During this period, court records show that Judge Picton decided 577 asylum claims on their merits. Immigration Court dispositions are reaching record highs. I am so thankful for your help, I would have a lawyer look at the statute to make sure it applies to your situation. single Court when cases are randomly assigned to judges sitting on that Court, each Judge should have Select a statistic, and then click on "View" for an interactive report on the judge's record. Take care, Jason. Immigration Court Backlog Tool. While the TRAC data is not perfect (and there is no data on the newest IJs), it is the best source of information we have on Immigration Judge grant rates. Your GC should be back-dated one year, and you can apply 4 years and 9 months after the date on the card, assuming you are otherwise eligible. Thank you and have a great festive season. External Processing: A Tool to Expand Protection or Further Restrict Territorial Asylum? Certainly, the more attachments she has to her country, the better her chances of getting a visa. I got asylum approval on 15 March 2018. Unfortunately, they do not give you credit for all the other time you waited. In the nation as a whole during this same period, major nationalities of asylum seekers, in descending Asylum seekers are a diverse group. Available online. New Years greetings Jason, . Figure 2. What is most sad to me, is that we can solve our immigration problems, help many people, and improve our economy, but we lack the will and the honesty to implement solutions. WASHINGTON Last June, the San Francisco Immigration Court quietly tested a new idea: Fast-track the cases of immigrants whose mail wasn't reaching them. Note that when an Immigration Judge serves on more than one court during the same period . ---. Take care, Jason. Faculty-Director, Center for Race, Immigration, Citizenship & Equality Yet the head of that same organization is on major American news network claiming the country is moving forward after a transgender person was killed and gay men live in unsanitary conditions who risk coming and living their truth. See Figure 2. A second big factor that is relevant to each IJs denial rate is country of origin. 2- How possible for her to be accepted? Copyright Policy. I wrote about that on April 20, 2017. How accurate and reliable is the uscis information? FY 2017 - 2022, Boston Immigration Court. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Jason Dzubow, Esq. Over one hundred different nationalities had at least one hundred Thanks for everybody who have helped me and fulfilled my inquisitive ass . The Washington Post, May 1, 2019. Of course, these cases depend on specifics, and so talk to a lawyer to make sure you are eligible. This is particularly justified in light of my recent discovery that Indian-origin asylum claims are fraught with fraud and Chinese asylum seekers are nothing more thanfiction writers, per NPR, People from Central America tend to have cases that do not easily fit within the asylum framework, and so they have high denial rates. New York University School of Law. Jason Dzubow, Esq. Burgeoning Court Backlog of more than 850,000 Cases Undercuts Trump Immigration Agenda. I do not see why it wont work though, and I also do not see why status in Canada would have any negative effect on receiving a GC based on the DV lottery. However, if the pace of new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) filings in Immigration Court continues, FY 2023 may also reach a new record for incoming cases. Hi, @Jason and fellow asylum community. I would review your old asylum case before the interview, as well as your I-485 (the GC application). Im glad I did. That is our system, and so despite the problems, you have to prepare for that. God only knows how many Green Card marriage applications are fraudulent, and the system has done nothing to address them. Take care, Jason, I just want to wish @jason and everybody a happy holiday . Take care, Jason. individuals claiming asylum decided during this period. of relief other than asylum). 2 I do not know and you/she may want to talk to a lawyer who does non-immigrant visas to see what can be done to maximize the chances for her to get a visa. 2019. Although denial rates are shaped by each Judge's judicial philosophy, denial rates are also shaped by This blog is an Amazon affiliate. Take care, Jason, Hello Jason, I want to ask about Ron DeSantisHe seems to be able to win in the GOP primary and in general election. You will see the percentage of cases before that IJ where the asylum applicant had an attorney. . The countries that have had the highest denial rates over the past two decades are: El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Mexico. 2006, he was corporate counsel in the Corporate Law Department of AEGON USA Inc., in St. Petersburg, Fla. attorney at the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association Inc., in Orlando, Fla. From 2005 to I applied GreenCard in 2020. contribute to differences in asylum denial rates. The genuine asylum seekers, in my opinion, are the biggest losers in the current situation. Thanks for everything you are doing for us. My question is to give a decision does uscis process the background check for all 6 person or only for the applicant? Columbia Bar. Judges at the San Francisco Immigration Court where Judge Picton decided these cases denied asylum 32.1 percent of the time. Updated July 2019. The composition of cases may differ significantly between Immigration Courts in the country. Amid a major uptick in asylum seekers and other migrants from Central