The immigration bond worksheet: how to fill it out

This is information, not legal advice.

This guide explains the general rules. What they mean for your family member depends on their circumstances. Answer a few questions to check their situation.

What the worksheet is for

An immigration judge deciding bond asks two things: is this person a danger, and will they come back to court? The worksheet answers the second question in numbers and names. It shows how long they have lived here, who depends on them, where they will sleep the night they get out, and what case they have for staying. The Justice Department’s version is titled simply Bond Worksheet. Some courts use their own form, often called a custody redetermination questionnaire. The questions are much the same.

Line by line

Top of the form

• Name and A-number. Exactly as on ICE’s papers, nine digits.
• Attorney’s name and phone. Leave blank or write “pro se” if there is no lawyer.
• Interpreter requested, and language. Ask for one if there is any doubt. Name the exact language, for example K’iche’ rather than “Spanish” if that is what they speak best.
• Initial bond set, and bond requested. The amount on the I-286, or “no bond.” For the request, write a number the family can actually pay. The judge cannot go below $1,500.

Equities: family

• Age, marital status, date of marriage, spouse’s status. A spouse who is a U.S. citizen or green card holder matters. Attach the marriage certificate and proof of the spouse’s status.
• Children: names, dates and places of birth. Attach birth certificates. U.S.-born children are among the strongest ties there are.
• Parents’ birthplaces and status. A parent who is a citizen can sometimes mean a claim to citizenship. That leads to the next question.
• Claim to U.S. citizenship. Answer “yes” only if there is a real basis, such as a parent who was a U.S. citizen when they were born, or a parent who naturalized while they were a child living here with a green card. If there might be, raise it now. A U.S. citizen cannot be held by ICE at all.
• Brothers and sisters in the U.S., and their status. List them. Each one with status is another tie.

Equities: time here, school and work

• First date of entry, current status, years in the U.S. Use the earliest date you can prove. Leases, school records and tax returns all count.
• Date of permanent residence. Only if they have or had a green card.
• Education. Schools here and abroad, with dates. Diplomas and certificates help.
• Employed in the U.S.? Authorized to work? Answer truthfully. A steady work history is a strong fact even without a work permit.
• Last three jobs, dates, last salary. Attach a letter from the most recent employer giving the start date, wage and hours, and say whether the job is waiting for them.

One question asks whether the person ever used false documents to work. The honest answer can have consequences beyond bond. The person is never required to give an answer that could incriminate them in a crime; the Fifth Amendment protects that. Leaving that one line blank and addressing it at the hearing is far better than a false answer, which the government lawyer can often disprove.

Release plan

• Where will they live if released? A full street address, not a P.O. box.
• With whom? The sponsor’s name and relationship. This line and the sponsor letter must match exactly. Attach a utility bill or lease in the sponsor’s name at that address. See the sponsor letter.

Record and custody

• All convictions, dates, sentences, time served. List every one, and add arrests that did not lead to a conviction with their outcome (“dismissed 3/2024”). Attach the court disposition for each. The government will have the arrest records. Arrests without a matching outcome look worse than they are.
• Date taken into ICE custody, and how. For example, “traffic stop, transferred from county jail on 5/12/2026,” or “arrested at home by ICE.”
• Subject to mandatory custody under section 236(c)? Write “no” if that is their position. If ICE says yes, the judge can still decide whether ICE put them in that category correctly, in what is called a Joseph hearing. Ask for one in writing.

Relief and anything else

• Forms of relief they will seek. This shows the judge there is a real case to come back for. Common ones: asylum, withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (fear of return); cancellation of removal (ten years here, and a U.S. citizen or green card holder spouse, parent or child who would suffer exceptional and extremely unusual hardship); a family-based green card through an I-130; a U visa for crime victims; special immigrant juvenile status for young people. Attach any receipt notice or filed application.
• Other considerations. The place for anything else that matters: a serious medical condition, a child with special needs, a family member they care for, a job waiting, a church or community role. Attach letters.

Before you hand it in

• Check every date and name against the documents in the packet. Mismatches are what the government lawyer looks for.
• Use additional sheets where the lines run out, labeled with the name and A-number.
• Put the worksheet first in the packet, behind the index, and file it with the motion. See a sample motion for a bond hearing.
• Keep a copy. If the case comes back for a new bond request later, update this one rather than starting over.

What happens once the judge has the worksheet is covered in what is a bond hearing?

Questions people also ask

Where do I get the immigration bond worksheet?

Ask the immigration court that covers the detention facility, or the facility’s law library. Many courts keep copies in the courtroom. The Justice Department has published a version online, and some courts use their own form called a custody redetermination questionnaire.

Who fills out the bond worksheet?

The detained person signs and submits it, but family members can gather every answer: dates, names, addresses, school and work history. Send the answers in by mail or read them over the phone so the detained person can copy them in.

Should a criminal record go on the worksheet even if the case was dismissed?

List every arrest and its outcome. The government lawyer will have the records anyway. Writing “dismissed” with the date, and attaching the court record, looks honest. Leaving it off makes the whole worksheet look unreliable.

Is the bond worksheet required?

Not by statute, but courts that use it expect it. It costs nothing and it puts the strongest facts in front of the judge before anyone speaks.

Check if bond is open for them

Check your family member’s situation to see which release options may apply, what to do next, and which documents to gather.