--- name: immigration-deadlines description: > Use this skill to identify, catalog, and compute the controlling deadline in any U.S. immigration matter; produce a deadline-triage worksheet before filing. The immigration analog of state *-deadlines skills. Triggers: "what's my deadline", "how long do I have to appeal", "30 days to appeal", "BIA appeal deadline", "EOIR-26 deadline", "petition for review deadline", "motion to reopen deadline", "90 days to reopen", "motion to reconsider", "in absentia order deadline", "1-year asylum deadline", "voluntary departure period", "RFE due date", "NOID response time", "continuous physical presence", "10 years cancellation", "is my deadline jurisdictional", "can I still file". Warns: **immigration has NO universal mailbox rule; each forum sets its own receipt/filing rules**. Many deadlines are **jurisdictional and uncurable**. Produces deadline-triage worksheet with authority and flag for each clock. version: 0.1.1 --- # Immigration — Deadline Catalog & Computation > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** This skill produces a deadline-triage worksheet and computation > notes — **not legal advice**, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Immigration > deadlines are short, vary by forum, and are frequently **jurisdictional and uncurable**: > a missed BIA-appeal or petition-for-review deadline usually cannot be fixed by any later > motion. Verify every date, form edition, and citation against current law and the actual > notice in hand, and **strongly consider consulting a licensed immigration attorney or an > EOIR-accredited representative** before relying on any computed date. ## What this skill does It maps a matter's posture to the clock(s) that control it, ties each clock to its statutory or regulatory authority, and computes candidate dates. Run it immediately after `immigration-pro-se` identifies the forum — the deadline often decides which downstream skill even matters. Cite from the **INA → 8 U.S.C. crosswalk** in [`../../references/immigration-statutes/`](../../references/immigration-statutes/), not from memory. ## Deadline catalog | Clock | Length | Authority | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | **Asylum one-year filing bar** | 1 year from arrival | INA § 208(a)(2)(B) / 8 U.S.C. § 1158 | Exceptions for **changed circumstances** materially affecting eligibility or **extraordinary circumstances** explaining the delay (§ 1158(a)(2)(D)). | | **Appeal IJ → BIA** | **30 days** from the IJ decision | 8 CFR § 1003.38 (filing) / § 1003.3 | Form **EOIR-26**, received (not mailed) at the Board. **Not extendable.** | | **Petition for review → U.S. Court of Appeals** | **30 days** from the final order of removal | INA § 242(b)(1) / 8 U.S.C. § 1252 | **Jurisdictional; no tolling, no extension.** Filed in the circuit where the IJ completed proceedings. | | **Motion to reopen** | **90 days** from the final administrative decision | 8 CFR § 1003.23(b) (before IJ) / § 1003.2(c) (before BIA) | Generally **one** motion; number/time limits. Exceptions below. | | **Motion to reconsider** | **30 days** from the final administrative decision | 8 CFR § 1003.23(b) (before IJ) / § 1003.2(b) (before BIA) | Generally **one** motion; states an error of law or fact in the prior decision. | | **Reopen in-absentia (exceptional circumstances)** | **180 days** from the in-absentia order | INA § 240(b)(5)(C) / 8 U.S.C. § 1229a | Time-limited motion to reopen the in-absentia removal order. | | **Reopen in-absentia (lack of notice)** | **No time limit** | INA § 240(b)(5)(C) / 8 U.S.C. § 1229a | Filed "at any time" if the NTA / hearing notice was not received. | | **Reopen — changed country conditions (asylum)** | **No time / number limit** | 8 CFR § 1003.23(b)(4) / § 1003.2(c)(3) | Materially changed conditions in the country of removal; evidence must be previously unavailable. | | **Voluntary departure — post-conclusion** | up to **60 days** | INA § 240B(b) / 8 U.S.C. § 1229c | Granted at the conclusion of proceedings; bond required. | | **Voluntary departure — pre-conclusion** | up to **120 days** | INA § 240B(a) / 8 U.S.C. § 1229c | Granted before/at master calendar, before merits. | | **NTA → first hearing** | **at least 10 days** notice | INA § 239 / 8 U.S.C. § 1229 | Minimum time between NTA service and the first removal hearing (waivable by the respondent). | | **Cancellation — continuous presence** | **10 years** (non-LPR) / **7 years** continuous residence + **5 