EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review)

What is EOIR?

EOIR is one of the two halves of U.S. immigration adjudication. The other half is U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which sits in the Department of Homeland Security. USCIS handles affirmative benefit applications (green cards, naturalization, work permits, affirmative asylum). EOIR handles removal cases and almost everything that ends up in front of an immigration judge. The agency’s public-facing site is justice.gov/eoir.

EOIR was created in 1983 to consolidate the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals — previously housed inside the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) — into a single independent adjudicator within DOJ.

EOIR’s three components

• The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ) oversees all 71 immigration courts and approximately 700+ immigration judges nationwide. Each immigration court covers specific geography and dockets.
• The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in Falls Church, Virginia, reviews decisions of immigration judges and certain DHS decisions. The BIA issues precedential and non-precedential decisions. Precedential BIA decisions bind immigration judges nationwide.
• The Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) handles employer sanctions, anti-discrimination, and document fraud cases — a small fraction of EOIR’s overall workload.

How immigration court cases get there

Almost every immigration court case begins when DHS files a Notice to Appear (Form I-862) with the immigration court. The NTA identifies the noncitizen (the “respondent”), lists the factual allegations, and states the legal grounds for removability. Once the NTA is filed, EOIR has jurisdiction. Common pathways into court:

• ICE issues an NTA after a workplace, residence, or community arrest.
• CBP issues an NTA after refusing admission at a port of entry.
• USCIS refers a case to immigration court after denying an affirmative application that creates a charge of removability.
• USCIS Asylum Office refers a defensive asylum case to court when affirmative asylum is denied.

The two hearing types

EOIR removal proceedings unfold across two main types of hearings:

Master Calendar Hearing

• Short, often 10 to 30 minutes, with many respondents heard the same morning.
• The judge confirms identity, takes pleadings (admit/deny the NTA allegations and removability), identifies relief sought (asylum, cancellation of removal, adjustment), and sets deadlines.
• Respondents typically attend several master calendar hearings before the merits hearing.

Individual (Merits) Hearing

• Full evidentiary hearing, typically 2 to 4 hours, but can last days for complex cases.
• The respondent and witnesses testify under oath. ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) trial attorneys cross-examine.
• Documents are entered into the record, experts may testify, and the judge issues an oral or written decision granting or denying relief.

The relief immigration judges can grant

Unlike USCIS, immigration judges cannot adjudicate most affirmative benefits. They can grant relief from removal — that is, they can decide whether a removable noncitizen can stay anyway. The most common forms of relief:

Relief	Who qualifies	Typical outcome
Asylum (INA § 208)	Persecuted on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or particular social group	Lawful asylee status, path to LPR after one year
Withholding of removal (INA § 241(b)(3))	More likely than not to face persecution on a protected ground	Block on removal to the specific country; no path to LPR
Convention Against Torture	More likely than not to face torture by or with acquiescence of government	Block on removal to country of torture; no path to LPR
Cancellation of removal — LPR (INA § 240A(a))	Lawful permanent resident, 5+ years LPR, 7+ years continuous residence, no aggravated felony	Termination of removal proceedings, retention of LPR status
Cancellation of removal — non-LPR (INA § 240A(b))	10+ years continuous physical presence, good moral character, no specified convictions, exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to USC/LPR family	Lawful permanent resident status (capped at 4,000 grants nationally per year)
Adjustment of status in court	Respondent eligible for LPR through approved I-130 or I-140	Lawful permanent resident status
Voluntary departure	Good moral character, no aggravated felony, agreement to depart at own expense	No removal order; 60 to 120 days to leave

The Board of Immigration Appeals

The BIA is the highest administrative body for interpreting immigration law. It reviews:

• Appeals from immigration judge decisions in removal cases.
• Appeals from certain USCIS decisions (notably visa petition denials).
• Motions to reopen or reconsider its own prior decisions.

The BIA has 28 Board members, sits in panels of three, and issues both unpublished and precedential decisions. Adverse BIA decisions can be challenged in the federal courts of appeals through a petition for review under INA § 242. The federal circuit court can affirm, vacate, or remand.

The EOIR backlog

EOIR is the most backlogged adjudicator in U.S. immigration. As of early 2026, the pending caseload exceeds 3.7 million cases. Drivers of the backlog include sustained increases in NTA issuance, judge attrition, the COVID-era pause and reschedule, and the limits on EOIR’s hiring authority. Practical consequences for respondents:

• Master calendar hearings frequently scheduled 12 to 36 months after the NTA.
• Individual hearings often scheduled 3 to 6 years after the master calendar.
• Detained dockets move on a much faster schedule (weeks to months).
• EOIR has periodically rolled out “dedicated dockets” for family cases with target completion within 300 days.

Practical tools for EOIR cases

• EOIR Automated Case Information at acis.eoir.justice.gov — case status, next hearing date, judge assigned.
• EOIR hotline: 800-898-7180 (voice prompts give the same case status data).
• Form EOIR-28 — notice of entry of appearance for attorneys representing respondents.
• ECAS (EOIR Courts & Appeals System) — electronic filing system used by represented parties.

Frequently asked questions

Go deeper

For defensive asylum specifically — the most common form of relief sought in immigration court — see our Asylum 1-Year Filing Deadline guide and the Asylum pillar. For an overview of every USCIS form and term that may come up in your case, return to the Immigration Glossary hub.