Created in 1983, the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) oversees all immigration courts nationwide, as well as immigration decision appeals and immigration-related employment cases. EOIR is under the authority of the Department of Justice and the attorney general, and is responsible for interpreting and administering federal immigration laws through immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings.
The Executive Office of Immigration Review consists of three components: the Office of Chief Immigration Judge, which is responsible for managing all immigration courts nationwide; The Board of Immigration Appeals, which primarily conducts appellate reviews of immigration judge decisions; and the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Office, which adjudicates immigration-related employment cases. As head of the Department of Justice, the U.S. attorney general is the EOIR’s highest ranked official and is therefore empowered to “issue regulations as deemed necessary or appropriate.”
