Checking your immigration court date is critical. Immigration laws say that if a person misses a court hearing that a judge can automatically be the person a deportation order. This is why it’s so important to know when and where you have to be for your immigration court hearing.
Starting recently, you can check your immigration court date online, but it’s best to confirm your court date using multiple methods. Read below to find out the four best options for checking the date, time, and place of your immigration court hearing.
Option #1: Check Your Immigration Court Hearing Date Online
To check your immigration court hearing date online, you need to visit the EOIR Automated Case Information page. When you go visit this page, you’ll enter your A-number. This is a 9-digit number, preceded by an “A.” If your A-number has only 8 digits, then first enter a zero. If you don’t know your A-number, we’ve created a page to help you find it.
Once you enter your alien number into the Automated Case Information page, 4 boxes will appear containing the following categories of information:
- Next Hearing Information.
- Decision and Motion Information.
- Case Appeal Information.
- Court Contact Information.
Here’s what it looks like:
A word of caution: as with all government databases, you can’t trust everything you see. The immigration court information online may not be current, and a court clerk may not have entered your name or other information correctly. Mistakes happen.
That’s why it’s important to check your immigration hearing date in multiple ways — not just one.
Read on to learn about your other options.
Option #2: Call the Automated Case Information System
Another option to check your immigration court hearing date is to call 1-800-898-7180. This is the immigration court’s automated phone system. When you call, press 1 for English or press 2 for Spanish.
After you choose a language, the phone system asks you to input your alien number. This number is 9 digits long. Sometimes, if immigration gave you an alien number a long time ago, you’ll have 8 digits, and you’ll need to punch in a 0 before inputting the rest of the numbers. Don’t know you’re alien number? Click here for our guide on how to find it.
After you’ve entered your alien number, press 1 to confirm the alien number. If you got it wrong, press 2 and reenter the alien number.
Next, the system will spell out your name. If spells your name, press 1 to confirm.
After you’ve confirmed your name and A-number, the system will then give you 4 options:
- For your next hearing date, Press 1.
- Case processing information, press 2.
- for decision information, press 3.
- for case appeal information, press 4.
Press 1 for your immigration court hearing date
Option #3: Call the Immigration Court Directly
Unfortunately, you can’t rely on the automated phone system to be 100% accurate. For example, court staff could have inputted the incorrect date and time into the system. Or, Sometimes the immigration court makes a change that is not reflected in the automated phone system.
If you’re not sure whether to trust the automated court hotline, then call the immigration court directly to speak to a live staff person. To do this, call the immigration court where your hearing is set. The location of the hearing is at the top of your notice of hearing. To find the phone number, you can check the EOIR Immigration Court Listing.
When you call the number, you should have your alien number ready. The court staff will almost certainly ask you for it. The alien number is 9 digits long. If you don’t know where to find it, then look at your notice of hearing or your notice to appear. It will be located on both documents. Again, here is our guide to assist you.
After providing your alien number, the court staff member will look up and verify your court hearing date.
Option #4: Check Your Hearing Notice (Assuming the Court Has Your Address)
In theory, you should always receive your first hearing notice in the mail. The hearing notice contains information about the date, time, and place of your immigration court hearing.
But sometimes, you cannot be sure that you will receive this hearing notice in the mail.
There are many reasons why.
- First, the court may not have your most recent address. People move all the time, and if you have not provided the court with your new mailing address, then there is no way for the court to send the notice to your new location.
- Second, the mail system is not 100% reliable. The court may have mailed you notice, but the post office may lose it or send it to the wrong location. (The law does not require a court to send notices by certified mail, so the court will generally assume that you got it.)
- Third, sometimes the court staff can write down your address incorrectly, in which case you will not receive your hearing notice.
Therefore, the best practice is to check your mail regularly, try calling the automated system, and also call the court directly. All three are important to make sure that you don’t miss your hearing.
If you have already been to immigration court in person then you should have received the notice of your next hearing. In other words, someone will hand you the piece of paper telling you when to show up next. Also, the immigration judge is required to tell you verbally when your next hearing date is.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve checked your immigration court hearing date, the the time to do the necessary steps to prepare for it. Remember, going to immigration court does not mean you will be deported. You can fight your deportation, whether you entered the U.S. without inspection, overstayed your visa, or have a green card.
If you’d like to read a more general overview of the deportation process, click here.
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