How Your Attorney Requests a Virtual Immigration Hearing for You

The short answer

A virtual immigration hearing, which the immigration courts call an internet-based hearing, is a real hearing before a real Immigration Judge. You appear by video (usually Webex) or by telephone instead of walking into the courtroom.

Here is the part most people do not know: if you are scheduled for an in-person hearing and you would rather appear remotely, someone has to file a motion asking for it, and that motion is due at least fifteen days before your hearing date. It does not happen automatically, and asking the clerk on the phone is not the same as filing.

Here is the other part most people do not know: the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) states on its own court listing page that respondents without a representative of record will always have a default hearing medium of in-person, no matter what the court's posted schedule shows. In practice, that means having an attorney enter an appearance is often the thing that puts a remote hearing on the table at all.

Why the immigration court can hold a hearing by video at all

Remote immigration hearings are not a pandemic-era improvisation. They are written into the statute.

Under 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(2)(A), a removal proceeding may take place in person, where the parties agree in the absence of the noncitizen, through video conference, or through telephone conference. The regulation says the same thing more bluntly: an Immigration Judge "may conduct hearings through video conference to the same extent as he or she may conduct hearings in person." See 8 C.F.R. 1003.25(c).

Telephone is treated differently, and this distinction matters. Under both 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(2)(B) and 8 C.F.R. 1003.25(c), an evidentiary hearing on the merits may be conducted by telephone only with your consent, and only after you have been advised of your right to proceed in person or, where available, by video. So a master calendar hearing by phone is one thing. Your full asylum or cancellation merits hearing by phone is something you have a statutory right to refuse.

This is not a fringe practice, either. The Government Accountability Office reported in July 2026 that of roughly 2 million immigration hearings in fiscal year 2025, close to a third were held remotely, and that judges, DHS attorneys, and private counsel described mostly positive experiences, citing reduced time and cost and better access to counsel. See GAO-26-108110.

Step one: your attorney has to become the representative of record

Nothing else on this list works until this is done.

An attorney becomes your practitioner of record by filing Form EOIR-28, the Notice of Entry of Appearance before the Immigration Court. Until that is filed and accepted, the court does not treat your lawyer as your lawyer, will not send them your notices, and, per EOIR's own guidance, your default hearing medium stays in-person.

Two practical consequences worth knowing:

• Electronic filing is mandatory. EOIR's Policy Manual states that electronic filing through the EOIR Courts and Appeals System (ECAS) is mandatory for attorneys and accredited representatives appearing as practitioners of record, and for DHS, in every case eligible for electronic filing. Your attorney files through ECAS and gets electronic confirmation when the filing is accepted into the record of proceedings.
• Timing can vacate a hearing. If you are not detained and your attorney files the EOIR-28 at least fifteen days before a master calendar hearing, the Policy Manual provides that the hearing will be vacated and the Immigration Judge will issue a scheduling order setting deadlines for written pleadings. Filed later than that, you and your attorney both still have to show up.

Step two: read your hearing notice to find out what medium you already have

Your Notice of Hearing tells you which way your case is currently set. EOIR's notice form says it plainly in two paragraphs:

• If you are scheduled for an internet-based hearing: you will appear by video or telephone, and the notice includes the access link. If you would rather appear in person, you must file a motion for an in-person hearing at least fifteen days before the hearing date.
• If you are scheduled for an in-person hearing: the notice's link area is blank, and you appear at the courthouse. If you would rather appear remotely, you must file a motion for an internet-based hearing at least fifteen days before the hearing date.

The rule runs in both directions, on the same deadline. If your notice is confusing or the link area is ambiguous, EOIR's guidance is to contact the immigration court hearing your case rather than guess.

Step three: the motion itself

There is no official form for this motion. Under EOIR Policy Manual Part II, Chapter 4.2, a motion has to be filed with a cover page that accurately describes it, because the court construes motions by content rather than title. The motion must state with particularity the grounds on which it is based and identify the relief sought. If it relies on facts not already in the record, such as a medical condition or a work schedule, that supporting evidence should be submitted with the motion, because statements in a motion are not themselves evidence.

Chapter 4.2 also requires something people forget: your attorney must make a good faith effort to determine the DHS attorney's position on the motion, and must state that position in the filing. An unopposed motion is a meaningfully easier motion for a judge to grant.

What actually persuades a judge varies, but the reasons that tend to carry weight are concrete and documented:

• Distance and cost of travel to the hearing location, especially for a full day of court
• A documented medical condition, disability, pregnancy, or treatment schedule
• Caregiving obligations for children or an elderly parent
• Work that cannot absorb two days of travel without risking the job
• A witness or family member who is located far away or abroad
• Transportation barriers, including no driver's license or no reliable vehicle

Grant or denial is discretionary. Chapter 3.14 of the Policy Manual is explicit that appearances of this kind happen "at the Immigration Judge's discretion," and that permission granted for one hearing does not carry over to future hearings. Assume you have to ask each time.

