Sample Notice to Appear

This document is a Notice to Appear (NTA), also called Form I-862. If you receive an NTA, this means that the U.S. government is planning to start an immigration court case against you.

A Number: On the NTA, you can find your A Number, which is an 8- or 9-digit immigration identification number that begins with the letter A. It is listed as the “File No.” on the NTA.

Hearing Date: Your NTA may list the date and location of your next immigration court hearing. Or, it may not. Either way, for up-to-date information, you should enter your A Number on this immigration court website or call the immigration court hotline at 1-800-898-7180.

• If your NTA includes a hearing date but your hearing is not listed in the immigration court system, you can call your immigration court to check if you have a hearing or not (click on the name of your court to see contact information).

• You may also receive a hearing notice in the mail with the location and date of your next immigration court hearing.

• Whether or not you have a hearing scheduled yet, you should check the immigration court website or hotline regularly for updates. If you want to pursue your asylum case, it is very important to go to your court hearings! If you do not go, you could receive a deportation order.

Where to apply for asylum: To know where to apply for asylum, you should first enter your A Number on this immigration court system website or call the immigration court hotline at 1-800-898-7180.

• If your information is in the immigration court system, that means your immigration court case has started. You can submit your asylum application to immigration court. You should also check the immigration court system regularly, because the date of your next hearing can change.

• If your information is not in the immigration court system, that means your immigration court case has not started yet. You can submit your asylum application to USCIS instead. You should also check the immigration court system every week — sometimes the U.S. government takes a long time to update it.