You should use this form if. This practice advisory addresses the nuts and bolts of immigration habeas petitions under the civil habeas statute, 28 U.S.C. § 2241.For the reasons set forth below, the Court will dismiss the Petition for a Writ of Habeas. The English version of this Order to Show Cause should be submitted with the AO 242. "Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus" Form and the Memorandum. If you do not have a lawyer and are representing yourself in a case, simplified instructions for this form are available below. Federal habeas corpus is a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual's incarceration. The habeas statutes are outlined in Chapter 153 of Title 28 of the U.S. Code, encompassing §§ 22412255. The existence of the writ of habeas corpus means that a guilty verdict in a criminal trial is not the end of the story. First, a U.S.C. § 2254 allows us to file a petition for Habeas Corpus when the client is in custody under sentence of a state court and is in a state prison.