Immigration Court Hearing Postponed? Courts Postponed 46.6% of Individual Hearings (Jan–Aug 2026)

Описание: From January to August 2026, U.S. immigration courts postponed 46.6% of scheduled individual (merits) hearings, all nationalities combined: 243,304 hearing dates in just 8 months, more than in all of 2024 (209,198). In 2024 the share was 36.6%. We went through more than 13 million hearing dates in every U.S. immigration court since January 2023. Here is what we found:
Of everyone with an individual hearing date in Jan–Aug 2026, 52.5% had it postponed by the court at least once (2024: 41.4%).
It rose for each of the 10 nationalities with the most individual hearing dates in Jan–Aug 2026, from India (57.4%) to Venezuela (41.5%); Mexico, the largest group: 43.6%.
Of the individual hearings postponed for any party's reason in Jan–Aug 2026, 80.2% were postponed for a reason on the court's side; the applicant's side (including no-shows) was 17.4%.
The 135 judges who stopped deciding cases by the end of 2025 are one cause, not the main one: their calendars hold 24.1% of all judge reassignments of individual hearings since 2025 (nationwide).
Postponements to make room for a priority case: from 1,392 individual hearings a month in 2024 to 5,155 in Jan–Aug 2026, nationwide.
In 2025, when the court postponed an individual hearing, the next date came a median of 190 days later; for 29.1%, more than a year later (all nationalities).
At the end: how the court has to notify you of a new date, Form EOIR-33 within 5 days if you move, and how to check your date in EOIR's online system.

📱 Track your hearing date and look up your case with AsylumTracker (free on iPhone and Android): https://asylumtracker.com/download?so...

00:00 Intro: courts postponed 46.6% of individual hearings (all nationalities, Jan–Aug 2026)
00:44 There is no "cancelled" in the data: what we count
01:08 Chapter 1 · How common is it? By year, nationality and court
03:02 Chapter 2 · Why? Judge reassignments, priority cases, the judges who left
04:58 San Francisco closed; more master hearings, on shorter notice
06:00 Chapter 3 · When is the new date? Median 190 days (individual hearings, 2025, all nationalities)
07:22 Chapter 4 · What can you do? Notice, EOIR-33, EOIR's online system, the app

How we count:
"Postponed by the court" = the adjournment reason EOIR recorded is on the court's side: judge reassignment, docket management, priority cases, judge leave, not enough time, court closure, etc.
We count hearing dates: one case (A-number) with one hearing date counts once; several slots for the same case on the same day count once. "People" = A-numbers; every family member has their own.
Individual hearing = merits hearing (EOIR types II/IA/ID/IR); master calendar hearing = MM/MR/MC/MA/MD/RD/MP/CI/PD.
All nationalities unless a line says otherwise. 2026 = January to August. "When is the new date" uses 2025 (many 2026 postponements have no new date yet) and only cases that already have a next date.
The 135 judges = decided at least 100 cases in 2024 and stopped deciding cases by the end of 2025; that part is counted by calendar slot, nationwide.
EOIR's data has no "cancelled" status and does not say on which day a postponement was decided.
EOIR public case data (Sep 1, 2026 release; hearing dates through Aug 31, 2026), analyzed by the AsylumTracker team.

Sources:
EOIR Case Data Code Key (adjournment reasons pp. 107–109): https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/fil...
8 C.F.R. § 1003.18 (written notice of the new time and place; no notice required for a person not in detention who gave no address)
8 U.S.C. § 1229(a)(2) (INA § 239(a)(2))
8 C.F.R. § 1003.15(d)(2) (change of address within 5 days on Form EOIR-33)
EOIR Policy Manual, Part I, 5.1 (telling DHS is not telling the court; in absentia orders): justice.gov
EOIR, "Update Respondent or Alien Information" (updated May 18, 2026; EOIR Respondent Access; one form per person): justice.gov
EOIR, "Check Case Status" (updated Dec 14, 2025; Automated Case Information and 1-800-898-7180): https://www.justice.gov/eoir/check-ca... · ACIS: https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/
EOIR Immigration Court Practice Manual, 4.10 (appear at every hearing until a continuance is granted; written motion to advance): justice.gov
EOIR notice: San Francisco's Montgomery Street location stops holding hearings (Apr 10, 2026): https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/14...
EOIR notice: San Francisco Immigration Court to close (May 1, 2026): https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/14...
NPR (Bustillo and Mathur, Nov 6, 2025, as published by GPB; one outlet): gpb.org
AP (Gonzalez and Mayes-Osterman, Aug 1, 2026, as published by the Anchorage Daily News; AP cites Mobile Pathways data): adn.com

This video analyzes historical data and public rules. It does not predict the outcome of any case and it is not legal advice. For your situation, talk to a lawyer.