If you are in removal proceedings, a deportation hearing lawyer can make a critical difference, and timing matters more than ever. A major change is taking place inside U.S. immigration courts, and immigrants need to understand what it could mean for their cases.
According to a September 4, 2026 report by The Guardian, immigration judges across the country recently received mandatory training encouraging them to significantly limit continuances — requests that let an immigration court postpone a case while an immigrant obtains an attorney, prepares evidence, or waits for another immigration benefit to become available.
For immigrants, the message is becoming increasingly clear: do not assume immigration court will give you unlimited time to complete another immigration process.
What Is a Continuance in Immigration Court?
A continuance is essentially a request asking the immigration judge for more time before the case moves forward.
Under immigration regulations, a judge may grant a continuance for good cause. Existing precedent requires judges to examine the particular reason for the request and the circumstances of the case.
Continuances can be extremely important when an immigrant is pursuing another form of legal status.
For example, someone in removal proceedings may be waiting for:
- approval of a family-based petition;
- availability of an immigrant visa number;
- a U visa based on being the victim of a serious crime;
- Special Immigrant Juvenile Status;
- another USCIS petition or immigration benefit that could ultimately allow the person to remain legally in the United States.
Until now, an attorney could often ask the immigration judge to give the immigrant additional time while that process continued.
That may become much harder.
This shift follows another major change. The Supreme Court recently left in place a ruling that blocks administrative closure, another tool judges used to pause cases.
Why an Approved Petition May Not Delay Your Deportation Hearing
One of the most concerning parts of the reported training involves immigrants who have already taken significant steps toward obtaining lawful status.
According to The Guardian, the training told judges that an approved visa petition should not necessarily justify postponing removal proceedings when the immigrant still waits for a visa number because of annual immigration quotas.
Think about what that means.
An immigrant may have already established eligibility for an immigration benefit.
The government may have approved the underlying petition.
But because the law caps how many visas the government can issue each year, the immigrant may still have to wait before obtaining the actual green card or visa.
Under this more aggressive approach, immigration court may nevertheless continue moving the deportation case forward.
The reported training specifically discussed immigrants waiting for U visas and Special Immigrant Juvenile classification — two categories designed to protect particularly vulnerable people, including victims of serious crimes and certain abused, abandoned, or neglected children.
Immigration Judges Are Being Told to Focus on Speed
The training presentation reportedly carried the title Motions to Continue: Efficiently Advancing Cases to Completion.
According to The Guardian, the presentation emphasized preventing unnecessary delays and moving cases toward final decisions more quickly as the immigration court system faces a backlog of approximately 3.2 million pending cases.
The Department of Justice told The Guardian that reducing the backlog is one of the administration’s priorities and that cases should be heard fairly, quickly, and uniformly.
The concern for immigrants is that faster processing can also mean substantially less time to prepare complicated cases.
Immigration cases often require extensive documentation, witness statements, medical records, psychological evaluations, criminal dispositions, family records, expert reports, country-condition evidence, and other supporting documentation.
Immigrants cannot always assemble these materials overnight.
Why Hiring a Deportation Hearing Lawyer Quickly Matters
The reported training also addressed requests for additional time to obtain an attorney.
According to The Guardian, the training appeared to discourage judges from routinely allowing immigrants more than approximately 10 days to find legal representation in some circumstances.
This should not be understood as a universal rule that every immigrant has only 10 days to find a lawyer.
But it demonstrates the direction immigration courts are moving.
If you receive a Notice to Appear, learn that DHS has placed you into removal proceedings, or receive notice of an upcoming immigration court hearing, do not assume that the judge will repeatedly postpone the case while you look for representation.
Start looking for an immigration attorney immediately.
Why a Pending USCIS Case May Not Protect You From Deportation
Another dangerous misunderstanding is the belief that a pending immigration application automatically protects someone from deportation.
It often does not.
