Immigration Bond
If ICE has detained someone you love, a bond can bring them home while their case continues. Bond hearings move quickly and are decided largely on the evidence you bring — which is why preparation matters more than almost anything else.
Was someone detained in the last few days? Do not wait for a court date to arrive in the post. Call (866) 369-0220 — the first days are when the most can be done.
What an immigration bond is
An immigration bond is money paid to the government as a guarantee that someone released from immigration detention will attend their future hearings. It is not a fine and it is not a penalty. If the person appears as required, the money is returned at the end of the case.
Immigration bond is separate from criminal bail. Someone can post criminal bail and still be held by ICE, which is why families are sometimes shocked to find their relative was not released after a criminal case ended.
Release does not end the case
Bond only decides where someone waits — at home or in detention. The removal case continues either way, and every hearing still has to be attended. What release does change is the ability to work with a lawyer, gather documents, and keep earning while the case proceeds, which often materially improves the outcome.
Who can and cannot get bond
Not everyone in detention is eligible. Broadly, people fall into three groups.
| Situation | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Eligible for a bond hearing | An Immigration Judge can consider release. This is the largest group, and the hearing is decided on danger and flight risk. |
| Subject to mandatory detention | Certain criminal convictions and some prior removal orders remove the judge’s authority to set bond. Whether mandatory detention truly applies is often arguable, and worth checking rather than assuming. |
| Arriving applicants | People stopped at a port of entry are generally outside the judge’s bond authority; release, if it happens, comes through ICE parole instead. |
Do not take “no bond” at face value
Families are often told at the detention facility that their relative cannot get bond. Sometimes that is right. Sometimes it reflects how a conviction was recorded rather than what the law actually requires, and the classification can be challenged. It is worth having the record looked at properly before accepting it.
What to do in the first 48 hours
Find out where they are
Use the ICE online detainee locator. You will need their full name and country of birth, or their A-number. People are frequently transferred between facilities in the first days, sometimes across state lines.
Write down the A-number
The nine-digit alien registration number is how every agency identifies the case. Nothing moves quickly without it.
Tell them not to sign anything
This matters enormously. Signing a voluntary departure or a stipulated removal order can end the case before a judge ever looks at it.
Start gathering documents
Proof of how long they have lived here, tax returns and pay stubs, lease or mortgage papers, birth certificates for U.S. citizen children, medical records, and letters from employers, teachers, clergy or neighbours.
Speak to a lawyer before the first hearing
Bond hearings can be scheduled within days. Walking in unprepared usually means a higher bond, or none at all.
Be careful who you pay
Detention brings out people who promise guaranteed release for a fee. No one can guarantee a bond outcome — the decision belongs to the judge. Be especially wary of anyone who is not a licensed attorney offering to handle an immigration case, and of demands for large cash payments up front.
How a bond hearing works
A bond hearing is short — often under half an hour — and separate from the removal case itself. The judge is deciding one question: should this person wait for their hearings at home?
The person in detention generally carries the burden of showing they are neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk. Evidence is what carries that burden. Testimony alone rarely does.
What the judge weighs
Family ties
U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouses, children and parents matter a great deal, particularly where someone depends on the detained person financially or for care.
Time in the community
Long residence in one place, with documents to prove it, points away from flight risk.
Work history
Steady employment, tax filings and a letter from an employer holding the job open all help.
Criminal record
The nature, seriousness and age of any offenses, and evidence of rehabilitation since.
Immigration history
Prior removals, missed hearings or unlawful re-entries weigh against release and need addressing directly.
A real case for relief
Someone with a genuine path to staying has every reason to attend their hearings — judges understand this.
Bond amounts
Immigration bonds start at a statutory minimum of $1,500 and go up from there. Amounts vary widely between judges, courts and cases, and it is not unusual to see bonds in the five figures where the record is complicated.
We deliberately do not publish a typical figure, because quoting one sets an expectation that has no basis in any particular case. What is fair to say is that a well-prepared hearing with strong documentation frequently produces a lower bond than the same case presented without it, and that a bond that has been set too high can sometimes be revisited if circumstances change.
How to actually post the bond
The bond is set
Either by the Immigration Judge at the hearing, or in some cases by ICE before a hearing takes place.
Someone eligible pays it
The person posting the bond — the obligor — generally needs to have lawful immigration status and valid identification. It does not have to be a relative.
Payment is made to ICE
Bonds are posted with ICE, not with the court, and the accepted payment methods are limited. A bond company can post on your behalf for a non-refundable fee, typically a percentage of the total, which you do not get back.
Release follows
Once the bond is accepted, release usually happens within hours, though it can take longer depending on the facility.
The money comes back at the end
If every hearing is attended and the case concludes, the bond is refunded to whoever posted it. Missing a hearing can mean losing the entire amount.
Keep the receipt and update the address
The receipt is what proves who is owed the refund, sometimes years later. And if the obligor moves, the address on file has to be updated — refund cheques are sent to the address ICE holds, and they are not forwarded.
After release
Release is a beginning rather than an end. The removal case continues, and the obligations that come with it are strict:
- Every hearing must be attended. Missing one can result in a removal order in absentia and forfeiture of the bond.
- The court must be notified of any address change, usually within five days, using Form EOIR-33.
- Any ICE check-in requirements must be met exactly.
- Work authorization is separate from release — being out of detention does not by itself grant permission to work.
This is also the point at which the real defense work begins. With the person home, it becomes far easier to gather evidence, attend appointments, and build the case properly.
We can look at the case today
Tell us the name and where they are being held. We will tell you whether bond looks possible and what we would do first.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly can a bond hearing happen?
Often within one to two weeks of requesting one, sometimes faster. The bigger constraint is usually preparation — going in early with a thin file rarely helps. We would rather use a few extra days to assemble the evidence than rush to a hearing we are not ready for.
Do we get the bond money back?
Yes, provided every hearing is attended and the case reaches its conclusion. The refund goes to whoever posted it, which is why the receipt and a current address matter. If you used a bond company, their fee is not refundable — only the bond itself is.
Can I post a bond if I am not a U.S. citizen?
Generally the person posting needs lawful status and valid identification. A permanent resident can usually post. Someone without status generally cannot, though another family member or friend may be able to.
They have a criminal record. Is bond still possible?
Sometimes, yes. It depends on what the offense was, how it is classified under immigration law, and when it happened. Some convictions trigger mandatory detention and some do not, and the difference can come down to the exact statute and sentence. It is worth having the record reviewed rather than assuming the answer.
What if the judge denies bond or sets it too high?
A denial can be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Separately, if circumstances genuinely change — new evidence, a new medical situation, a change in the case — it may be possible to ask the judge to reconsider the amount.
Does paying bond hurt the immigration case?
No. Bond and the merits of the removal case are decided separately, and being released does not count against you. If anything, being out makes it far easier to prepare properly.
Can they work once released?
Not automatically. Release from detention and permission to work are two different things. Work authorization depends on what relief has been applied for and where that application stands, and it is something we would look at alongside the case.
What happens if they miss a hearing?
The judge can order removal in absentia and the bond can be forfeited entirely. If a hearing has been missed, get advice immediately — there are limited grounds and tight deadlines for reopening, and moving fast matters.
This page is general information about how immigration bond works, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Eligibility, bond amounts and outcomes depend on the facts of each case and on the law as it stands at the time. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter. Please speak with a licensed attorney about your own situation.
Every day in detention counts.
If someone you love is being held, call us. The consultation is free and confidential, and we can usually tell you quickly whether bond is realistic.