America, the country has witnessed a remarkable turnaround from 2017, when the lowest levels of illegal immigration were recorded since 1971, to rates not seen in more than a decade. Benner, Katie. Converted Meissner, Doris, Donald M. Kerwin, Muzaffar Chishti, and Claire Bergeron. The same report found that since the hiring freeze ended, it has taken EOIR an average of 647 days to hire a new judge. Simply because they are losing years of their lives, which are the most valuable things anyone can have and changing asylum law to accept more asylums just hurts them more. Univ. 72.6. No support system. I will suggest you have it ready to send as soon as they request it. See Figure2. reports are created for any Court in which the judge rendered at least 100 asylum decisions. Also Are asylees considering LPRs ? Judge Picton, 7.6% were not represented by an attorney. ---. Take care, Jason. The marriage has no effect on that. through 2022. A second big factor that is relevant to each IJs denial rate is country of origin. Now he applied for USA visit visa b1/b2 but he got interview date after one year in Nov 2023. However, if judges within a Court are assigned to In (16.1%), India (12.7%), Honduras (9.0%), Guatemala (7.4%). (Photo: Ryan J. Reilly). And whenever I think of the motives of the testifyingit makes me feeldistasteful of themI think in one of your blog, you mentioned something like the asylum officer hiring is now focused on fraud detector rather than protectorthis is the sentiment being conveyed by me here, In most cases, the person is required to testify. I have no idea. Take care, Jason, Hi jason I just have never looked into this and so this is new for me as well, and I am not sure whether it would work. And is there a shelter for people whom apply for Asylum? Anderson, David C. 1006. You dont have a pressing need to go through process that will put you in danger. Such people have a much more difficult time winning asylum: Some are barred from asylum due to criminal history or the one-year asylum bar. It is quite sad that there is no real or effective oversight of the defensive asylum process. She works as an analyst in the public sector, and holds a master of public policy degree from The George Washington University and a BA in government and anthropology from Cornell University. ---. My question is can I or other family members( applicants in the asylum applications) apply job for other countries? ---. denied 63.8 percent of asylum claims during this same period. Immigration judges ranked by asylum denial rates FY 2000 - 2005 : Immigration judges ranked by asylum denial rates FY 1994 - 1999 NYC immigration judges ranked by asylum denial rates for Chinese . Hello Jason Do you know how much lawyers approximately charge for filing mandamus for I-485 processing? See Figure2. 1:20-cv-00731 (E.D. this country made up 24.9% of his caseload. I have a question. Pressures from external forces (shifts in migration to the Southwest border and in immigration enforcement policy) as well as internal forces (changes in EOIR policies and case-management practices) amid generally stagnating resources have pushed the system to a breaking point. var sc_invisible=0; Coordinates: 430225N 760808W / . What if youve done your research and have concluded that your judge is one of those who denies almost every case she sees? Judge. individuals claiming asylum decided during this period. Dzubow & Pilcher, PLLC Instead of 4-year wait, only need to wait more or less 2 years? Accessed September 29, 2019. This is really strange. TRAC's 'Quick Facts' Tool Provides Key Data at a Glance on ICE Arrests and Detention plus the Immigration Court. Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) is a nonprofit and nonpartisan data gathering, data research, and data distribution organization in the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Finding ways to streamline the hiring process, continue attracting new judges while ensuring they have the tools needed to do their jobs, and make other administrative reforms will be important moving forward. www.DzubowLaw.com I am from Russia and I am in Canada with my family as a visitor. New TRAC Update Reveals Answer, As Workloads Rise in Federal Courts, Judge Counts Remain Flat, The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Its Judges, Examining Current Federal Sentencing Practices: A National Study of Differences Among Judges, Surprising Sentencing Deviations in Federal Courthouses, Striking Judge-to-Judge Differences Found in Federal Criminal Caseloads, Surprising Judge-to-Judge Variations Documented In Federal Sentencing, Latest Data on Asylum Decisions by Immigration Court Judges, New Judge Hiring Fails to Stem Rising Immigration Case Backlog. 306. The asylum office has been hiring more officers, but they seem mainly to interview cases at the US-Mexico border, and unless things there slow down, they will probably not be interviewing a lot of older cases. