American Immigration Lawyers - Khan Law PLLC
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Every hearing matters

DEPORTATION

DEFENSE & BOND

A Notice to Appear puts your future in front of an immigration judge, and the government brings a trained attorney to every hearing. So should you. This deportation defense guide lays out the whole fight, in plain English.

Free Case Review How It works

Day 1

Detention cases are emergencies: decisions made in the first days shape everything after.

5

Families of defenses: cancellation, protection, adjustment, waivers, and discretion.

30

 Days to appeal to the BIA if the decision goes wrong.

Who Qualifies

Built to fight back.

Five families of relief may apply. The right one depends on your history, your family, and your record. Solid deportation / removal defense starts by matching the right protection from deportation to your facts.

Cancellation of removal

For green card holders: 7 years residence, 5 as LPR, no aggravated felony. For non-LPRs: 10 years presence, good character, and exceptional hardship to a citizen or LPR spouse, parent, or child.

Asylum, withholding & CAT

Protection for those facing persecution or torture.

Adjustment of status

Through family, in front of the judge.

Waivers

212(h), 237(a)(1)(H), and others, for certain criminal or fraud grounds.

Discretion & departure

Prosecutorial discretion, termination, or voluntary departure where the case or priorities allow. Understanding removal vs return immigration matters here, since leaving on your own terms is not the same as being ordered out.

The Process

Five steps. One investment.

Every step of the deportation defense process runs the same way.

01

the bond fight

If detained, move on custody immediately: request a bond hearing with evidence of ties, sponsorship, and no danger. Form EOIR-26 appeals exist if bond is denied.

02

the master calendar

Pleadings, charges, and identifying every avenue of relief.

03

the applications

File the relief applications (I-589, EOIR-42A/B, I-485, waivers) with full documentation.

04

the merits hearing

The individual hearing: testimony, witnesses, experts, and country evidence.

05

the decision

And if it goes wrong, 30 days to appeal to the BIA: see our appeals guide.

Forms & Fees

Know the paperwork.

EOIR-26

The appeal to the BIA, including when bond is denied.

I-589

The asylum, withholding, and CAT protection application.

I-485

Adjustment of status through family, in front of the judge.

EOIR-42A/B

The cancellation of removal applications, filed with full documentation.

Detained? Call today, not tomorrow

Detention cases are emergencies: decisions made in the first days shape everything after. Move on custody immediately, with evidence of ties, sponsorship, and no danger.

Know Your Rights

Rights you keep. Clocks that run.

Knowing these rules is half of how to avoid deportation removal: the door you keep closed and the deadline you do not miss both change the outcome.

What you can do

  • Stay silent about where you were born and how you entered; you decide what to say and when
  • Keep the door closed unless officers show a warrant signed by a judge; an ICE administrative form is not one
  • Hire counsel at any stage; the court will give you time to find a lawyer, but will never appoint one
  • Insist on an interpreter in your best language for every hearing, not just the big one
  • Ask again on bond when facts change; a new sponsor, new evidence, or new hardship can reopen the question

Cannot

  • Missing a hearing; the judge can order removal in absentia that same day, without you in the room
  • Moving without filing Form EOIR-33 within 5 days; notices keep going to the old address, and missed mail is rarely an excuse
  • Waiting past one year in the country to seek asylum; late filings survive only through narrow exceptions
  • Signing anything you do not fully understand; stipulated removal and departure papers end cases in minutes
  • Giving up after an in-absentia order; reopening exists, 180 days for exceptional circumstances, no deadline when notice never reached you

Costs

What it costs in 2026.

Honest framing first: in removal defense, government fees are rarely the real cost, because there is no public defender in immigration court and the main investment is the legal work itself. What the government side actually involves is a bond, which is a refundable deposit rather than a fee, plus filing fees that the 2025 budget law raised sharply for the applications that win cases. The court can still waive many of its own fees for demonstrated inability to pay through Form EOIR-26A, but the new asylum fees cannot be waived at all. This is where a real plan to avoid deportation gets built.

Item Fee Notes
Delivery bond (release from detention) $1,500 legal minimum Judges set the real number; 2026 bonds commonly run $5,000 to $15,000 and climb far higher with any criminal record
Voluntary departure bond Typically $500 to $5,000 Posted with ICE when a judge grants voluntary departure; returned after proof you left on time
Asylum application (Form I-589) $100 New under the 2025 law, plus a $102 annual fee while the case waits; these asylum fees cannot be waived
Cancellation of removal (EOIR-42A / EOIR-42B) $710 / $1,640 Raised sharply by the 2025 law and inflation-adjusted each year, most recently in February 2026
Bond appeal to the BIA (Form EOIR-26) $1,030 If bond is denied or set impossibly high; a fee waiver can be requested on Form EOIR-26A
Fee amounts reflect published government figures as of August 2026 and change over time; the live links above are always current. Bond money is a refundable deposit returned to the person who posted it; filing fees are not returned.

FAQ

Questions we hear every week.

Start with the ICE detainee locator linked above: it works best with the A-number, or an exact name plus country of birth. People are moved between facilities quickly, sometimes across state lines, so check daily and write down every facility name. Then get the A-number to a lawyer the same day; every early decision is easier with it.

Sometimes very fast. A judge can take up bond at the first hearing, or earlier on a written motion, and once bond is granted and paid through the CeBONDS system, release usually follows within about a day. The slow part is preparation: sponsors, a stable address, and evidence of ties are what move judges, and that file should start the day we are hired.

The payer, called the obligor, should be someone with valid identification and lawful presence, because the refund goes only to that person, never to the detainee. When the case ends and every hearing was attended, the money comes back, commonly within a couple of months of the paperwork. If hearings are missed, the bond is lost and the case is worse off.

Three doors: ask the judge again when circumstances change, appeal the bond decision to the Board, and look into community bond funds that help families post. What we never recommend is paying an unlicensed middleman who promises release; if an offer sounds like a shortcut around the court, it is a scam.

No, and this is the first fight in many cases. Certain criminal history and certain manners of entry put people in categories the government treats as ineligible for bond, and in recent years it has pressed those categories aggressively. Whether the label actually fits is a legal question worth testing immediately, because the answer decides where the whole case is fought.

The Notice to Appear if you have it, the A-number, any criminal records with certified dispositions, proof of time in the United States, and the names and statuses of close family here. Bring what exists and do not wait to collect the rest; in detained cases the calendar matters more than a complete folder.

YOUR CASE.
Our fight.

The government brings a trained attorney to every hearing. So should you. If someone you love was detained, call now: the evaluation is free.

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