WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR FIRST APPEARANCE IN IMMIGRATION COURT

The judge will ask a Respondent if he or she received a Notice to Appear (NTA) and whether or not he or she concedes the proper service;
The judge will explain to the respondent his/her rights ;
The judge will ask if the respondent concedes (agrees with) all the allegations described in the NTA;
The judge will ask the respondent if the respondent agrees that he/she is removable from the US;
The judge will ask the respondent to name the country to which removal should be directed and the respondent can either name the country or decline to name the country;
The judge will ask what forms of relief from removal the respondent requests;
If relief from removal requires an application the judge will set the date when the application should be filed;
If background or security investigations are required the respondent will receive the instructions from the judge;
The new date will be set for the hearing on merits;
The respondent can request the interpreter for his hearing present.

In a bond hearing, the Immigration Judge determines whether the alien is eligible for bond. If the alien is eligible for bond, the Immigration Judge considers whether the alien’s release would pose a danger to property or persons, whether the alien is likely to appear for further immigration proceedings, and whether the alien is a threat to national security. In general, bond hearings are less formal than hearings in removal proceedings.

Requesting a bond hearing

Requesting a bond hearing should state:

• the full name and alien registration number (“A number”) of the alien
• the bond amount set by the Department of Homeland Security
• if the alien is detained, the location of the detention facility

There is no filing fee to request a bond hearing

Upon the request of the detained individual, the Immigration Court schedules the hearing for the earliest possible date and notifies the individual and the Department of Homeland Security of the hearing. During the Bond Hearing  the Immigration Judge has the authority for determination or redetermine the amount of bond set by DHS.

 The minimum bond amount the immigration judge can set is $1,500. There is no cap as to how high the bond amount can be. It could be as high as $20,000. It depends on whether an individual is, in judge’s opinion, a flight risk or a danger to the U.S.

An individual released from custody upon payment of bond can file for a bond determination within 7 days of release with the Immigration court.

An Immigration Judge has jurisdiction over cases even if NTA has not been filed. In addition, an Immigration Judge has jurisdiction to rule on whether he or she has jurisdiction to conduct a bond hearing.

By regulation, an Immigration Judge can not conduct bond hearings involving:

• aliens in exclusion proceedings
• arriving aliens in removal proceedings
• aliens ineligible for release on security or related grounds
• aliens ineligible for release on certain criminal grounds