Immigrants & Immigration

Download a copy of the EOIR-26A from the EOIR website. It is important to download the form directly from the EOIR website. This ensures you are using the correct form edition. The fee waiver A document that lets someone file court papers for free or at a reduced cost. will be denied if an old form is submitted.

You may download and print a blank form, and handwrite your answers. Your handwriting must be clear and legible. You can also download the form, and fill it out using a PDF A type of document that can be viewed and printed from many devices editor like Adobe Acrobat Reader. Then you can print out the filled in form.

Enter your name, and your A number at the beginning of the form. Unlike many forms, you will sign and date at the beginning of the fee waiver. A document that lets someone file court papers for free or at a reduced cost. By signing, you are making a sworn statement that everything in the fee waiver request is true. This means that if the information in the fee waiver is proven false, you could face legal consequences for lying.

In part 1, list how much income you make each month by category. Each box must be filled. Enter $0.00 if you don’t have a certain type of income. You must list the amount of money you make before any taxes, deductions, or withholdings are taken out. This is called “gross income.” Income before taxes are taken out Add the individual types of income to get one total monthly income number to put in box 1.A.

In part 2, list all your monthly expenses by category. Each box must be filled. Enter $0.00 if you don’t have a certain type of expense. Add up the individual types of expenses to get one total monthly expenses number to put in box 2.B.

Note: Your fee waiver may be denied if you enter $0.00 for your income, your expenses, or both. If you have no income, or no expenses, explain why in part 4, and include additional evidence Anything used to show that something is true to explain your circumstances.

In part 3, you will calculate the difference between your income and expenses. Take your monthly income total in line 1.A. and subtract your monthly expenses total from line 2.B. Put this number in part 3 under “Total.” This number may be a negative number if you have more expenses than income. If you’re completing the form on a computer, the form might automatically do the calculation and input the total. Be sure the number is correct.

Note: Even though the form asks for estimates, it’s important to be truthful and as accurate as possible. The information you provide should be consistent with any other representations you’ve made to the immigration court about your financial situation. The lawyers for the government will receive a copy of the fee waiver request and they may review it for consistency or falsehoods. They could potentially use anything they find against you in court.

In part 4, you can write any additional information that would help explain why you can’t pay the filing fee. Fee charged for filing court documents This is particularly important if you are not being held in detention and you are reporting that you have no income or expenses. If you want to write more than the space allows, you can include further explanations on separate sheets of paper. Each sheet of paper you include should have your name and A number at the top of each page.

You are not required to provide evidence Anything used to show that something is true of your income and expenses with your fee waiver A document that lets someone file court papers for free or at a reduced cost. request. However, you may be more likely to have your request granted if the judge can review evidence to support the claim that you can’t pay the fees. Some examples of what to include are copies of:

• Pay stubs,
• Rent receipts,
• Utility bills,
• Medical bills, or
• Public benefits letters.

Make sure that any information you include as evidence does not conflict with how you answered the questions on the form.

You will be sending a copy of your complete filing to the opposing government lawyers. You must send this before or at the same time that you send your filing to the immigration court. Because of this, you will need to include a Certificate of Service with your filing. This is sometimes called a Proof of Service. A form that explains how court papers were given to someone in a court case Learn about Certificates of Service for immigration court.

The EOIR court practice manual has a sample of what a Certificate of Service looks like. You are not required to use the sample, but it has all the language that will be accepted.

You can type up your own Certificate of Service, print it, and sign it. The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project also has a sample Certificate of Service that you can print and fill out.

Once you complete your fee waiver A document that lets someone file court papers for free or at a reduced cost. form, you will need to include it with the main form you are filing with the court. Put the fee waiver on top of the packet so the person processing the filing knows you are requesting a fee waiver and will not think you failed to pay. This could result in the whole packet being rejected. Your main filing should go next. The Certificate of Service should be the last page in your packet.

Make two physical copies of everything. The original will be filed with the immigration court. One copy will be sent to the government’s lawyers in the next step. Keep one copy for your records. Scan or take pictures of everything to keep for your records as well.

Mail a copy of everything you file to the government lawyers before filing with the immigration court. To send them a copy, mail a completed packet to:

DHS/ICE Office of the Chief Counsel Another name for a lawyer
55 E. Monroe Street Suite 1400
Chicago, IL 60603

Be sure to mail the packet with some kind of tracking so you can confirm it has been delivered. 

You can either file the application in-person at the Chicago Immigration Court, or mail the application to the immigration court.

In-person
You can file in person at:

Chicago Immigration Court
55 E. Monroe Street, Suite 1500
Chicago, IL 60603

The Chicago immigration court is open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. except for federal holidays.

Bring both the original packet, and the remaining copy of your packet. After arriving at the court, go to the clerk’s window and tell them you need to file papers. They will ask you some questions about your case to ensure the papers are being included with the correct case. They will then take your original packet, stamp it to mark that it was received by the court on that day, and file it.

Be sure to ask them to stamp your copy of your filing. This may be helpful in the future in case you need to show proof that your filing was received. Keep your copy safe.

By mail
You can also mail in your completed application packet. Put the entire packet in a sealed envelope, and mail it to:

Chicago Immigration Court
55 E. Monroe Street, Suite 1500
Chicago, IL 60603

You can mail via US Postal Service, or private courier, like Fedex or UPS. Be sure to mail the packet with some kind of tracking so you can confirm it has been delivered. Keep all receipts of your postage in case you need proof it was delivered in the future.