An Argument, Not New Evidence
A motion to reconsider is, at its core, a legal argument directed back at the decision-maker who just ruled against you: based on what was already in front of you, you got this wrong. Nothing new is added to the record. No new witnesses, no new documents, no new facts — just a focused explanation of where the decision misapplied the law, misread the evidence that was already submitted, or reached a conclusion the existing record doesn’t support.
That’s what separates it cleanly from a motion to reopen, covered in What Is a Motion to Reopen an Immigration Case? A motion to reopen is about facts the decision-maker never had. A motion to reconsider is about facts it already had, argued differently or more precisely. People conflate these constantly — filing something labeled a “motion to reconsider” that’s actually built around new evidence, or vice versa — and forums generally will not simply recharacterize a poorly labeled motion in the filer’s favor. Getting the label and the substance to match is not a formality; it affects whether the motion is even considered on the merits.
What Has to Be In It
Across USCIS, immigration court, and the BIA, the recurring requirement is specificity. The motion generally has to identify the actual error — a specific legal standard that was misapplied, a specific piece of the existing evidentiary record that was overlooked or misread, a specific conclusion that doesn’t logically follow from the findings — and, where the argument rests on a statute, regulation, or prior case, cite it. A motion that argues generally that the outcome “isn’t fair” or “doesn’t reflect the full picture,” without tying that to a specific, identifiable error, is exactly the kind of filing that tends to get denied without the substance ever being engaged.
This means a motion to reconsider is, in a real sense, closer to an appellate brief than to a fresh filing. It requires understanding not just what you disagree with, but why the decision was legally or factually incorrect on its own terms.
Deadlines and Limits by Forum
Immigration court. A motion to reconsider filed with an immigration judge is generally due within 30 days of the final order — noticeably shorter than the 90-day window that generally applies to motions to reopen in the same forum. Only one motion to reconsider per decision is generally permitted.
The Board of Immigration Appeals. The BIA applies a similar 30-day filing window from the date its decision was issued, also generally limited to one motion to reconsider per decision, and a party generally cannot seek reconsideration of a decision that itself denied an earlier motion.
USCIS. Motions to reconsider filed with USCIS go on Form I-290B, generally due within 30 days of the decision (33 days if mailed), with essentially no exception for late filing — USCIS guidance describes the filing period for motions to reconsider (and appeals) as one without the same “reasonable delay” excuse that sometimes applies to motions to reopen.
Because the deadline for a motion to reconsider tends to run shorter than the deadline for a motion to reopen in the same forum, misidentifying which one you need can cost you the shorter clock before you even realize it’s ticking.
Common Problems
The most common failure is a motion that reads as disagreement rather than legal argument — restating why the outcome feels wrong without identifying a specific, citable error in how the law or the existing record was applied. A second common problem is attaching new evidence to a motion to reconsider, which can undercut the filing rather than strengthen it, since the forum may treat the motion as mischaracterized. A third is simply miscounting the deadline, particularly in forums where the motion-to-reconsider clock (generally 30 days) is shorter than the motion-to-reopen clock in the very same regulation.
Risks and Exceptions
Because most forums allow only one motion to reconsider per decision, and generally do not allow reconsideration of a decision denying a prior motion, there is limited room to try again if the first motion is poorly drafted. That makes the initial filing higher-stakes than it might appear — this isn’t a venue for a placeholder filing meant to be refined later. And as with most filings in this hub, a motion to reconsider generally does not pause removal on its own; see Does Filing an Appeal or Motion Stop Removal? if timing against enforcement is part of your situation.
How This Fits With Appealing Instead
If your deadline hasn’t run and a higher body hasn’t yet reviewed the decision, an appeal can sometimes address the same kind of legal error that a motion to reconsider would raise — and the two aren’t always interchangeable options for the same problem. Where both are technically available, which one actually fits depends on where you are procedurally (has a higher body already ruled?), what deadline governs each, and, in immigration court cases specifically, on jurisdiction rules about which body currently has authority over your case. See Should You Appeal, File a Motion, or Refile After a Denial? for how that choice fits into the bigger picture, and How Do You Appeal an Immigration Judge’s Decision to the BIA? for how a direct appeal works procedurally.
What Happens Next
If you believe a decision in your case was legally or factually wrong based on what was already in the record, the next step is a close read of the actual decision against the specific standard that applied — not a general sense that the outcome was unfair. That kind of analysis is easiest to get right with someone who can review the decision and the underlying record directly.
