Immigration Bond Hearing: Cost, Process & Getting a Refund

When ICE detains a parent or spouse, the first question at home is usually whether that person can be released while the case continues. Often the answer depends on an immigration bond hearing. We at First Point Law Group have helped Northern Virginia families work through this process since 2004, from our office at 10521 Judicial Drive, Suite 300, Fairfax, in English and in Spanish. This guide explains how a bond is set, what an immigration bond hearing involves, and how the person who paid the deposit gets the money back.

¿Busca información sobre una fianza de inmigración? Le atendemos en español desde nuestra oficina en Fairfax.

What Is an Immigration Bond?

An immigration bond is a sum of money posted with ICE as a promise that the released person will comply with every condition of release: attend all immigration court hearings, respond to ICE notices, and report when directed. The bond is a formal contract between ICE and the obligor, the family member or friend who puts up the money, documented in ICE Form I-352, Immigration Bond. The released person must appear. The obligor’s deposit stays at risk until ICE formally cancels the bond.

Types of Immigration Bonds

¿Cuáles son los tipos de fianzas de inmigración?

ICE describes three bond types that come up most often for Northern Virginia families:

• Delivery bond (fianza de entrega): The most common. It allows release from detention on the condition that the person appear at every scheduled hearing and each time ICE issues a Notice to Obligor to Deliver Alien (Form I-340).
• Voluntary departure bond (fianza de salida voluntaria): Posted when an immigration judge grants voluntary departure. The obligor must provide proof to ICE that the person left the United States by the departure date, within 30 days of that date.
• Order of supervision bond: Tied to compliance with an ICE order of supervision rather than a court appearance calendar.

Bonds may be paid in cash (certified check, cashier’s check, or money order) by the obligor, or through a licensed surety company. Surety companies charge a nonrefundable service fee for their own account. That fee does not come back.

How a Bond Amount Is Set

ICE may set a bond at the time of arrest or at a later administrative stage. If ICE denies release entirely, or if the family cannot meet the amount ICE sets, the detained person may request an immigration bond hearing before an immigration judge. That hearing, also called a custody redetermination, is where the judge weighs two questions: whether the person is a danger to the community, and whether they are likely to appear at future hearings.

Judges commonly look at length and stability of residence in the United States, family ties (a spouse and children in Fairfax are relevant), employment history, prior immigration history, criminal record, and ties to the home country. A complete record on each point matters. Missing documents, prior orders of removal, or unresolved criminal matters can all affect the outcome. That is one reason we read the full file before we advise on what to bring to that hearing.

Who Can Request an Immigration Bond Hearing

Not everyone held by ICE can ask an immigration judge for bond. Federal law places certain people in mandatory detention, meaning no bond hearing before an immigration judge is available. These categories include people with certain criminal convictions and, following a significant 2025 BIA ruling, people who entered the United States without inspection and admission and have not since been admitted to lawful status.

In Matter of Yajure-Hurtado, 29 I&N Dec. 216 (BIA Sept. 2025), the Board of Immigration Appeals held that immigration judges lack authority to hear bond requests from people placed under the mandatory-detention framework of INA § 235(b). That decision has been challenged in federal courts and is under active litigation as of late 2026. Where a specific person stands depends on the facts of their entry, the present state of the law in the relevant circuit, and any intervening proceedings.

This is precisely the kind of question we answer after reading the file.

The $1,500 Floor

Federal law sets a minimum delivery bond of $1,500. The source is INA § 236(a)(2)(A), codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)(2)(A). In practice, judges rarely stop there. TRAC’s immigration bond database, maintained by Syracuse University, shows most delivery bonds nationally falling between $5,000 and $15,000 in 2024 and 2025. Cases involving a prior removal order, a criminal record, or limited ties to the United States often push above $15,000. Bonds above $25,000 appear in high-enforcement periods. The exact amount turns on the file.

Posting the Bond: CeBONDS

Since April 20, 2023, ICE has processed most bond payments and executed Form I-352 through CeBONDS, an online platform that accepts payment via Fedwire or Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer. U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, law firms, and nonprofit organizations can use CeBONDS to post a delivery bond, voluntary departure bond, or order of supervision bond. After the bond is approved and Form I-352 is signed, ICE generally releases the detained person by the end of that business day.

Keep the original bond receipt (Form I-305) in a secure place. That document is required to initiate the refund.

How an Immigration Bond Gets Cancelled

A bond stays in effect until ICE issues Form I-391, Notice of Immigration Bond Cancelled. The bond contract specifies when cancellation occurs. Before any breach, ICE may cancel if it retakes the person into custody, the person is removed, or the person dies. Cancellation also follows when the person obtains permanent residence, when removal proceedings are terminated (not merely administratively closed), or when a voluntary departure is verified.

When a cash bond is cancelled, ICE sends a refund of the principal plus any earned interest to the obligor at the address on file. If the obligor has moved since posting the bond, they should file Form I-333, Obligor Change of Address with ICE before the cancellation notice issues. A refund mailed to a stale address is a preventable loss.

Immigration Bond Refund: Recovering the Deposit

The immigration bond refund process begins when the obligor submits the original bond receipt (Form I-305) and the cancellation notice (Form I-391) to ICE’s Financial Service Center. Processing generally takes about four weeks from receipt of those documents.

For questions about a pending refund, contact the ICE Bond Refund Help Desk:

• Email: BondRefund.HelpDesk@ice.dhs.gov
• Phone: 877-491-6521, option 1

Have the bond number and the detained person’s Alien Registration Number (A-number) ready before calling.

If the person fails to appear or violates the bond’s terms, ICE may declare the bond breached (Form I-323) and forfeit the principal. 8 CFR § 103.6 requires ICE to refund the interest earned on a cash bond even after a breach. The principal is not returned.

Checking the Bond Status

The obligor is the person ICE communicates with about the bond. To check a bond’s status, have the bond receipt and the detained person’s A-number ready when contacting ICE or the Bond Refund Help Desk. The immigration court’s online case status tool uses the same A-number to track the underlying removal proceedings.

When a Criminal or Traffic Matter Is Also in Play

An arrest or conviction in Virginia, including a misdemeanor, can affect immigration proceedings in ways that reach beyond the original charge. Certain offenses trigger mandatory detention or close off a bond-hearing option that might otherwise be available. If your household is managing a Virginia criminal matter alongside an immigration detention, those two files need to be read together.

Our attorneys at First Point Law Group handle criminal defense matters alongside immigration. For dedicated criminal defense information, visit NovaCriminalAttorney.com and our criminal defense practice page. For a fuller picture of how a charge travels into an immigration file, our article on how an arrest or conviction can affect immigration status walks through that intersection.

What We Review Before We Advise

We at First Point Law Group read the detention papers, any Notice to Appear, prior immigration filings, and any Virginia criminal or traffic records before we discuss strategy. That picture tells us whether a bond hearing is available under current law, what a judge is likely to weigh, what the refund process looks like on the other side, and whether the pending case is also tied to a family-based petition. Our guide to the family-based green card process explains what that petition involves at each step.

Our attorneys are admitted to the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Si su familia necesita el asunto en español, lo hacemos.

Schedule a File Review

Call (703) 385-6868 or email contact@firstpointlaw.com to request a file review. Our office is at 10521 Judicial Drive, Suite 300, Fairfax, VA 22030.

Your Family. Your Future. Our Focus.

Attorney advertising. Contacting us or reading this does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every matter depends on its own facts. We review the file before we advise.