years** LPR | INA § 240A / 8 U.S.C. § 1229b | Subject to the **stop-time rule**: presence ends at NTA service or certain offenses (§ 1229b(d)). | | **USCIS RFE response** | set on the notice (commonly up to **~87 days**) | 8 CFR § 103.2(b)(8) | **Read the notice** — the date printed there controls, not this estimate. | | **USCIS NOID response** | set on the notice (commonly **~33 days**) | 8 CFR § 103.2(b)(8) | **Read the notice** — the printed date controls. | | **Naturalization — continuous residence / physical presence** | **5 yr** residence + **30 mo** physical presence (3 yr / 18 mo for § 319 spouses) | INA §§ 316 / 319 — 8 U.S.C. §§ 1427 / 1430 | Continuous-residence and physical-presence are distinct tests; long absences may break continuity. | ## How to compute (read this before computing anything) - **There is NO universal mailbox rule in immigration.** Do not assume a filing is "timely if mailed." **Each forum sets its own receipt/filing rules:** the BIA and immigration courts generally count the day the filing is **received** (8 CFR § 1003.38 / § 1003.3); a circuit petition for review must be **filed** with the court within 30 days; USCIS counts receipt of the response. Confirm the rule for the specific forum before you compute. - **Jurisdictional vs. curable.** Treat the **petition-for-review** (INA § 242(b)(1)) and the **30-day BIA appeal** (8 CFR § 1003.38) as hard, uncurable deadlines — there is no tolling and no "good cause" extension. Statutory filing bars (the asylum one-year bar) have narrow, enumerated exceptions only. Flag any near-miss loudly in the worksheet. - **Anchor to the right trigger date.** Identify what starts the clock — date of the IJ oral decision, date the written decision was served, date of the final order, date the notice was *issued* vs. *received*. The trigger, not "today," controls. - **Count carefully and conservatively.** When a forum's day-counting rule is unclear, compute the **earliest** plausible due date and treat it as the deadline. Never round in the filer's favor on a jurisdictional clock. - **Always reconcile against the actual notice.** RFE/NOID windows, hearing dates, and voluntary- departure periods are stated on the paper the person holds; the catalog above gives only typical ranges. The notice wins. ## Artifacts this skill drafts - A **deadline-triage worksheet**: each applicable clock, its trigger date, its authority, the computed due date, and a **jurisdictional / curable** flag. - A **forum-rule note** stating how the controlling forum counts time (receipt vs. filing; no mailbox rule) for the specific filing contemplated. - A **near-miss alert** when any computed date is within a short window or already passed, routing to the appropriate motion or review skill. ## Related authority - Asylum one-year bar + exceptions: INA § 208(a)(2) / 8 U.S.C. § 1158; removal proceedings and in-absentia reopening: INA § 240 / 8 U.S.C. § 1229a; voluntary departure: INA § 240B / 8 U.S.C. § 1229c; cancellation + stop-time: INA § 240A / 8 U.S.C. § 1229b; judicial review: INA § 242 / 8 U.S.C. § 1252 — all in [`../../references/immigration-statutes/INA-II-immigration.md`](../../references/immigration-statutes/INA-II-immigration.md), with the INA ↔ 8 U.S.C. crosswalk in [`../../references/immigration-statutes/`](../../references/immigration-statutes/) (README). - Naturalization residence / physical-presence: INA §§ 316 / 319 / 8 U.S.C. §§ 1427 / 1430 — [`../../references/immigration-statutes/INA-III-nationality.md`](../../references/immigration-statutes/INA-III-nationality.md). - BIA appeals (§ 1003.38), reopening/reconsideration before the BIA (§ 1003.2) and before the immigration court (§ 1003.23) — [`../../references/immigration-regulations/8CFR-1003-eoir-bia.md`](../../references/immigration-regulations/8CFR-1003-eoir-bia.md). - USCIS RFE/NOID windows (§ 103.2(b)(8)) — [`../../references/immigration-regulations/8CFR-103-powers-fees.md`](../../references/immigration-regulations/8CFR-103-powers-fees.md). ## Composition Runs right after `immigration-pro-se` and feeds every drafting skill. Hands off to `eoir-removal-defense` (hearing and relief deadlines, voluntary departure), `bia-appeals` (the 30-day EOIR-26 clock), `circuit-petition-for-review` (the jurisdictional 30-day § 1252(b)(1) clock), and `eoir-motions-to-reopen-reconsider` (the 90-/30-day motion clocks and the in-absentia and changed-country-conditions exceptions). Verify any computed date with `immigration-fact-check` before filing.