Houston immigration court: which court is yours, how to check your case, and free help

The five Houston-area courts

All five belong to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), part of the Justice Department. They are courts, not USCIS: green card, citizenship and asylum interviews happen at USCIS offices, not here.

Public hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Houston (filing window until 4 p.m.) and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Conroe, Monday to Friday except federal holidays. Courts can close without warning for weather. Before you leave home, check EOIR's operational status page. The courts don't accept faxes or emailed filings unless the judge or staff asked for them.

What's confirmed and what's only reported

• OfficialAddresses, phones, emails and hours above, as published by EOIR. The Greenspoint Park page was last updated October 16, 2026, and Jefferson Street's on October 8. EOIR court pages.
• OfficialThe old Houston – Smith Street court moved to 500 Jefferson Street on August 27, 2024 and was renamed; 1919 Smith Street stayed on as its annex. Old notices and websites still say “Smith Street”. EOIR notice, Aug 15, 2024.
• OfficialPeople without an attorney or accredited representative always default to an in-person hearing, whatever the court's video settings say. EOIR, internet-based hearings page.
• OfficialYou must report a new address within five working days on Form EOIR-33. The court sends every notice to the address on that form and won't update it from anything else you file. Form EOIR-33/IC, rev. Feb 2026.
• OfficialEvery document in Spanish you give the judge needs an English translation with the translator's signed certification of competence and accuracy. 8 CFR 1003.33.
• OfficialA federal court vacated ICE's and EOIR's 2025 courthouse-arrest policies (final judgment June 30, 2026) and on July 10, 2026 refused to pause that while the government appeals. ICE can still arrest people inside courthouses in the limited circumstances its earlier policies allowed. Pablo Sequen v. Albarran, N.D. Cal.
• ReportedIn June 2025, lawyers reported that ICE detained at least six men just outside the South Gessner courtrooms right after a judge dismissed their cases, to place them in expedited removal. ABC13 Houston.

Before your hearing, step by step

1. Find your court and your date

   Your Notice to Appear (NTA) or Notice of Hearing gives the court, the address, the date and the time. Confirm it online at EOIR Automated Case Information with your A-Number (the 9-digit number starting with A on your papers) and your nationality, or by phone at 1-800-898-7180 (TDD 800-828-1120). A rescheduled date only shows up once the court has set it; the paper notice is the official word.

2. Fix your address now, not later

   If you've moved since your NTA, or the NTA has the wrong address, file the EOIR-33 online through Respondent Access (no login needed), in person or by mail. One form per person with a case. Then send a copy to ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, through the ICE eService portal or by mail. Telling USCIS (Form AR-11) does not update the court, and the court doesn't update USCIS: do both.

3. Look for a lawyer the day the notice arrives

   Free organizations fill up weeks ahead. Call the providers below, ask for a consultation, and bring every paper you have. If you can't get anyone before a first hearing (a master calendar hearing), you can go and ask the judge for time to find a lawyer.

4. Translate what you'll file

   Birth certificates, police reports, medical records: anything in Spanish needs a full English translation and the translator's certification. Same rule as at USCIS: how to do it right.

5. Plan the day

   Arrive early: you'll go through a metal detector and a bag check, and you may have to take your shoes off. No food or drinks, and no photos or recordings anywhere in the court. Parking downtown is paid; at Greenspoint Park it's free. Hearings are open to the public, so a family member can come with you and wait.

Free and low-cost legal help for the Houston courts

These are the providers on the Justice Department's official pro bono list for the Houston courts (October 2026 edition). The list is updated every January, April, July and October.

Only attorneys and accredited representatives can represent you in immigration court. A notario, a tax preparer or an “immigration consultant” can't, and a wrong filing in court is very hard to undo. If you lost TPS and are thinking about asylum, read asylum after TPS: the deadline is running before your first consultation, and see what changed when TPS ended. Hearing in Dallas instead? See the Dallas immigration court.