Immigration judges across the United States have reportedly been instructed to take stricter approaches to those asking for additional time in removal proceedings, including cases where immigrants are waiting for visas and green cards. These efforts are part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s larger task of accelerating immigration court case proceedings. These stricter rules could deny some of the most vulnerable people appearing in court while they await their visas or green cards to become available. Among the immigrants affected are abused and abandoned children and survivors of violent crime.
According to reports, immigration judges have been discouraged, under a hardline interpretation of existing policy guidance and laws, from giving people more than 10 days to find an attorney before proceeding with a case in immigration court. The logic is to cut out inefficiencies and avoidable delays, amid a backlog of roughly 3.2 million pending immigration court cases nationally.
However, many documents are held up because of processing backlogs and tight quotas at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Such long waitsare beyond the control of the applicant or the justice department, which houses the immigration courts.
This is where a Kantaras Law immigration attorney can help. In fact, from 2019 to 2024, only about a quarter of people with attorneys were ordered removed from the US, compared with over 60% who were unrepresented,according to the American Immigration Council. But with demand exceeding supply, only about a fifth of immigrants were represented when they were ordered deported in June of 2026.
If you are concerned about yourself or a member of your family, please call 813-755-4300 to speak with a Kantaras Law immigration attorney.