How to Get Your Immigration Court Record From EOIR

Your immigration court record is not in your USCIS file. It is held by a different agency, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and you obtain it through a separate Freedom of Information Act request addressed to EOIR. For anyone trying to reopen an old removal order, prove how a hearing notice was served, prepare a petition for review, or simply learn whether an order exists, the EOIR record of proceedings is the document that answers the question. Capitol Law Partners requests and reads these records through its immigration records and FOIA practice, often alongside a USCIS A-file request.

What the EOIR record of proceedings contains

The record of proceedings is the court’s official file on a removal, deportation or exclusion case. A complete record includes:

• The Notice to Appear or earlier charging document, with its certificate of service showing how and to what address it was delivered.
• Every hearing notice, and any notice returned by the postal service.
• Exhibits admitted by either side, including your applications for relief such as Form I-589 or EOIR-42A and 42B, country condition evidence and the government’s documents.
• Motions, briefs and the court’s orders on them.
• The immigration judge’s decision, written or as a transcript of an oral decision.
• Digital audio recordings of hearings, which are the only record of testimony unless a transcript was prepared for an appeal.
• Board of Immigration Appeals filings and decisions, if an appeal was taken.
• Entries of appearance by prior counsel.

The record does not include USCIS adjudication files, CBP inspection records or ICE detention records, which sit with those agencies and are described in what is in your A-file.

When you need it

Three situations account for most requests. The first is an in absentia order: a hearing missed, often because the notice went to an old address, with the order discovered years later during a traffic stop or a green card application. A motion to rescind depends on showing what notice was sent and where, and only the record shows that. The second is a claim that prior counsel failed you, which requires a detailed account of what the lawyer did and did not do, and the record is the proof. The third is an appeal or petition for review, where the Board and the court decide on the record and your lawyer has to know every exhibit and every objection; why the administrative record decides your immigration lawsuit explains those stakes.

A fourth situation is simpler: you are not sure whether you were ever in proceedings, or how an old case ended. A record request resolves that before a new application brings it to light.

How to file the request

EOIR accepts FOIA requests through its online portal and by mail or email to its FOIA Service Center. Include your full name and any other names used, date of birth, A-number, and the immigration court city if you know it. Because the record is about you, EOIR requires a certification of identity signed under penalty of perjury or notarized, using the Department of Justice certification form. If a lawyer requests on your behalf, include a signed Form EOIR-27 or EOIR-28 as appropriate, or a written authorization releasing the records to counsel. State whether you want the complete record or specific items, and whether you want the audio recordings, which are provided as digital files.

If you have a hearing scheduled, say so and attach the notice. Like USCIS, EOIR gives faster handling to requests from people with pending proceedings, and expedited processing can be sought in writing where the ordinary wait would cause the loss of substantial due process rights.

Faster alternatives for some information

EOIR’s online Automated Case Information system and its telephone line will tell you, from an A-number, whether a case exists, the next hearing date, and whether a decision has been entered. That takes minutes and is the right first step when the only question is whether an order exists. Lawyers who have entered an appearance in a case filed electronically can view the electronic record through EOIR’s case portal without a FOIA request. Neither alternative gives you the underlying documents or recordings, which still require the FOIA process.

What to do with it

Read the certificate of service on the Notice to Appear and every hearing notice, and compare the address to where you actually lived on each date. Listen to the recordings of any hearing where you testified. Note every exhibit and whether anything you believe was filed is missing. Identify every lawyer who appeared and when. Then decide, with counsel, whether the record supports a motion to reopen, a Board appeal, a petition for review or a fresh application; our BIA appeals and motions page covers each route, and removal proceedings explains the court process from the beginning.

If EOIR does not respond

The statutory response time is 20 working days, extendable by 10. When an agency misses it, you are treated as having exhausted administrative remedies and may file suit in federal district court to compel production. In practice, a follow-up with the control number and a request for a status update resolves many delays, and litigation is reserved for records needed on a deadline.

If you suspect there is an immigration court order in your past, or you need the record to reopen a case, a consultation with Capitol Law Partners can get the request filed and the record reviewed. Schedule a consultation.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by this communication.

Attorney Sena Sahin. Clear advice for individuals, families, and business owners.

Need help with this topic? See our EOIR and USCIS FOIA requests page or schedule a consultation.