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT, Pauline Endres de Oliveira and Nikolas Feith Tan, National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, Latin America & Caribbean Migration Portal, Illegal Immigration & Interior Enforcement. We will have to see how things progress with him, but nothing about him suggests that he would be good for asylum seekers. After the decision from Sessions in "Matter of A-B-" last year, the number of asylum denials issued by immigration judges jumped in the second half of 2018, according to the TRAC Immigration . Judges appointed by President Donald Trump's deputies are filling up the immigration courts, and they have reversed the anti-deportation trend caused by President Barack Obama's judges. Only a son who was 21 plus at the time of apply Asylum, not came with us.He is still un married. Available online. Other nationalities in descending order of frequency appearing before Judge Picton were: Mexico TRAC Immigration. Copyright 2004-document.write( new Date().getFullYear() ); by Law Professor Blogs, LLC. ---. Copyright 2001-2023 Migration Policy Institute. We applied asylum based GC this year July,2022, have any idea how much long does it take and also can we expedite the process? I have not received even the receipt notification from USCIS confirming receiving my application. A decision in immigration court can mean the difference between life and death for those fleeing violence and persecution. With the court system reaching a breaking point, as the backlog surpasses more than 1 million pending cases, it will take thoughtful structural reforms to pull the immigration courts back from the brink. Figure 1 provides a comparison of Judge Picton's denial rate each fiscal year over this recent period. He has threats in my home country. 202-266-1940 | fax. Its also the fact that, moving away from your home to another part of the country was not gonna make it any better. How is the interview situation at the Arlington office: order of frequency, were El Salvador (18.2%), Guatemala (16.0%), Honduras (14.6%), Mexico (10.5%), China U.S. Immigration Court System Case Completions, New Case Receipts, and All Pending Cases, FY 1998-2018. Sentencing reports for judges serving on the FISA Court, updated through the end of FY 2012. Available online. During the early 2000s, the backlog hovered between 100,000 and 200,000 cases, but this changed when the George W. Bush administration began ramping up interior immigration enforcement starting around 2006 (see Figure 1). However, if judges within a Court are assigned to Your Judge Is Your Destiny. Topic Magazine, July 2019. Updated September 18, 2019. Case dispositions in FY . From 2011 to2018, he was assistant chief counsel and then deputy chief Id like to add my two cents. Source: TRAC, Immigration Court Processing Time by Outcome, accessed September 29, 2019, available online. ), Could an lgbt seekers decision to stay in the closet (to protect their safety) backfire in their bid to secure asylum ? Picton earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995 from Dominican University and aJuris Doctor in 2000 from For more information, to subscribe, or to donate, contact trac@syr.edu or call 315-443-3563. 2019. As major transformations to U.S. immigration policy and practice are advanced by the Trump administration at an unprecedented pace, one key yet little heralded part of the system has reached a breaking point: the immigration courts. When you get your green card, you must wait another four years to apply for citizenship. Over one hundred different nationalities had at least one hundred Individual hearing and granted January 2023. Hi Jason, Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Cory M. Picton to begin hearing cases in February2018. Available online. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1976 from the University of South Florida, Tampa; a master of business administration degree in 1983 from the National University, San Diego; a juris doctorate in 1987 from the National University School of Law, San Diego; and a master of judicial studies . Because immigration court is a civil, not a criminal, proceeding, respondents in removal proceedings are not provided with legal counsel by the government. It just feels like life is in suspenseI cannot deal with it anymoreI live day by day, week by week. A Unique Source of Authoritative Information. As might be expected, immigration courts located because of absence showing of past persecution and objective well-founded fear. Personally, I think its time we start accepting the truth instead of sticking our heads in the sand- some immigration judges have personal biases and some are outright xenophobic. 2 I would make sure to keep copies of your entire passport, so at least you can show that. Take care, Jason, Happy holidays! Maybe this is just my impression, but it seems to be so for many of my cases. Further, they have set new precedents regarding who qualifies for asylum. FY 2017 - 2022, San Francisco Immigration Court, Figure 1: Percent of Asylum Matters Denied, Figure 2: Comparing Denial Rates (percents), Figure 3: Asylum Seeker Had Representation, Figure 4: Asylum Decisions by Nationality, TRAC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit data research center affiliated with the. Please suggest what are the best option for us. The New York Times, June 12, 2018. respondents, current immigration policies, and other factors beyond an individual Judge's control. Because immigration court is a civil, not a criminal, proceeding, the government is not obligated to provide respondents with legal representation if the noncitizen cannot afford his or her own. Available online. In 2018, Congress appropriated $16.7 billion for CBP and $7.5 billion for ICE, and just $437 million for immigration courts (though the latter number has increased from $238 million in 2008). I simply cannot accept any excuse other than that, like many other things, changing it is not in the politicians best interests. Available online. when an Immigration Judge serves on more than one court during the same period, separate Immigration Judge Conroy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993 from St. Michaels College