Presenting the Oral Argument
In civil cases or appeals regarding administrative agency decisions, you and your legal team could wait 12 to 20 months from the date of filing your Notice of Appeal before you reach the oral argument stage. If you file your briefing in a timely manner, you may only wait nine to 12 months.
For criminal cases, you may only be waiting four to five months from the completion of the briefing stage.
Getting the Decision
After you or your lawyer present your oral argument, you may wait another three months to a full year before you receive the decision. However, the court doesn’t have a deadline to make decisions on any type of case.
The Ninth District receives 10,000 to 13,000 appeals sent per year, according to the Ninth Circuit’s 2020 report. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported that, in 2021, BIA appeals made up a huge majority of administrative agency decision appeals, representing 85% in nearly every circuit court’s caseload for that case type. In addition, Arizona’s district court alone saw almost 2,800 immigrant defendant appeals in 2021.
The court must consider each case it takes on very carefully to make sure that everyone gets a fair shot.
Requesting a Rehearing
If the Ninth Circuit upholds the decision that you wanted to appeal, you have 45 days from their decision to submit a request for a rehearing. That means you can have the same small panel of judges review your case again.
Though it’s very rarely granted, you can also request an en banc rehearing, where a larger panel of judges reviews your case. Decisions from en banc appeals typically take a few months to be made.
Final Decision
Whether the Ninth Circuit has reversed or affirmed the decision you appealed, the court will write its final decision, and in 45 days, that decision becomes final. At this time, the deportation process would likely begin if it hasn’t already.
