EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW (EOIR)
Our deportation attorneys handle cases before the EOIR and the Federal Courts in cities across the US on a regular basis.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is an agency within the US Department of Justice which is responsible for deciding whether immigrants are deportable/removeable from the United States. The EOIR oversees the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
The principal function of the EOIR is to conduct removal proceedings, which are administrative proceedings to determine the removability of individuals in the United States. Removal proceedings are conducted in Immigration Courts. The BIA decides cases on appeal from the Immigration Courts.
If you are in removal proceedings, it is important to obtain competent counsel to represent you in Immigration Court. The government is always represented by an attorney (Mr. Shusterman served as an INS Trial Attorney, 1976-82). Persons who represent themselves in court or hire an inexperienced deportation attorney to save money are being penny-wise, pound-foolish. If the Immigration Judge finds them removable and denies their application for relief from removal, they can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). However, the attorney who handles the appeal with not be able introduce new evidence or call any witnesses. He will have to work with the transcript of the hearing, and write an appeal brief.
Another alternative, available is some matters, is to submit either Motion to Reopen if new facts occur after the Judge decides the case, or a Motion to Reconsider if there is a change in the law.
In most cases, there are strict time limits that must be followed in submitting Appeals and Motions to Reopen/Reconsider. However, these time limits do not necessarily when a person loses a case because of “ineffective assistance of counsel” or because the Court failed to give proper notice of the hearing and the “respondent” failed to appear.
Some, but by no means all, cases denied by the BIA may be challenged in the US Courts of Appeals.
“I can honestly say that Mr. Carl Shusterman and his team are probably the best in the business when it comes to immigration matters. Carl’s greatest asset is his prior work experience as a former INS prosecutor. My family and I were on the verge of being deported from the United States. Because of Carl’s expertise and dedication, not only are we allowed to remain in this country permanently but are on path of obtaining citizenship…” (More client reviews…)
General Resources
- Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) Home Page
- EOIR Online Registration for Immigration Practitioners (5-14-13)
- EOIR Memo on Continuances and Administrative Closure (3-7-13)
- Juan Osuna Named New EOIR Director (5-17-11)
- FY 2010 Statistical Year Book (January 2011) Statistical Yearbooks (2000 – Present)
- Juan Osuna Appointed Acting Director of EOIR (12-23-10)
- Subcommittee Hearing on Executive Office for Immigration Review (6-17-10)
- WebCast of Subcommittee Hearing on Executive Office for Immigration Review (6-17-10)

- Statement of Juan Osuna, Associate Deputy Attorney General
- Statement of Karen Grisez on behalf of the American Bar Association
- Statement of Russell Wheeler, President of the Governance Institute
- Statement of Hon. Dana Marks, President of the National Association of Immigration Judges
- Statement of Mark Metcalf, Former Immigration Judge
- DOJ Committed to Relieving ‘Overburdened’ Immigration System (6-17-10)
- EOIR’s Monthly “Immigration Law Advisor”
- EOIR At A Glance (12-14-09)
- Do Not Be a Victim of Immigration Fraud (7-22-09)
- Bush Plan to Reform Immigration Courts Lag (TRAC) – (September 8, 2008)
- Fact Sheet: EOIR’s Improvement Measures –– Progress Overview (September 8, 2008)
- An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the Attorney General (US Department of Justice) – (July 28, 2008)
- 22 Measures To Improve The Immigration Courts and The BIA (August 9, 2006)
- Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales Outlines Reforms for Immigration Courts and Board of Immigration Appeals (August 9, 2006)
- Phone Numbers Of EOIR Officials
- Virtual Law Library And Immigration Resource Center
- Operating Policies And Procedures Memoranda (OPPM) Log
- EOIR/AILA Liaison Meetings Q & A’s (2000 – Present)
- Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Page
- Ethics Manual For BIA Members, Immigration Judges, and ALJs Employed by EOIR (April 2001)

