Voluntary departure lets someone facing removal leave the United States at their own expense, without a deportation order. For many immigrants in New York, it can look like the simplest way to end a stressful case. However, the option comes with strict deadlines, financial conditions, and serious penalties. It can also close the door on other forms of relief that might let you stay.
At Pozo Goldstein, LLP, our attorneys have seen these decisions from both sides of the courtroom. Partners Frieda M. Goldstein and Steven A. Goldstein are former U.S. immigration prosecutors, and partner Ada B. Pozo is a former Miami-Dade County Court judge. In this guide, we explain how voluntary departure works in Manhattan immigration court, who qualifies, and what to consider before you accept it.
What Is Voluntary Departure?
Voluntary departure is a form of relief under Section 240B of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It allows a noncitizen to leave the country on their own within a set period. In exchange, the person avoids a formal order of removal, the legal term for deportation.
An immigration judge usually grants this relief during removal proceedings. In some cases, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can also grant it before a case ever reaches court. Either way, the person pays for their own travel and must leave by the deadline.
In New York City, immigration judges hear removal cases at 26 Federal Plaza, 290 Broadway, and 201 Varick Street in Manhattan. Most cases begin when DHS files a charging document with one of the New York immigration courts. If you just received one, our guide on what to do after a Notice to Appear explains the first steps.
Pre-Conclusion and Post-Conclusion Voluntary Departure
Immigration law offers two main types of voluntary departure, and the rules for each differ in important ways.
Pre-conclusion relief is available early in the case. Under federal regulations, you generally must ask for it at or before the master calendar hearing where the judge first sets your case for a merits hearing. In addition, you must:
- concede that you are removable as charged;
- withdraw, or never file, any other application for relief;
- waive your right to appeal; and
- have no aggravated felony conviction and no terrorism-related ground of removal.
If the judge agrees, you may receive up to 120 days to leave. The judge may also require a bond. After the hearing where you request it, the timing becomes tight: a judge generally cannot grant early relief more than 30 days later unless the ICE attorney agrees.
Post-conclusion relief comes at the end of the case, after the judge decides the merits. It allows no more than 60 days to depart, and its requirements are stricter.
Who Is Eligible for Voluntary Departure at the End of a Case?
To qualify at the conclusion of proceedings, you must show that you:
- were physically present in the United States for at least one year before DHS served the Notice to Appear;
- had good moral character for at least the five years before your application;
- do not face removal on aggravated felony or terrorism grounds; and
- have the means and the intent to leave, shown by clear and convincing evidence.
In practice, you will usually need a valid passport or other travel document. You must also post a bond of at least $500 with ICE within five business days of the judge’s order. If you miss that deadline, the judge’s alternate order of removal can take effect.
There is one more limit. If you previously received voluntary departure after an immigration judge found you inadmissible for entering without permission, you cannot receive it again.
Attorney Frieda M. Goldstein worked as a judicial law clerk for the immigration courts in New York and Miami. Because of that experience, she knows what judges look for in this evidence and how to present it clearly.
Why People Choose This Option
The main benefit is avoiding a removal order. Under federal law, a person with a removal order generally cannot return for 10 years, and a second removal can lead to a 20-year bar. Some people face a permanent bar.
Leaving on time avoids that removal-based bar. As a result, a person may later return through a family petition, an employer, or another visa, often through consular processing abroad. Leaving this way also lets you arrange your own travel and settle your affairs before you go.
The option has also become far more common. According to an analysis of immigration court data by the Vera Institute of Justice, reported in May 2026, voluntary departure orders rose from about 800 per month at the end of the Biden administration to more than 8,800 in February 2026. Many of those orders went to people in detention.
Still, a rising number does not mean the option is right for you. Detention can create intense pressure to accept the first offer, even when stronger relief exists.
The Risks of Missing the Deadline
Voluntary departure is a promise with real consequences. If you stay past the deadline, the judge’s alternate order of removal takes effect. You also face a civil fine of $1,000 to $5,000.
Furthermore, you become ineligible for 10 years for several important benefits. These include cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, change of status, registry, and another grant of voluntary departure.
Courts apply these deadlines strictly. In Monsalvo Velázquez v. Bondi (2025), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a 60-day deadline falling on a weekend or legal holiday carries over to the next business day. Even so, waiting until the last day is a serious mistake.