Related requests that are not the same thing

People often use "virtual hearing" to mean several different requests. They have different rules.

Telephonic appearance at a master calendar hearing. The Policy Manual provides that respondents and practitioners of record may appear by telephone at some master calendar hearings, again at the judge's discretion. A person appearing by phone must be available for the entire master calendar hearing, and cell phones should not be used unless the judge expressly permits it. Filing the motion does not excuse anyone from appearing in person unless and until it is granted.

Video testimony by a witness. A motion to present video testimony must include an explanation of why the witness cannot appear in person. That is a specific pleading requirement, not a formality.

Telephonic testimony by a witness. A witness appearing by telephone must be available to testify at any point during the individual calendar hearing, cell phones are discouraged absent permission, and for an international call the requesting party has to bring a pre-paid telephone card to the court to pay for it.

Why this matters more if you live in Oklahoma

Oklahoma does not have its own immigration court. EOIR announced that after August 15, 2014, it would no longer hear cases at the Oklahoma City hearing location, and that cases assigned there remain under the administrative control of the Dallas Immigration Court at 1100 Commerce Street in Dallas, Texas.

For a family in Tulsa, that is roughly a four hour drive each way, and realistically a hotel night, unpaid time off, and childcare for a hearing that may last twenty minutes. For a family in Guymon or Lawton it is worse. A granted motion for an internet-based hearing is not a convenience in that situation. It is often the difference between appearing and not appearing.

What a virtual hearing does not change

Appearing remotely does not soften a single one of your obligations.

• You must still appear. Failing to appear can result in an in absentia removal order, and the hearing notice warns that exceptions exist only for exceptional circumstances. A frozen laptop is not a plan. Have the dial-in number as a backup and call the court immediately if you are locked out.
• You must still keep your address current. Each time your address, telephone number, or email changes, you must tell the immigration court within five days using Form EOIR-33. Hearing notices go to the last contact information the court has.
• Recording is prohibited. EOIR states that photographing or recording any part of a hearing through the internet is strictly prohibited and subject to possible penalties.
• Family cannot just click your link. EOIR's June 2026 fact sheet on observing hearings states that whenever the Immigration Judge, respondent, or counsel appears in a physical courtroom, visitors must observe in person, and Webex visitors will not be admitted. The posted links are for parties appearing remotely, except where no physical courtroom is available.

Practical preparation for the day

• Test the platform in advance, not thirty minutes before.
• Use a wired or strong connection, and have a phone as a fallback.
• Choose a quiet, private room with a plain background and no interruptions.
• Dress the way you would for the courthouse. It is the same proceeding.
• Have every document, including your originals and your copy of the record, physically in front of you.
• Confirm the interpreter arrangement ahead of time if you will testify in Spanish, Hmong, or another language.
• Speak one at a time and pause after questions. Remote audio makes overlapping speech unusable for the record.

If your hearing is already set as internet-based, our walkthrough on how to attend your immigration merits hearing via Webex covers the log-in side of the day in more detail.

When you should not ask for a remote hearing

Sometimes in-person is the better strategy, and a good attorney will tell you so. Credibility is central in asylum, cancellation, and bond cases, and some judges simply read testimony better in the room. If you have voluminous original documents, several witnesses, an interpreter for a less commonly interpreted language, or a case that turns entirely on whether the judge believes you, appearing in person may serve you better. That is a judgment call about your specific case and your specific judge, and it is worth an actual conversation before the fifteen day window closes.

Talk to us before the deadline runs

The fifteen day rule is the part that quietly costs people this option. If your hearing is six weeks out, there is time to enter an appearance, gather the supporting documentation, ascertain the DHS position, and file a clean motion. If your hearing is next week, the conversation is different.

New Horizons Legal represents clients in removal proceedings, bond and detention matters, asylum, and related federal litigation from our office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. If you have a hearing notice in front of you and you are not sure what it means, bring it to us.

Book a consultation or start a written consultation.

Sources

• 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(2) (form of proceeding)
• 8 C.F.R. 1003.25(c) (video and telephone conference hearings)
• EOIR, Find an Immigration Court and Access Internet-Based Hearings
• EOIR Policy Manual, Part II, Chapter 4.2 (Filing a Motion)
• EOIR Policy Manual, Part II, Chapter 3.14 (Master Calendar Hearing)
• EOIR Notice: Oklahoma City Hearing Location Closed
• GAO-26-108110, Immigration Courts: Stakeholder Perspectives on the Use of Remote Hearings (July 15, 2026)

This article is general information about immigration court procedure, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Procedures and local practice change, and individual Immigration Judges handle these requests differently. Consult an attorney about your own case.