Immigration guides
Guides to deportation defense, bond, asylum and more, with the official sources they cite.
- Adjustment of status: getting a green card inside the U.S.
Who can adjust status to a green card inside the U.S.: 245(a), 245(c) bars, 245(i), fees, the 2026 USCIS memo and adjustment before an immigration judge.
- Appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
How to appeal an immigration judge's decision to the BIA: the 30-day EOIR-26 deadline, briefs, standards of review, stays and what comes next.
- Asylum in the United States: who qualifies and how to apply
Asylum, withholding of removal and CAT: who qualifies, the one-year deadline, bars, fees, work permits and how an immigration judge decides the case.
- Cancellation of removal guide
Cancellation of removal can stop deportation and grant a green card to certain permanent and non-permanent residents who meet strict requirements.
- Consular processing: from the NVC to the visa interview
Consular processing step by step: NVC fees, DS-260, affidavit of support, medical exam, interview, 221(g), the 3/10-year bars and the I-601A waiver.
- Crimes and deportation under INA § 237
Which convictions make a noncitizen deportable under INA § 237: aggravated felonies, moral turpitude, drugs, plea advice, bond and relief in court.
- Deportation defense guide
How removal defense works in immigration court: the Notice to Appear, master and individual hearings, relief from deportation, appeals and deadlines.
- How to ask for a stay of removal (I-246, BIA and court stays)
How to pause a deportation: the ICE Form I-246 stay, automatic stays, stays from an immigration judge or the BIA, and federal court stays.
- How to file a motion to reopen an immigration case
How a motion to reopen an immigration case works: the 90-day and one-motion limits, exceptions, in absentia orders, stays and filing with EOIR.
- How to fix your immigration status: paths and risks
Overstayed a visa, entered without inspection or have a prior order? The paths to a green card by family, VAWA or U visa, and the risks to avoid.
- ICE detention guide: locating a detainee, bond and court
Find someone in ICE custody: the detainee locator, why they may not show up, calling the facility, money and visits, bond and the court date.
- Immigration bond and bond hearings guide
How immigration bond works: who is eligible, the bond hearing, the 2025–26 no-bond rulings, and how to post and recover a bond, with official sources.
- Inadmissibility grounds and waivers (I-601A, I-601)
Waivers for the 3- and 10-year bars, fraud, crimes and prior removals: who qualifies, extreme hardship, fees, and waivers in immigration court.
- Marriage-based green cards and family petitions
How U.S. citizens and residents petition for a spouse or family: Form I-130, conditional green cards, marrying in removal proceedings and the fraud bar.
- Missed immigration court: reopening an in absentia order
Missed immigration court? How to reopen an in absentia removal order: the 180-day and any-time deadlines, the automatic stay and BIA emergency stays.
- Notice to Appear: what it means and your next steps
Got a Notice to Appear (NTA)? What it means, where to find your A-number and court, the EOIR-33 address rule, and what to do before the first hearing.
- Removal proceedings step by step, from the NTA to appeal
The immigration court timeline step by step: Notice to Appear, master calendar, individual hearing, the judge's decision, BIA appeal and federal court.
- Temporary Protected Status (TPS) guide
Who qualifies for TPS, fees, work permits, which countries are designated, terminations after Mullin v. Doe, and TPS cases in immigration court.
- U visa for crime victims
Who qualifies for a U visa, the Supplement B, $0 fees, work permits, the waiting list, the green card and U visa cases in immigration court.
- U.S. citizenship through naturalization (Form N-400)
Who can naturalize, the $760 N-400 fee, the 2025 civics test, good moral character, when an N-400 risks deportation, N-336 appeals and denaturalization.
- VAWA self-petition and relief in immigration court
VAWA lets abused spouses, children and parents of citizens or residents self-petition. Who qualifies, Form I-360, work permits and VAWA in court.
- Withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture protection
Withholding of removal and CAT protection: the more-likely-than-not test, the bars, withholding-only cases, and what a grant gives and does not give.
- Work permits (EAD): Form I-765 categories and renewals
How the I-765 work permit works for asylum (c)(8), TPS, U visa, VAWA, green card and court cases: the asylum clock, 2026 fees, 18-month cards, renewals.