Many immigration court hearings in January 2022 have been delayed
January 28, 2022
In January 2022, the U.S. government announced some changes to hearings in immigration court because of an increase in COVID-19 cases. Most importantly: if you have a hearing in immigration court between January 10 – February 7, 2022, and you do NOT have a lawyer, your hearing will be moved to a later date.
If you have a case in immigration court, please read below to find out if your hearing has been changed.
- If you are NOT detained, you do NOT have an attorney, and your hearing is scheduled between January 10 – February 7, 2022, your hearing will be moved to a later date. The government has said you should not attend your scheduled hearing. You should receive a new hearing notice with a new hearing date in the mail. You can also check your case status to find out your new hearing date, but it may take some time for the system to be updated.
If you would still like your hearing to happen at the scheduled time, you can call your immigration court to request that your hearing be held over the phone or online.
- If you are NOT detained, you do NOT have an attorney, and your hearing is scheduled later than February 7, 2022, there are no updates about your hearing at this time. You should still plan to attend your hearing on the scheduled date. However, the immigration court may later decide to delay your hearing as well, depending on the status of COVID-19 cases. We will update this page if we receive new information.
- If you have an attorney, your hearing should happen at the scheduled time, but over the phone or online instead of in person. You can contact your attorney for more details.
- If you are detained, your hearing should happen at the scheduled time, but over the phone or online.
- If you are waiting for a hearing in Mexico as part of the MPP program, your hearing will happen at the scheduled time and in person.
If you are not sure about the status of your hearing, you can check your case status. You can also try calling your immigration court directly. For the latest updates from the immigration court system, you can check their website.
Please note that this announcement is for people who have a case in immigration court. If you are applying for asylum with USCIS, that is a different process, and this announcement does not apply to you. If you are not sure if you have a case in immigration court, you can read this resource to find out.
Note: This information is for asylum seekers and does not substitute for legal advice from a lawyer.