Filing by Email - Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer

The Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) is accepting the filing of new complaints by email. Until further notice, complainants can file new complaints by emailing the complaint and all required attachments to CMS.OCAHO@usdoj.gov. OCAHO continues to accept new complaints filed by mail, in accordance with normal filing procedures.

All filers:

• Files must be submitted in PDF or JPEG. Other file formats cannot be accepted.
• The size of the email with attachments cannot exceed 50MB.
• The subject of the filing must state, “New Complaint” and identify the type of complaint being filed.

Example: If filing an employer sanctions complaint under section 274A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the email subject should be “New Complaint – INA Section 274A”

Example: If you are filing an immigration-related employment discrimination complaint under section 274B of the INA, the email subject should be “New Complaint – INA Section 274B”

Example: If you are filing an immigration-related document fraud complaint under section 274C of the INA, the email subject should be “New Complaint – INA Section 274C”

Each document type must be submitted separately and include the type of filing in the file name. Do not combine separate submissions into one file.

Parties who choose to file new complaints by email must retain the original hard copy of the complaint and all required attachments, and must make the original documents available for inspection or filing throughout the course of their OCAHO proceedings, if such inspection and/or filing becomes necessary.

Electronic Filing of Other Case Documents

After a complaint is filed and the case is assigned to an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), the ALJ may permit the parties to file subsequent case documents by email to a designated email address. For pending cases, parties do not need to request the ability to file electronically, but should instead await instruction from the ALJ regarding electronic filing procedures. Parties are reminded that all documents filed with OCAHO in a pending case must include a certificate of service which identifies the date and manner in which such document was served on all other parties in the case.