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Can I Move My Immigration Court Hearing to Another State?

Haroen Calehr Feb. 20, 2017

An immigration court hearing can be moved to another state, and this is called a “motion to change venue.” A motion is a written request that one makes, typically through an attorney, requesting that the file be transferred to a different court. However, you have to meet certain criteria that you have to prove to the court why the case has to be moved to a different court, a different city.

One of the reasons why someone, for instance, would want to change the venue from court A to court B: let’s say the alien lives in Houston, but now their family or they themselves are relocating to Los Angeles or to Atlanta. Well, they then want to, obviously, move that case because it would be burdensome for them to have to travel back and forth. So, therefore, you have to carefully accumulate the necessary supporting evidence to show the judge and the court that you’re doing this for expediency purposes because it’s not convenient for you to have to travel, let’s say, from LA to Houston even though now you’re permanently living in LA but your case initially started in Houston.