BIA Appeal Attorney Orlando FL

Petition for Review: What Happens After a BIA Denial From Orlando Immigration Court

Last updated: March 2025

A petition for review is a request filed with a federal circuit court of appeals asking it to review a final Board of Immigration Appeals order for legal error. It does not retry the case. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1), you have 30 days from the date of the Board's order, and that deadline does not move.

If your hearing happened at Orlando Immigration Court, 3170 McCrory Place, and the Board affirmed the judge, the clock started the day the Board mailed its decision, not the day you opened the envelope. Families in this position often live near Mills 50 District, work off International Drive, or study at University of Central Florida (UCF), and the calendar does not pause for a work shift or a semester.

A petition for review asks the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to review a final Board of Immigration Appeals order for legal error. Filed within 30 days under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1), it covers cases from Orlando Immigration Court and does not retry facts; the court reviews only the certified administrative record.

Who Handles Petitions for Review From Orlando

William J. Vasquez represents clients in petitions for review before the Eleventh, Fourth, and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals, with standing before EOIR and the Board of Immigration Appeals. He holds bar admission in North Carolina, not Florida; immigration appeals are federal, so circuit-bar admission, not a state bar card, lets him brief and argue this stage. Read his full biography for his federal court admissions and appellate history.

He has spent more than a decade briefing appeals that start in Florida's immigration courts and move to the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta. 'Most families call the week the Board's letter arrives,' he says. 'The hard conversation is telling someone that circuit review is narrow. We are looking for a legal error the record can actually support, not re-arguing the facts.'

TRAC Immigration at Syracuse University reported, using 2024 case data, that circuit courts nationally grant relief in roughly 5 to 8 percent of petitions for review. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts' 2023 Judicial Business report put the median time from filing to decision at just over a year. EOIR's FY2023 Statistics Yearbook lists Orlando Immigration Court completing several thousand removal decisions that year; only a fraction reach the Board, and fewer still reach the Eleventh Circuit.

How Do I File a Petition for Review From Orlando?

Step one is arithmetic, not strategy: confirm the date on the Board's order and count 30 days under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1). Miss it, and no court, not the Eleventh Circuit, not the Orange County Courthouse near Lake Eola Park, can hear the case.

Step two, file with the clerk of the Eleventh Circuit, 56 Forsyth Street NW, Atlanta, GA, under FRAP 15(a)(1), and serve the Attorney General and DHS. Cases from Orlando Immigration Court, a short walk from SunRail's Church Street Station, all route to Atlanta under the venue rule at 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(2).

Step three, if removal is imminent, file an emergency stay of removal motion addressing the four factors from Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418 (2009): success on the merits, irreparable harm, harm to others, and the public interest.

Step four, the government certifies the administrative record under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(4)(A); no new evidence gets added, not a UCF transcript finished after the hearing, not a new job near Camping World Stadium. Steps five through seven are briefing, oral argument if granted, and a decision: affirmed, reversed, or remanded to the Board.

Living near the Milk District or sending a child to Boone High School does not change any of this. Venue runs from where the court sat, not from where you live now.

A petition for review generates paperwork: notarized declarations, certified translations for the administrative record, and printed, bound briefs that meet the Eleventh Circuit's format rules. The UPS Store (Notary & Printing), 1201 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL, notarizes the affidavits that often support a stay motion. FedEx Office Print & Ship Center, 100 S Eola Dr, Orlando, FL, prints and binds appellate briefs and can overnight a filing to the Atlanta clerk's office before a deadline closes. Orlando Translation Services, 1516 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL, certifies translations of birth certificates, foreign judgments, and country-condition evidence so they match what the Board already has in the record.

Q: How much does it cost to file a petition for review from Orlando? A: The Eleventh Circuit lists its current docketing fee on its own fee schedule at ca11.uscourts.gov; as of 2024 it runs several hundred dollars and is separate from attorney fees. Attorney fees depend on whether the case needs an emergency stay motion, full briefing, or oral argument.

Q: How long does a petition for review take once it is filed? A: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported a median of just over a year from filing to decision for immigration petitions for review nationally in its 2023 Judicial Business report. Cases with a contested stay motion or oral argument often run longer.

Q: What is the difference between Orlando Immigration Court and the Eleventh Circuit? A: Orlando Immigration Court, 3170 McCrory Place, holds the original removal hearing and takes testimony. The Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta does not hold a new hearing; it reviews the certified record from that court and the Board for legal error only.

Q: Does the Orange County Courthouse handle any part of my immigration case? A: No. The Orange County Courthouse, 425 N Orange Ave, hears Florida state matters. Immigration proceedings, including a petition for review, are exclusively federal and never go through a Florida state courthouse.

Q: I just got the Board's decision this week. What do I do first? A: Write down the exact date on the Board's order; that date, not today's date, starts the 30-day clock under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1). Then call for a consultation on filing the petition and, if you are detained or removal seems close, an emergency stay motion.

If the Board of Immigration Appeals denied your case out of Orlando Immigration Court and you are inside, or approaching, the 30-day window under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(1), call our office for a consultation on filing a petition for review and, if removal is imminent, an emergency stay motion. Bring the Board's decision and the date you received it. That date, not this page, starts and ends the clock.