Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Court: Joint Motions to Dismiss

This guide explains prosecutorial discretion requests that ask DHS counsel to join a motion to dismiss immigration court proceedings. Dismissal can matter when a person has a viable USCIS pathway, a pending family petition, humanitarian relief, or another reason the court case is no longer the best forum.

Discretion is not automatic and policy can change. A request should identify the legal posture, equities, immigration history, criminal history if any, family ties, relief eligibility, and why dismissal or another exercise of discretion serves the case better than continued litigation.

The biggest mistake is treating dismissal as the final goal. If the case is dismissed, the person may still need to file with USCIS, preserve work authorization, avoid unlawful presence traps, or address prior orders and inadmissibility issues.

New Horizons Legal helps clients evaluate whether to request prosecutorial discretion, prepare a focused packet for DHS counsel, and plan the next filing so dismissal does not create a new gap in strategy.