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Immigration Practice Resources

Search immigration practice advisories, sample filings, manuals, brief banks, and government guidance from trusted practitioner sources.

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Topic: Removal defense Clear Workflow: Motions, stays, and pretermission Clear

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National Immigration Project Practice advisory Mar 13, 2026

Stays of Removal

A stay of removal prevents the Department of Homeland Security from executing a final order of removal against a person. DHS, immigration judges, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the U.S. courts of appeals all have the authority to grant stays of removal. If a stay of removal is in effect, DHS may not remove the person from the United States. This practice advisory explains how to seek a court-ordered stay of removal with an IJ, the BIA, and the U.S. courts of appeals, and how to seek an ad

Removal defense BIA appeals Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
National Immigration Project Template motion Dec 2, 2025

Fifteen Steps for Addressing Orders of Removal Issued by an Immigration Judge

Motions to reopen are extremely important for people with final removal orders. Final orders of removal render people vulnerable to detention and immediate removal from the United States. However, a successful motion to reopen places the person back in active removal proceedings before an immigration judge where they can pursue immigration relief, provides additional arguments for release from detention, and prevents their immediate removal. This practical resource provides fifteen concrete step

Removal defense Motions to reopen / reconsider Detention / bond Immigration court Direct PDF
National Immigration Project Practice advisory Oct 3, 2025

Practice Alert: Guidance on CHIRLA v. Noem Order (Expedited Removal)

On September 12, 2025, the D.C. Circuit denied the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal, dissolved its temporary, partial administrative stay, and fully restored the district court’s August 1 order in CHIRLA v. Noem , a lawsuit challenging Trump 2.0 government directives applying expedited removal to paroled individuals. The August 1 order, which is now fully in effect, stays policies that allowed DHS to put individuals who were previously paroled into the United States at a port of ent

Removal defense Detention / bond BIA appeals BIA Federal district court Direct PDF
Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Aug 14, 2025

Risk Assessment for Naturalization Applicants

For many noncitizens, naturalization is the best defense against deportation from the United States. Indeed, USCIS lacks the authority to detain or deport a U.S. citizen. However, applying for naturalization can be risky for some individuals because it can instigate immigration enforcement. This concern has increased following President Trump’s February 28, 2025 NTA Memo. The ILRC, NIPNLG, CLINIC, and the Ready to Stay collaborative wrote a practice advisory summarizing the most common reasons w

Removal defense Naturalization USCIS Direct PDF
National Immigration Project Practice advisory Jul 25, 2025

Fighting for a Day in Court: Understanding and Responding to Pretermission of Asylum Applications

Immigration Judges have increasingly begun to pretermit asylum applications--often ordering asylum seekers removed without ever having a chance to have a hearing on their claims. This Practice Advisory (PA) discusses a recent Policy Memo by the Executive Office for Immigration Review Acting Director and a recent Board of Immigration Appeals decision, which have prompted judges to pretermit cases. The PA also contains practical tips on how to fight this practice.

Asylum Removal defense BIA appeals Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
Immigrant Legal Resource Center Template motion Jul 1, 2025

Responding to DHS Motions to Recalendar

In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security has begun filing thousands of motions to recalendar administratively closed proceedings. This trend is raising questions about how attorneys and accredited representatives can respond to these motions and protect their clients’ interests, particularly in cases that have been administratively closed for many years. This advisory explores those questions and offers strategy considerations when determining how to proceed in each case.

Removal defense Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
Immigrant Legal Resource Center Practice advisory Jun 25, 2025

Reopening Removal Proceedings Based on the Ineffective Assistance of Prior Counsel

This practice advisory focuses on motions to reopen based on ineffective assistance of prior counsel. It reviews the basic requirements of motions to reopen and then dives into the specific procedural and substantive requirements of motions to reopen based on the ineffective assistance of prior counsel. It discusses the time and numerical limitations on motions to reopen and how to use the doctrine of equitable tolling to overcome these limitations. It also covers what documents should accompany

Removal defense Motions to reopen / reconsider Cross-forum Direct PDF
National Immigration Project Template motion Feb 28, 2025

Template Opposition to DHS Motion to Dismiss to Pursue Expedited Removal

On January 21, 2025, the Trump administration expanded the scope of expedited removal to its statutory maximum, to include certain noncitizens not admitted or paroled who cannot prove they have been continuously present in the United States for at least two years. DHS, Designating Aliens for Expedited Removal, 90 Fed. Reg. 8139 (Jan. 24, 2025). Several days later, DHS issued a memo directing DHS attorneys to consider moving to terminate ongoing removal proceedings in order to pursue expedited re

Removal defense Detention / bond Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
American Immigration Council Practice advisory Jan 17, 2025

Seeking Stays of Removal

A stay of removal prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from deporting a noncitizen from the United States while they continue to challenge their removal order or pursue an immigration benefit or humanitarian protection. This practice advisory discusses the law, procedure, and practical tips for seeking a stay of removal from DHS, immigration judges, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the U.S. courts of appeals.

Removal defense BIA appeals Evidence and procedure Immigration court BIA Direct PDF
NIWAP Library Amicus brief Jun 15, 2024

he Federal District Court granted Ms. Soto Alvarado’s Motion

In a case brought in Federal District Court in Rhode Island an abused spouse whose VAWA self-petition had been approved challenged USCIS’s revocation of her approved petition. The self-petitioner was divorced from her abuser and remarried after filing the self-petition but before the self-petition had been approved. The court’s ruling allows the self-petitioner to fully litigate her challenge the USCIS’s revocation of her self-petition due to remarriage in Federal District Court. The court’s rul

Removal defense Federal court VAWA / U / T USCIS Federal district court Direct PDF
NIWAP Library Resource directory Apr 25, 2024

Federal Preemption in Immigration Law

Friendly House Et Al., V. Michael B. Whiting Et Al ., (June 11, 2010) United States District Court Arizona. Legal Momentum, recruited by the ACLU, MALDEF, The National Immigration Law Center, and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (represented by Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips) to organize a brief articulating immigrant women’s perspective amicus in support of plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop implementation of key portions of Arizona’s anti-immigrant legislation SB 1070

Removal defense Federal court Federal district court