A judge gives you a deportation order, but you don’t think you should have to leave the United States. Maybe you just want to adjust your status, for instance, or see if you can get your visa extended. Being deported sounds far too drastic, you’re sure there’s another solution, and you want to appeal the decision.
You know that you have a right to appeal the decision, but how long do you have? You don’t want to miss an important deadline and get deported just because you didn’t act quickly enough.
Your order should tell you, but the general rule is 30 days
If you want an overall general answer, it’s this: You have 30 days. That’s a good rule of thumb.
However, that timeline isn’t perfect. There are differences. For instance, for the “revocation of the approval of a petition,” you only have 15 days. If your decision is sent to you in the mail, that adds three more days. That would give you 18 days in the above example or, in a standard case, 33 days.
Overall, remember that your decision itself should tell you when you need to appeal by. Also, remember that this date is set based off when that decision is made and not the day on which you got the notice. This is why they add three days if it’s being mailed, assuming there will be some delay.
These deadlines are important. Valid appeals are lost all the time because people wait too long. Don’t make that mistake. Start looking into the steps you need to take.