Asylum Denial After Immigration Judge Ruling Keeps Appeal Window Open

Attorneys for Liam Conejo Ramos filed a Notice of Appeal after an immigration judge denied the 5-year-old Minneapolis student’s asylum case, keeping a closely watched removal fight alive and drawing fresh attention to the legal steps that follow when a judge says no.

That next step matters because an immigration judge’s denial often does not end an asylum case. For many people in removal proceedings, the Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA, is the next forum for review, and a timely appeal can preserve legal options while the case continues.

Under current Executive Office for Immigration Review rules, a Notice of Appeal to the BIA generally must be filed within 30 calendar days after the judge renders an oral decision or mails a written one. EOIR says the Board does not have authority to extend that deadline, making the filing window one of the most important moments for families trying to avoid a final break in their case.

The BIA sits above the immigration court in the administrative review chain and serves as the Justice Department’s highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws. Its review usually takes place on paper, through the existing record and written arguments, rather than a new courtroom trial with fresh testimony.

That distinction carries immediate consequences for removal. EOIR policy says that after an immigration judge issues a final merits decision, the removal order is automatically stayed during the 30-day appeal window unless appeal rights were waived.

If a party files a merits appeal to the BIA during that period, EOIR says the removal order remains automatically stayed while the Board adjudicates the appeal. For families facing denial, the legal fight can continue even after the courtroom ruling.

The gap between an immigration judge’s denial and the end of all administrative options often gets lost in public discussion. Losing before the judge, filing an appeal to the BIA, and exhausting administrative review are different stages, and each stage can shape whether a person remains in the United States while the case moves forward.

The same timing can affect work authorization. Federal regulations say employment authorization tied to a pending asylum case is renewable for the time needed to decide the application and, if necessary, complete administrative or judicial review.

If asylum is denied by an immigration judge, those regulations say employment authorization ends when the Employment Authorization Document expires unless the applicant has filed an appropriate request for administrative or judicial review. For renewal purposes, a person can show continued pursuit of asylum after a judge’s denial by providing proof that a timely BIA appeal was filed.

For workers, that can affect whether a job remains possible. For families, it can shape rent payments, school schedules, transportation, medical appointments and how they talk to employers or landlords while the case remains unsettled.

Students and mixed-status households can face the same pressure. A denial may reach beyond court procedure and into daily life, especially when parents must decide quickly whether to file an appeal that keeps the case moving and may help preserve related benefits.

The legal picture grew harder to follow in early 2026 when EOIR tried to shorten the appeal deadline. On February 6, 2026, EOIR issued an Interim Final Rule that would have reduced the filing period from 30 days to 10 calendar days.

A federal court in Washington, D.C., blocked that provision on March 8, 2026, in Amica Center for Immigrant Rights v. EOIR. Days later, EOIR moved to settle the confusion.

On March 13, 2026, EOIR Director Daren Margolin issued Policy Memorandum PM 26-02, reaffirming that the 30-day deadline remains in force. The memo said: “The appeal deadline for all immigration court decisions to the BIA is 30 days as a result of the 3/8/26 summary judgment. ACIS should also reflect the current 30-day deadline.”

That reversal mattered for noncitizens, lawyers and relatives trying to respond to denials under intense time pressure. A 10-day deadline would have sharply compressed the time available to secure records, prepare arguments, gather signatures and pay the filing fee.

The policy conflict also landed in cases already charged with urgency. Families trying to understand whether removal could proceed, whether an appeal remained possible and whether work authorization could continue faced changing rules within weeks.

Appeals to the BIA generally begin with Form EOIR-26, the Notice of Appeal. Filing it is not a paperwork formality. It is the formal act that preserves review rights and can keep the administrative case alive.

Cost can be another barrier. The filing fee for Form EOIR-26 is $1,030, adjusted for inflation in early 2026, a sum that can weigh heavily on low-income households already paying legal fees and daily living costs.

People can find BIA information on the Board of Immigration Appeals page and policy updates through EOIR policy memoranda. The fee itself adds pressure to a deadline-driven process in which missing a filing window can carry lasting consequences.

The asylum system has also changed outside the direct BIA appeal track. As of February 1, 2026, an annual asylum fee of $102 applies to Form I-589 applications that have been pending for more than one year.

“If you do not pay the fee by the deadline set. your asylum application could be denied or dismissed.”

USCIS warned applicants: “If you do not pay the fee by the deadline set. your asylum application could be denied or dismissed.” That added another financial and procedural hurdle for people already navigating long-pending cases.

A separate USCIS action further tightened uncertainty. Beginning on November 28, 2025, USCIS paused final decisions on pending affirmative asylum applications for what it called a “comprehensive review,” though interviews and new filings continued.

Those changes do not govern every case before an immigration judge, but they can overlap with appeal planning. People may face court deadlines, work permit questions and asylum-related fee obligations at the same time, depending on where their case sits in the system.

The divide between affirmative and defensive asylum becomes important here. USCIS handles affirmative filings, while defensive asylum cases proceed before EOIR in immigration court, and once a case is before an immigration judge, the path after denial runs through EOIR and the BIA rather than a standard USCIS benefits appeal.

For workers, the effect can be immediate. Current USCIS policy says that if an immigration judge denies asylum, employment authorization typically terminates on the EAD’s expiration date or 60 days after the denial, whichever is later.

A timely appeal can preserve work permit eligibility for most applicants until a final administrative decision is reached. That can affect whether someone keeps a paycheck long enough to cover rent, childcare, school supplies or medical bills while the case remains under review.

For students, especially children on derivative claims, a parent’s loss before an immigration judge can place the whole family’s status at risk. Filing an appeal may be the only way to keep the family together in the United States while administrative review continues.

Liam Conejo Ramos’s case has brought those stakes into view. Liam, a 5-year-old student from Minneapolis, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were detained by ICE on January 20, 2026, during “Operation Metro Surge.”

Federal district judge Fred Biery ordered their release from detention in late January. But federal immigration judge John Burns approved a motion to end their asylum claim on March 18, 2026.

“Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and his son received full due process and were issued a final order of removal on February 19. These are regular removal proceedings.”

On March 19, 2026, DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said, “Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and his son received full due process and were issued a final order of removal on February 19. These are regular removal proceedings.”

Danielle Molliver and Paschal Nwokocha, attorneys for the family, confirmed they filed a Notice of Appeal to the BIA. That filing allows Liam and his father to remain in the United States while the case is reviewed, placing them in the same legal framework that governs thousands of other families after an asylum denial.

Their case illustrates how an appeal can mean far more than another round of legal briefing. It can determine whether a child stays in school, whether a parent keeps working, and whether a family has time to plan its next move before the immigration system reaches its next decision.