BIA changes notice rules for in-absentia removal cases

The en banc Board of Immigration Appeals has changed how immigration courts evaluate mailed notice in removal proceedings, making the most recent address a noncitizen provided to the government more consequential.

In Matter of DIJI, decided September 3, 2026, the Board held that the Department of Homeland Security may send a Notice to Appear by regular mail to the most recent address the noncitizen provided. That can include an address supplied before the Notice to Appear was issued.

The Board also held that, for an in-absentia removal proceeding, written notice is sufficient when it is mailed to that most recent address. The decision expressly overruled Matter of G-Y-R-, a 2001 en banc precedent that treated the address question differently when a person had not first received the Notice to Appear.

What changed

The ruling addresses a common procedural dispute: a person does not appear for an immigration-court hearing, and the court enters a removal order in the person’s absence.

Under DIJI, DHS may rely on the latest address the person previously provided when mailing the case-initiating Notice to Appear. In the in-absentia context, the BIA said written notice can be sufficient if it was mailed to that most recent address, including an address provided before the Notice to Appear.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review listed the decision in Volume 30 on September 10, 2026, confirming it as a published BIA precedent.

Why the BIA overruled the old rule

The Board said its interpretation follows the text and structure of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The statute permits service by mail and provides that service is sufficient when there is proof of attempted delivery to the last address provided by the noncitizen under the statute’s address provisions.

The BIA also relied on the statutory language governing in-absentia orders, which treats written notice as sufficient when provided at the most recent address supplied under the relevant address provision. In the Board’s view, Matter of G-Y-R- created an interpretation that made regular-mail service of a Notice to Appear difficult to use because the person would not yet have received the address warnings contained in that document.

The decision further discussed statutory obligations to report and update addresses. When a person has provided an address and does not update it, the Board said, government correspondence may be sent to the older address on record.

The case behind the precedent

The underlying case involved a respondent who was sent a Notice to Appear by regular mail and later missed a hearing. The BIA said about six hearing notices were mailed, with one returned as undeliverable. The final hearing notice was not returned, and the respondent did not appear. An immigration judge then entered an in-absentia removal order.

The respondent later sought to reopen the case, arguing that he had moved and had not received the Notice to Appear or hearing notice. Those factual claims were contested in the record, and the motion did not include supporting evidence, according to the BIA’s decision. The Board dismissed the appeal and denied the related stay request as moot.

What the ruling does not decide

DIJI does not automatically validate every notice mailed to an old address. The record still matters. The analysis may include which address was most recently provided, what the notice contained, whether delivery was attempted, whether mail was returned and whether other statutory requirements for an in-absentia order were met.

The decision also does not eliminate every route to reopen an in-absentia removal order. Federal law provides for reopening in certain circumstances, including a motion filed within 180 days based on exceptional circumstances and a motion based on a showing that the person did not receive notice or missed the hearing while in government custody through no fault of the person’s own. The applicable deadlines, evidence and procedural requirements can be critical.

Records that may matter after a missed hearing

Someone who discovers an in-absentia removal order should obtain the immigration-court record and seek qualified legal advice promptly. Documents that may help include:

the Notice to Appear;
hearing notices and any rescheduling notices;
address-change filings and government receipts;
mailing records and proof of attempted delivery;
returned envelopes or undeliverable-mail records; and
documents showing when an address was provided or changed.

The practical effect of DIJI is to make address history more important in future disputes over notice. It changes BIA precedent, but it does not determine the outcome of every individual motion to reopen.

Sources

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