4.19 - Federal Court Remands

(a) Nature of Federal Court Remands — The decisions of the Board are reviewable in certain federal courts, depending on the nature of the appeal.  Where an appeal is taken from a Board decision regarding of an immigration judge’s ruling, the federal court may remand the case back to the Board for further proceedings.  For example, the federal court may remand to allow the Board to consider our prior decision because of a change in law or ask the Board to re-examine our prior decision in light of the court’s rulings.

(b) Notification — When the Board receives notification of a federal court’s order from the Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) or the United States Attorney’s Office, a written notification is sent to both the respondent and DHS.

(c) Notice of Appearance — If a party is represented by a practitioner, the practitioner must submit a Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative Before the Board of Immigration Appeals (Form EOIR-27) to become the practitioner of record on remand.  See Chapter 4.3(c) (Representation).  Registered attorneys and fully accredited representatives must electronically file their Notice of Appearance (Form EOIR-27) through ECAS in cases eligible for electronic filing.  If the submission of the Form EOIR-27 precedes issuance of notification of a federal court remand, the submission may be rejected.

(d) Briefing and Transcript — In appropriate cases, a briefing schedule is provided to both parties and informs the parties of their respective deadlines for filing briefs.  If a briefing schedule is set, the parties are both given the same 21 calendar days in which to file their initial briefs.  See Chapter 4.7(a) (Due Date).  Filing guidance can be found Chapter 3 (Filing with the Board) and Chapter 4.2(e) (Briefing Schedule), 4.6 (Appeal Briefs), 4.7(c) (Extensions).  Also, in appropriate cases, a transcript is sent to the parties along with the briefing schedule.  See Chapter 4.2(f) (Transcription).