You might have:
- a pending I-130 family petition;
- an approved I-130 family petition;
- a pending U visa for crime victims;
- a pending SIJS case for children without parents in the U.S.;
- a pending T-Visa for victims of trafficking
- an SIJS case;
- a pending I-751 Removal of Conditions on perm. Residence petition;
- another application pending with USCIS.
That does not necessarily require an immigration judge to stop your removal proceedings indefinitely.
Immigration judges continue to apply the good-cause standard when deciding motions to continue. EOIR’s current practice guidance also states that parties should generally request one through a written motion that explains the reasons for the continuance and includes supporting evidence when appropriate.
This is why you need to coordinate your immigration court strategy and your USCIS strategy.
What Should You Do Now? Questions to Ask a Deportation Hearing Lawyer
If you are already in immigration court, do not wait until days before your next hearing to begin preparing your case.
Find out immediately:
What forms of relief do you qualify for?
Could you qualify for asylum, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, VAWA, a U visa, a T visa, SIJS, a waiver, or another defense against removal?
Are there applications that should be filed now?
If you must file another petition with USCIS before you can ask the immigration judge for additional time, delaying that filing can hurt your ability to show that you have been diligently pursuing relief.
What evidence will you eventually need?
Start collecting records early rather than waiting for the judge to set a final hearing.
Do you need to request a continuance?
A request for more time should explain specifically why additional time is necessary, what immigration benefit you are pursuing, what steps you have already completed, and why the delay is outside your control.
Judges have repeatedly emphasized diligence when deciding whether to grant more time. Recent BIA precedent has also warned against continuances based only on speculative possibilities for future relief.
Waiting Is Becoming a Riskier Immigration Strategy
For years, some immigrants could remain in lengthy removal proceedings while other immigration applications slowly moved through USCIS.
The government is now making clear that it wants immigration judges to move cases toward completion much faster.
That makes preparation and timing more important than ever.
If there is an immigration petition you qualify to file, waiting may make it harder later to convince an immigration judge to delay your deportation case.
If you need evidence, start collecting it.
Begin looking for an attorney now if you need one.
And if you have a USCIS application pending while you are also in immigration court, make sure one coordinated legal strategy covers both cases.
Detention can add even more pressure, so also read about how a federal court says ICE can hold immigrants without bond and review why people get deported.
Deportation Hearing Lawyer FAQ
Can I ask the judge for more time to find a lawyer?
You can still ask for a continuance, but reports say judges should allow very little time, in some cases about 10 days. That is not a universal rule, so start looking for a deportation hearing lawyer as soon as you receive a Notice to Appear.
Will a pending Green Card or visa petition stop my deportation case?
Not necessarily. Even an approved petition may not be enough if a visa number is not yet available. A lawyer can review your situation and tell you whether it justifies asking the judge to delay your case.
When should I hire a deportation hearing lawyer?
Hire one as soon as you learn you are in removal proceedings. Early preparation gives you time to identify the relief you qualify for, file applications, and collect evidence.
Does Shepelsky Law Group handle removal defense outside New York?
Yes. Our attorneys represent immigrants in removal defense and other immigration matters across the United States.
Shepelsky Law Group: Do Not Wait Until Your Next Court Hearing
Immigration court is becoming faster and less forgiving of delay. If you or a family member is in removal proceedings, has received a Notice to Appear, or is waiting for another immigration benefit while deportation proceedings are pending, now is the time to understand your options. Speaking with a deportation hearing lawyer early can give you more options.
Shepelsky Law Group represents immigrants in removal defense, asylum, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, family immigration, VAWA, U visas, T visas, SIJS matters, motions to reopen, appeals, and other immigration cases.
CALL US TODAY AT TEL: (718)769-6352 or book your consultation at www.ShepelskyLaw.com
Do not wait for the immigration judge to tell you that you have run out of time. Contact Shepelsky Law Group today to schedule a consultation and develop a strategy for protecting your ability to remain in the United States.