accept a reply brief in any case unless the Board has invited or ordered a party to submit a reply brief." Extensions are not granted "except, as a matter of discretion, in exceptional circumstances as defined by section 240(e)(1) of the Act", and "workload concerns, travel plans, or similar concerns" are not exceptional circumstances.
  • What the Board reviews. 1003.1(d)(3): "The Board will not engage in de novo review of findings of fact determined by an immigration judge." Facts, including credibility, are reviewed only for clear error. Questions of law, discretion and judgment are reviewed de novo. The Board does not do its own fact-finding (apart from taking administrative notice of "commonly known facts"). New evidence on appeal may be treated as a motion to remand.
  • Paper review. EOIR describes the Board's process this way: "Generally, the BIA does not conduct courtroom proceedings - it decides appeals by conducting a 'paper review' of cases. On rare occasions, however, the BIA hears oral arguments of appealed cases". The regulation says no oral argument is allowed "in a case that is assigned for disposition by a single Board member" (1003.1(e)(7)).
  • Who decides. Most cases go to a single Board member; a three-member panel hears only listed categories, for example a need "to establish a precedent construing the meaning of laws, regulations, or procedures" (1003.1(e)(6)).
  • Decision times. The regulation sets targets of 90 days for single-member cases and 180 days for panels after the record is complete, but states these are an "internal management directive" that "do not ... create any substantive or procedural rights" (1003.1(e)(8)(vi)). No page can promise a timeline for a given case.

Does the removal order wait for the appeal? 8 CFR 1003.6(a): a decision from which an appeal can be taken "shall not be executed during the time allowed for the filing of an appeal unless a waiver of the right to appeal is filed, nor shall such decision be executed while an appeal is pending". Different rules apply to motions and to custody appeals (1003.6(b) and (c)).

After the Board: federal court, and appeals of USCIS decisions

Federal court. A Board decision is final unless the Attorney General reviews it (1003.1(d)(7)). Review of an order of removal goes to a federal court of appeals. 8 U.S.C. 1252(b)(1): "The petition for review must be filed not later than 30 days after the date of the final order of removal." The petition is filed "with the court of appeals for the judicial circuit in which the immigration judge completed the proceedings" (1252(b)(2)), and "Service of the petition on the officer or employee does not stay the removal of an alien pending the court's decision on the petition, unless the court orders otherwise" (1252(b)(3)(B)). Court filings are litigation in federal court, outside EOIR, and a different kind of lawyer's work.

A different appeal: decisions of USCIS. A denial of a family-based petition such as an I-130 is appealed to the Board, not to USCIS, but through a different form. 8 CFR 1003.3(a)(2): the appeal "shall be taken by filing a Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals from a Decision of a DHS Officer (Form EOIR-29) directly with the DHS office having administrative control over the record of proceeding within 30 days of the service of the decision being appealed." The fee is $1,060, paid to DHS in accordance with 1103.7(b) (1003.8(a)(4)(ii)). The briefing period is 21 days "unless a shorter period is specified" (1003.3(c)(2)). Our page on I-130 denied covers those choices. Appeals and motions on other USCIS decisions use Form I-290B at $800; see our page on Form I-290B.

Motions instead of, or after, an appeal. A motion to reopen or reconsider is a separate filing with its own deadline, 90 days to reopen and 30 days to reconsider, and one motion each, under 8 CFR 1003.2. See our page on motions to reopen. A motion does not generally stop removal (1003.2(f)).

What representation involves at this stage

A person may represent themselves before the Board. For anyone else acting for them, 8 CFR 1292.1 limits the field to attorneys registered with EOIR, certain supervised law students, unpaid reputable individuals with a pre-existing relationship, accredited representatives of DOJ-recognized organizations (full accreditation to appear before the Board), and accredited officials of a foreign government. 1292.1(e): "no other person or persons shall represent others in any case."

Work on an appeal typically includes obtaining the record and any transcript, reading the judge's decision against the hearing, drafting the reasons for the appeal in the notice within days, entering an appearance on Form EOIR-27, paying the fee through the EOIR portal, and preparing the brief if the Board accepts the appeal. Because the notice of appeal is where issues are preserved, and because the regulation calls for a Board vote within 10 days of filing on appeals referred for one, that work starts as soon as a decision is announced.

EOIR runs a case status system that shows basic information about cases at the Board, with the caveat that its notices are the official source. Help from DOJ-recognized non-profit organizations is covered in our page on no-fee and low-cost legal help.

Finding a licensed attorney or accredited representative

Migratio's directory lists immigration attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives. Listings are shown in a neutral order with factual filters (state, language, attorney or accredited representative). Migratio does not recommend, rank or match any lawyer, and it is not a lawyer referral service. Check any listing yourself against the state bar or the EOIR roster before you sign anything.

See attorneys and accredited representatives in the directory.

Notaries public, notarios and immigration consultants are not lawyers and cannot give immigration legal advice. Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can.

Migratio is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Only a licensed attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative can advise you.

Questions people ask

How long do I have to appeal to the BIA?

Under 8 CFR 1003.38(b)(1), Form EOIR-26 must be filed with the Board within 10 calendar days of the immigration judge's decision. In cases where the judge adjudicated an asylum application and did not deny it under INA 208(a)(2)(A), (B) or (C), the period is 30 calendar days (1003.38(b)(2)). The filing date is the date the Board receives the notice.

How much does a BIA appeal cost in 2026?

$1,060 for Form EOIR-26 ($110 EOIR fee plus $950 OBBBA fee), effective 1 October 2026 per 91 FR 54211 and 8 CFR 1103.7(b)(1). A fee waiver request on Form EOIR-26A can be filed with the notice. Check EOIR's forms and fees page for the current amount before paying.

Does the BIA have to hear my appeal?

Not for most appeals of immigration judge decisions issued on or after 9 March 2026. 8 CFR 1003.1(d)(2)(ii) says the Board "shall summarily dismiss the appeal unless a majority of the permanent Board members vote en banc to accept the appeal for adjudication on the merits". Four categories of appeal, listed in the rule, are excluded.

Can I appeal a removal order entered in absentia?

No. 8 CFR 1240.15 says no appeal lies from an order of removal entered in absentia. The route is a motion to reopen filed with the immigration judge, within deadlines set by 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(5)(C).

Can I be removed while my BIA appeal is pending?

8 CFR 1003.6(a) says a decision that can be appealed to the Board is not executed during the time allowed for an appeal, or while an appeal is pending. Other rules apply to motions and custody appeals, and to a summary dismissal, which is a final decision.

What happens after the BIA decides?

A petition for review in the federal court of appeals must be filed within 30 days of the final order of removal (8 U.S.C. 1252(b)(1)). Filing it does not stay removal unless the court orders it. An attorney handles that filing.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

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