The short answer
Do three things immediately: confirm your hearing date and court through EOIR's own case information system, make sure the court has your current address, and find representation. Missing a hearing can result in a decision entered in your absence, which is far harder to undo than attending would have been.
Your reading roadmap
01
Understand what you have received
A charging document beginning removal proceedings places your case before an immigration judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which sits in the Department of Justice — not with USCIS and not with the enforcement agency that issued it. The document sets out what the government alleges. It is the opening of a case, not a decision, and it is answered in court rather than by correspondence.
02
Confirm the hearing details yourself
EOIR operates an automated case information system, online and by telephone hotline, giving basic status for certain cases before an immigration court or the Board, keyed to an alien registration number. Check it yourself rather than relying on what you were told verbally, and check again as dates approach — hearing information can change.
03
Update your address with the court, on its own clock
This is the single most preventable catastrophe in immigration practice. A respondent must provide the immigration court or the Board with any change of address or contact information within five working days of the change, using Form EOIR-33 for the court hearing the case, filed on paper or through the respondent portal. This is separate from and shorter than the federal ten-day requirement that runs through USCIS instructions — having matters in both places means meeting both.
- Check the case information system for your court, date, and time
- File the court's change of address form within five working days of any move
- Keep the charging document and every notice in one place
- Contact free legal service providers on the EOIR list for your court
- Attend every hearing, even if you do not yet have a representative
- Tell any criminal defense lawyer you have that you are in proceedings
04
Find representation early, and know where to look
EOIR publishes a list, organized by immigration court, of organizations and attorneys offering free legal services to people in proceedings, noting that providers may still charge expenses such as copying, filing, and mailing. Recognized organizations with accredited representatives are also authorized to represent people. Capacity is limited everywhere, so contacting several early is realistic rather than pessimistic.
05
Attend, even if you are not ready
Appearing without a representative is not ideal and is far better than not appearing. Court proceedings are adversarial and deadline-driven, and a decision entered in your absence is considerably harder to reopen than a hearing where you appeared and asked for time. If you cannot get to a hearing, that is an emergency to raise with the court, not a scheduling inconvenience.
06
If a criminal case is also happening
Tell both lawyers about each other. A criminal disposition can affect what is available in immigration court, sometimes decisively, and the immigration consequences of a plea are frequently not obvious from the criminal case alone. Coordinating the two is one of the highest-value things a person in this situation can arrange.
07
What this article cannot tell you
It cannot tell you what defenses or forms of relief may apply to you. That depends on your complete history, and USCIS is explicit that only an attorney or an accredited representative of a recognized organization may give immigration legal advice. What it can tell you is that the procedural steps above protect your ability to make use of whatever help you find.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do I get a free lawyer in immigration court?
Immigration proceedings are civil rather than criminal, and appointed counsel of the kind provided in criminal cases is generally not available. What does exist is free and low-cost representation through nonprofit organizations and pro bono attorneys, which EOIR lists by immigration court. Because capacity is limited, contacting multiple providers early matters.
What happens if I miss a hearing?
A decision can be entered in your absence, and reopening it is difficult. If a hearing has already been missed, that is a reason to seek help immediately rather than to conclude the matter is over — but it is a materially worse position than attending would have been, which is why the address and calendar steps come first.
Can I check my case status online?
Yes, through EOIR's automated case information system, using an alien registration number. Note that this is a different system from USCIS case status, which uses a receipt number and covers benefit requests. A pending application at USCIS will not appear in the court system, and vice versa.
Continue preparing
Know what to gather before you act.
Lawyer in Town publishes general legal information for consumers. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and it cannot account for the facts of any individual situation. Laws, court procedures, filing deadlines, and outcomes differ by state and by court, and they change over time. Confirm anything that affects a decision with a lawyer licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.
Removal proceedings are federal, conducted by immigration courts within the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Court practice, filing methods, and available relief change through regulation and policy; nothing here describes what relief may apply to any individual.