 Seal of the Executive Office for Immigration Review | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1940 |
| Jurisdiction | Federal government of the United States |
| Headquarters | Falls Church, Virginia |
| Agency executives | |
| Parent agency | Executive Office for Immigration Review,Department of Justice |
| Website | Board of Immigration Appeals |
TheBoard of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is an administrativeappellate body within theExecutive Office for Immigration Review of theUnited States Department of Justice responsible for reviewing decisions of theU.S. immigration courts and certain actions ofU.S. Citizenship Immigration Services,U.S Customs and Border Protection, andU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The BIA was established in 1940 after theImmigration and Naturalization Service was transferred from theUnited States Department of Labor to the Department of Justice.[2][3]
The Board of Immigration Appeals traces its origins to theImmigration Act of 1891, which was the first comprehensive federal law that governed the immigration system. The Act established an Office of Immigration within theDepartment of the Treasury, which would be supervised by a Superintendent of Immigration and responsible for handling immigration functions. The Act also laid out an appeals process where immigrants could appeal the Office's decisions to the Superintendent of Immigration.[2]
Two years later, the Immigration Act of 1893 established three-member Boards of Special Inquiry to decide challenges to decisions of the Office of Immigration that deported or excluded an immigrant seeking to enter the United States.[2]
Congress continued to adjust the immigration system over the coming decades. In 1903, Congress moved immigration functions from the Treasury to the newly createdDepartment of Commerce and Labor. Ten years later, Congress split the Department of Commerce and Labor into aDepartment of Commerce and aDepartment of Labor, and assigned responsibility for the immigration system to the latter.[2]
In 1917, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 that reformed the provisions governing the exclusion and deportation of immigrants.[2]
The Immigration Act of 1921 established a new system of national quotas that limited the number of immigrants from any given country. These reforms significantly increased the number of administrative appeals filed by immigrants and the complexity of each case. TheSecretary of Labor established a Board of Review to handle the increased caseload and recommend decisions.[2]
In 1933, Executive Order 6166 centralized all immigration functions within a newImmigration and Naturalization Service in the Department of Labor.[4]
In 1940, President Roosevelt moved the INS to the Department of Justice. TheAttorney General replaced the Board of Review with a new Board of Immigration Appeals authorized to decide appeals itself, instead of recommending decisions. The BIA was given significant independence and remains responsible solely to the Attorney General.[5]
In 1952, Congress replaced the complex network of immigration laws with a single statute, titled theImmigration and Nationality Act. Among other things, the statue eliminated the archaic Special Inquiry Boards and gave responsibility for reviewing deportation cases to new special inquiry officers. The role of special inquiry officers was further formalized in 1973, when a new regulation renamed them "immigration judges" and granted them the power to wear judicial robes.[2][6]
In 1983, the Attorney General established the Executive Office for Immigration Review to administer the immigration courts. Immigration judges and the BIA were moved to the EOIR. A new Office of the Chief Immigration Judge was established to supervise the work of immigration judges and immigration courts. The BIA retained its power to decide immigration appeals and establish precedents.[7][8]
Congress passed significant immigration reforms over the next few years. TheImmigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and related regulations gave EOIR authority to decide cases related to immigration-related employment issues.[9] TheImmigration Act of 1990 expanded EOIR's powers to review cases of "document abuse", or misuse of documentation to prove employment eligibility. TheIllegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 replaced deportation proceedings and exclusion proceedings with "removal proceedings" and simplified procedures.[7]
TheHomeland Security Act of 2002 further clarified EOIR's powers by formally separating it from the INS and codifying the Attorney General's supervisory authority. The Act also abolished the INS and transferred its functions to the newly createdDepartment of Homeland Security.[7]
The BIA reviews the decisions of theU.S. immigration courts, some decisions ofU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and immigration violation arrests byU.S. Customs and Border Protection andU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. BIA decisions are the final administrative action in a given case, and the next stage of appeal after a BIA decision is usually in theUnited States courts of appeals if an appeal is allowed by statute.
Most opinions of the BIA are unpublished and do not apply outside of the cases in which they were issued.[10] However, a limited number of BIA decisions are selected for publication in the Administrative Decisions under the Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States.[11] There are currently 28 volumes of administrative precedent decisions under the Immigration and Nationality laws encompassing decisions dating back to 1940.[12] BIA precedent decisions are legally binding on all components of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A precedent decision may be overruled by a published decision of the Attorney General, by a Federal court, by a subsequent BIA precedent decision, or by a change in the law.
The BIA is notable in that one need not be an attorney to appear before it representing a client. However, non-attorneys must be part of a BIA-recognized organization (generally a nonprofit), and also have obtained BIA accreditation as individuals. A practice manual[13] for appearing before the BIA is available from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The BIA is located inFalls Church, Virginia, and, as of February 2021, has 23 board members, who are administrative judges appointed by theU.S. Attorney General, and six temporary members.[14] The size of the full BIA varies from time to time, depending on resignations, retirements, and new appointments; it may have up to 23 board members under the current authorizing regulation.[15] Decisions issued by the BIA are by three-member panels in limited circumstances.[16] Otherwise, the vast majority of cases are decided by single panel members.[16] In certain circumstances, a single panel member can use a process called summary affirmance to affirm the lower court without issuing a written decision.[16][17][18]
As of October 3, 2025:[14]
| Title | Name | Term began | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Appellate Immigration Judge | Garry D. Malphrus | April 2025 | Pam Bondi |
| Deputy Chief Appellate Immigration Judge | vacant | ||
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Michael J. Creppy | February 2011 | Eric Holder |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Sheila E. Gallow | August 2025 | Pam Bondi |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Marcos Gemoetz | August 2025 | Pam Bondi |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Deborah K. Goodwin | August 2019 | William Barr |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Keith E. Hunsucker | August 2019 | William Barr |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Sunita B. Mahtabfar | August 2020 | William Barr |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Ana Landazabal Mann | November 2011 | Eric Holder |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Philip J. Montante Jr. | April 2020 | William Barr |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Hugh Mullane | August 2008 | Michael Mukasey |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Sirce E. Owen | August 2020 | William Barr |
| Appellate Immigration Judge | Kathleen K. Volkert | August 2025 | Pam Bondi |
| Temporary Appellate Immigration Judge | Jankhana Desai | June 2025 | Pam Bondi |
| Temporary Appellate Immigration Judge | John M. Gillies | June 2025 | Pam Bondi |
| Temporary Appellate Immigration Judge | Sarah B. Mazzie | June 2025 | Pam Bondi |
| Temporary Appellate Immigration Judge | Paul A. McCloskey | June 2025 | Pam Bondi |
| Temporary Appellate Immigration Judge | Dara F. Reids | June 2025 | Pam Bondi |
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| International | |
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