Only DHS, not the judge, can extend the time to leave. Even then, the total cannot exceed 120 days for early relief or 60 days for relief at the end of a case.
What Happens If You Appeal or File a Motion?
Accepting pre-conclusion relief means giving up your appeal. With post-conclusion relief, you may still appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. However, you must give the Board proof that you posted the bond within 30 days of filing the appeal. Otherwise, the Board will not reinstate your departure period.
Other filings can end the grant entirely. If you file a motion to reopen or reconsider during the departure period, the grant ends automatically and the alternate removal order takes effect. The same thing happens if you file a petition for review in a federal court of appeals.
Because these rules interact in complex ways, never file anything without advice from counsel. If you already missed a hearing, read our guide on what to do after a missed immigration court date.
Can You Return to the U.S. After Voluntary Departure?
Leaving on time protects you from the 10-year bar tied to a removal order. However, it does not erase every barrier.
If you spent one year or more in the United States without lawful status, departing generally triggers a separate 10-year bar for unlawful presence. A shorter period of unlawful presence can trigger a three-year bar in some situations.
Waivers can sometimes overcome these bars, especially for people with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent. Our attorneys can review whether a waiver of inadmissibility might apply before you leave. Above all, never try to re-enter without permission. Unlawful re-entry after a long stay can lead to a permanent bar.
Voluntary Departure vs. Self-Deportation
In 2025, DHS began encouraging people to leave through the CBP Home app, a program it calls self-deportation. DHS has offered travel help and a cash stipend to people who use the app to depart. However, leaving through the app is not the same as a grant from an immigration judge.
A judge’s grant is a court order with defined terms and penalties. By contrast, the app is an agency program, and its rules can change quickly. If you have a pending case or a prior removal order, speak with a lawyer before you use it. Leaving without a plan can affect your court case and your ability to return later.
Should You Accept Voluntary Departure?
This option can be a smart strategy, but only after a careful review of your case. Before you accept it, ask these questions:
- Do I qualify for asylum, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, or other relief that would let me stay?
- Can I afford the bond and my travel within the deadline?
- Do I have a valid passport, or can I get one in time?
- How long have I lived here without status, and which bars will apply when I leave?
- Does a family member or employer have the ability to sponsor me later?
Many people agree to leave without knowing they qualified for relief. For example, a long-term resident with U.S. citizen children may have a claim for cancellation of removal. Similarly, a person who fears persecution at home may qualify for asylum.
Requests for voluntary departure while detained deserve the same careful review. If ICE holds you or a family member, read our page on what to do when someone is detained by ICE. In many cases, a judge can also consider release on an immigration bond.
How Our Former Immigration Prosecutors Can Help
At Pozo Goldstein, LLP, we know how government attorneys evaluate these requests, because several of our lawyers once held that role.
Frieda M. Goldstein, managing partner of our New York office, joined the U.S. Attorney General’s Honors Program as a trial attorney with the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. She also prosecuted cases for ICE and served as a judicial law clerk for the immigration courts in New York and Miami.
Steven A. Goldstein also joined the Attorney General’s Honors Program with the INS. He then prosecuted cases for the ICE Office of Chief Counsel. A former captain with the Amtrak Police Department in New York City, he holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Meanwhile, Ada B. Pozo served as a Miami-Dade County Court judge and presided over thousands of cases. She brings a judge’s view of credibility and evidence to every hearing. In addition, Nathaly Henriquez, a member of the New York Bar, focuses on family and criminal immigration, detention, and asylum cases.
Together, we review every form of relief before we recommend leaving. When voluntary departure is the right choice, we negotiate the terms with ICE counsel, prepare the evidence, and make sure our clients understand every deadline. When a stronger option exists, we fight for it through our deportation defense practice.
Contact a New York Immigration Lawyer at Pozo Goldstein, LLP
If an immigration judge or ICE officer has raised voluntary departure in your case, talk to a lawyer before you agree to anything. The decision is difficult to undo, and the deadlines start quickly.
Pozo Goldstein, LLP represents individuals and families across New York City, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Our New York office is in Midtown Manhattan at 880 Third Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10022. We serve clients in English, Spanish, and several other languages.
Call (212) 201-9031 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with an experienced New York immigration lawyer. Let our former judge and former immigration prosecutors help you choose the path that best protects your future.
