A letter mailed to an address where you no longer live can end in a removal order entered without you there. That possibility has just grown wider.
At Campos Law Firm, we closely monitor developments in U.S. immigration policy to protect our clients’ rights and future. Here is what the Board decided, what risk it creates, and what to do this week.
What did the BIA decide?
On September 3, 2026, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) issued Matter of Ifeanyi Emmanuel Diji, 30 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 2026), Interim Decision No. 4240, decided en banc.
The decision has two parts:
- When mailing a Notice to Appear by regular mail, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may rely on the most recent address the person provided.
- For purposes of an in absentia proceeding, written notice is sufficient if mailed to that most recent address, and that includes an address the person provided before the Notice to Appear was issued.
That second point is what shifts the ground. Until now, Matter of G-Y-R-, 23 I&N Dec. 181 (BIA 2001), had for 25 years generally prevented orders against people who never received their notice. That decision is now overruled.
The vote was not unanimous: Appellate Immigration Judge Hugh G. Mullane dissented with a written opinion, and Judge Marcos Gemoets dissented without opinion.
Why does this raise the risk of an in absentia order?
Because the address that counts may be one you gave years ago, on a form you no longer remember.
Consider the common scenario: you filed something with USCIS in 2019 with the address you had then, you moved twice since, and you never updated that file because the case was already resolved or shelved. Under this decision, mail sent to that old address can count as sufficient notice.
There is a practical consequence worth understanding: the law presumes that what was mailed was delivered. The Board holds that the presumption can still be rebutted, but it requires real evidence — a sworn statement from you or from someone with direct knowledge — not just an attorney’s argument. In the case decided, the person submitted no sworn statement at all, so the presumption stood against him. How much evidence will be enough in other cases remains to be seen.
An in absentia order carries immediate consequences: a final removal order and, in many cases, a ten-year bar on applying for certain forms of relief.
What should you do this week?
- Update your address with the Immigration Court using Form EOIR-33, within five days of any move. It is a separate form for each court where you have a case.
- Update your address with USCIS using Form AR-11, within ten days. Filing online generates a receipt: save it.
- Keep proof of every update. A dated screenshot, a confirmation number, a certified mail receipt. Without proof, your word carries little against the presumption of delivery.
- Audit your historical addresses. Go back through which address appears on every application you have ever filed, including ones from years ago and ones handled by another attorney or a relative.
- Check your case in the EOIR system (automated line 1-800-898-7180 and the case portal) with your A-number. Do it regularly, not only when you are expecting a letter.
- If a letter arrived late or at another address, keep it with the envelope. The postmark and the label are evidence.
- Tell your attorney too, not only the court. The court having your address does not mean your attorney has it.
What if an in absentia order was already entered?
It is not necessarily the end, but it takes precision and evidence.
The statute (8 U.S.C. § 1229a(b)(5)(C)) provides two routes to rescind an in absentia order:
- Exceptional circumstances: serious illness, an accident, or another cause beyond your control. It carries a strict 180-day deadline from the order.
- Lack of notice: if you did not receive notice as required by law. This motion has no fixed deadline, and this is where Diji makes the ground harder: you must show why the notice did not reach you, with a sworn statement and documents.
What works as evidence: a lease with dates, utility bills, proof of the move, a returned envelope, postal records, witness statements. What does not work: asserting without support that nothing ever arrived.
And an important warning: do not leave the country or file new applications while an unresolved final order exists. Departing can execute the removal and trigger reentry bars.
Protect Your Case with Campos Law Firm
An outdated address is now one of the largest and most avoidable risks in an immigration file. It takes a week to fix; an in absentia order takes far longer and cannot always be undone.
At Campos Law Firm we review which addresses appear in your file, file the updates that are missing, and — if an order already exists — assess which motion fits and with what evidence. Do not leave your immigration status to chance. Call us today at +1 (844) 922-6767 to schedule a free, confidential consultation in English or Spanish. Campos Law Firm: Legal Solutions in All Areas of Law.
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