According to the Department of Justice's description, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is "the highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws." Simply put, the BIA has the final say on most immigration decisions unless there have been procedural violations that warrant review at the Federal Circuit Court level.

The BIA is located in Falls Church, Virginia and reviews most of the cases it considers by reading the briefs submitted by the parties. On rare occasions, the BIA does hear oral arguments in a courtroom setting.

If you have been ordered deported in Immigration Court, had your family-based petition denied by the USCIS, or if you have received some other form of adverse decision from an immigration body, you may be able to appeal your case to the BIA. The BIA can also reverse some orders by the Department of Homeland Security, grant a motion to reopen a case or proceeding, or review another body's judgment of the admissibility of a foreign national or the appropriate classification of an alien for visa purposes.

In order to submit an appeal to the BIA, an attorney must be a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court in at least one U.S. state or territory. Our experienced immigration attorney has had this standing since 1975 and is also approved to appear before the Federal District Court for Nevada and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

To learn more about an appeal of your case to the BIA, please contact our Northern California immigration law office today.