Voluntary Departure in Immigration Court: Eligibility, Bond, Deadlines, and Consequences

Review the primary 8 U.S.C. § 1229c.

Related case analysis: Dada v. Mukasey: A Noncitizen May Withdraw Voluntary Departure to Pursue Reopening.

Voluntary departure is a conditional way to leave at your own expense, not extra time to remain without consequences. Pre-conclusion departure can allow up to 120 days; post-conclusion departure can allow up to 60 days and requires a bond of at least $500. For an immigration judge’s post-conclusion grant, the bond must be posted within five business days. A separate deadline governs sending bond proof to the BIA after an appeal. The order may grant less than the maximum departure period, and the required concessions and review choices differ by stage. See EOIR’s voluntary-departure guidance and 8 C.F.R. § 1240.26.

Identify which voluntary-departure stage applies

Voluntary departure before proceedings finish (pre-conclusion) and at their conclusion (post-conclusion) have different statutory conditions. Pre-conclusion does not mean that any request before the final decision is timely: The regulation ties the ordinary request to the master-calendar stage, with a separate provision for a DHS stipulation. The timing of the request, concessions, withdrawal of other relief, length of physical presence, and evidentiary showing can change the available period and strategic cost.

An ordinary pre-conclusion request requires conceding removability, withdrawing other relief requests and waiving appeal; a later DHS stipulation is a separate regulatory route. The ordinary request must be made before or at the master-calendar hearing when the case is first scheduled for a merits hearing. Without a DHS stipulation, the judge may not grant pre-conclusion departure more than 30 days after that hearing. That limit on when the judge can grant relief is different from the maximum 120-day period allowed for departure after a grant. See section 1240.26(b)(1)(i)–(ii) and (b)(2). For post-conclusion departure, the statutory findings include at least one year’s physical presence immediately before service of the NTA, five years’ good moral character, the specified criminal/security limits, and clear and convincing evidence of means and intent to depart. Pre-conclusion departure is unavailable under section 1229c(a)(4) to a person in removal proceedings as an arriving alien. Both routes remain discretionary. See 8 U.S.C. § 1229c(a)–(c) and regulation 1240.26(b)–(c). Obtain the NTA, pleadings, hearing schedule, applications, criminal records, travel documents and prior grants before choosing which request to make.

Prove identity, character, and ability to depart

Prepare passport or travel-document evidence, funds for travel, destination arrangements, family and employment records, tax and criminal records, and proof addressing good moral character when required. A promise to leave is weaker than a concrete, documented departure plan.

If the destination government must issue a travel document, identify the application process and timing. Voluntary departure should not be requested on the assumption that a document will appear before the deadline.

Understand bond and departure compliance

For post-conclusion departure granted by an immigration judge, pay the bond set in the order—no less than $500—to DHS within five business days of the grant. If you appeal to the BIA, submit sufficient proof of that payment to the Board within 30 days after filing the appeal. Paying DHS and giving proof to the BIA are two different acts; keep the payment receipt and the accepted filing that transmitted it. Without timely proof, the regulation says the Board will not reinstate the departure period in its final order. Section 1240.26(c)(3)(i)–(ii).

A different bond clock applies if the BIA itself grants voluntary departure in the first instance under section 1240.26(k): Paragraph (k)(4) provides 30 business days after the Board’s order to post the bond with the ICE Field Office Director. That is not the 30-calendar-day deadline for proving an earlier IJ-ordered bond payment to the BIA. Identify who granted departure before calendaring the bond deadline.

A pre-conclusion bond may instead be an imposed condition. A voluntary-departure bond secures departure; it should not be confused with a custody bond securing release and future appearances. Failure to post the required post-conclusion bond does not, by itself, erase the duty to depart or remove the consequences of missing the departure period. Read the exact order and obtain immediate advice if payment cannot be completed. If administrative appeal was waived, failure to post the bond makes the alternate removal order effective immediately. Section 1240.26(c)(4) also supplies a narrow exception to being deemed to have departed under a removal order: Departure no later than 25 days after the bond-posting failure, required proof of departure to DHS and sufficient evidence of remaining outside the United States. That exception does not erase the regulation’s separate duty to depart within the allowed period or its stated consequences for failing to do so. Preserve both clocks and obtain advice on the exact order.

Document actual departure with tickets, boarding records, passport stamps, entry records, and any required proof to DHS. Keep copies outside the United States so the record is available for later visa, waiver, or immigration processing.

Coordinate appeals, motions, and penalties

An administrative BIA appeal is not the same as a court petition for review. Under section 1240.26(e)(1)–(2), filing a post-decision motion to reopen or reconsider during the voluntary-departure period automatically terminates that grant and activates the alternate removal order; it does not toll or extend the departure period. The regulation exempts that timely filing from the failure-to-depart penalties, but termination is not itself a stay of removal. A motion filed after the period expires does not retroactively undo penalties already triggered, subject to the specified statutory exception.

Section 1240.26(i) separately addresses a petition for review filed before departure: It terminates voluntary departure and activates the alternate removal order. The rule has a specific post-conclusion provision for departure within 30 days after filing, with required proof to DHS and proof of remaining abroad. It is not a general 30-day extension for everyone. Identify the filing, its timing and the relief sought before giving up the departure option; any judicial stay is a separate question.

A voluntary failure to depart within the permitted period can trigger a civil penalty and a 10-year bar on further voluntary departure, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, change of nonimmigrant status and registry. Section 1229c(d) includes a limited VAWA-related exception for specified relief when battery or extreme cruelty was a central reason for overstaying. Do not treat that exception as automatic or as a waiver of every consequence. The agencies’ October 14, 2026 final rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 65390, 65392, 65421, describes an inflation-adjusted voluntary-departure penalty range of $1,992–$9,970 and the $3,000 regulatory presumption under section 1240.26(l). The presumption is rebuttable, not a promise that every assessment will be $3,000. Check the amount set in the actual order and the current applicable adjustments rather than treating the statute’s older $1,000–$5,000 figures as the present range.

Check the actual end date, including the weekend rule

In Monsalvo Velázquez v. Bondi, No. 23-929, slip opinion at 18 (April 22, 2025), the Supreme Court held that the post-conclusion 60-day deadline in section 1229c(b)(2) rolls to the next business day when its last day falls on a weekend or legal holiday. That does not convert the whole period into business days or extend every immigration deadline. Preserve the order, starting date and calendar calculation; our Monsalvo analysis explains the decision.

Before agreeing to voluntary departure, compare the actual period and conditions with the relief still being pursued. Calendar bond payment, proof to the BIA, departure and each review deadline separately. The older Dada decision explains the historical conflict with reopening; the current regulation and your order govern the filing consequences described here.

What this means: practical action checklist

• Determine whether the request is pre-conclusion or post-conclusion.
• Screen every statutory bar and good-moral-character issue.
• Document identity, funds, travel documents, and a feasible departure plan.
• Calendar bond, appeal, motion, and departure deadlines separately.
• Preserve proof of timely departure and understand failure-to-depart penalties.

For broader strategy, review the firm’s removal-defense practice and its primary-source Case Library.