and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from Available online. Note that The largest group of asylum seekers appearing before Judge Picton came from India. Is it possible to have my attorney do all the talking in the hearing ? Available online. Home > Immigration > Tools > Judge Reports. Legal Associations Call for Independent Immigration Court System. Hi Majid, USCIS is constantly changing the forms, and this is a huge problem for many people. Eleven of them had no experience in immigration law. Applied March 2015 Arlington office Judge McFarland's asylum grant and denial rates are compared with other judges serving on the same example, TRAC has previously found that legal representation and the nationality of the asylum seeker are If Santa were an IJ, it wouldnt matter whether you were naughty or nice he would deport you Ho-Ho-Home. A lot of people here received decisions shortly after submitting Medical. For the period 2017 to 2022, asylum approval rates ranged from 0% (a judge in Houston) to 99% (a judge in San Francisco). Thank you Criminal Court, November 2022: Immigration Prosecutions. Rodger C. Harris was appointed as an immigration judge in January 2007. country made up 34.9% of his caseload. Noncitizens in immigration court feel the brunt of the backlogs effects, such as increased wait times overall and rocket docket hearings for migrant families in ten courts. Take care, Jason. In the case of Representation Rates and Asylum Approval Rates in U.S. Immigration Court by Country of Origin, FY 2012-17. Meaning that if you are not from one of these countries, your odds of winning asylum are probably better than what your judges overall denial rate would suggest. var sc_security="0aede119"; Available online. Many asylum seekers do not appear in court, which is a sign of this. 2 Very few, aside from Afghan evacuees, which get priority per a requirement from Congress. I applied for asylum in August 2022. Justice Department Rolls Out Quotas for Immigration Judges. The immigration court backlog in New York state has reached a historic high, according to data recently released by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. @ Pendung asylum : Jason may reply you with better wording. High rates of gang violence and domestic violence, as well as deep poverty exacerbated by drought and crop failure, and lack of economic opportunities, have plagued these countries and pushed people to head north at high rates. Three courts with only one judge in the dataset (Harlingen, New York Detention, and Otay Mesa) were excluded.Source: TRAC, Judge-by-Judge Asylum Decisions in Immigration Courts FY 2013-18, accessed September 16, 2019, available online. Happy New Year!! Its been long process but dont loose the hope. Do I need to send both forms together or separately? I agree that the definition of asylum needs to be revised. York, N.Y.Judge McFarland is a member of the New York State Bar. reports are created for any Court in which the judge rendered at least 100 asylum decisions. Converted He might also try a student visa, but if you file the I-130 or I-140, it may be more difficult to get student visa. Text. USCIS does not credit that time, unfortunately. Does it mean my marriage time is counted towards naturalization/citizenship? If you see that your judge presides over many unrepresented cases, it probably means that her overall denial rate is higher than would be expected if that IJ saw more cases where the applicant had a lawyer. El Paso federal immigration judges denied 85.4% of asylum claims in fiscal year 2020. I simply cannot accept any excuse other than that, like many other things, changing it is not in the politicians best interests. Hence, the probability of a xenophobe dressed in judicial robe adjudicating an asylum case is relatively high. Will I have to wait until she is granted the asylum before I can return? Wish you guys a happy new year. Its a brilliant move that should have been made decades ago. And so if you plan to move your case, the sooner you make the move, the better. judicial philosophy that the Judge brings to the bench. So I just want to ask @jason, in your lgbtq/h+ cases, do the issues of coming out/staying in the closet, trans/notrans come up ? Id like to add my two cents. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. I doubt that will happen any time soon, but I keep hoping. Available online. You were just delaying the inevitable until suspicions about you start circulating. Please I would like to know how does my renewing my passport and traveling back to our home country affect the case if i travel alone and my spouse remains here as the main applicant? And, despite the asylum applicants best efforts and preparation, even when s/he is lawyered up, s/he just simply cant win. Its so valuable. In a dataset that includes all asylum decisions from FY 2013-18, San Francisco had the highest asylum disparity by judge: the maximum grant rate in that court for any judge was 90 percent, while the lowest was just 3 percenta range of 87 percentage points. If the case gets pushed off too far away, you can try to file a motion for a sooner date. Here you can find a variety of tools and applications to make the data we gather available in an understandable way. Figure 4. Happy holidays to you and all Thank you, 1 Maybe. Jason, thank you for writing this article. Such people have a much more difficult time winning asylum: Some are barred from asylum due to criminal history or the, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), An Interview with Juan Unaccompanied Minor, ISIS Supporter, and Ebola Carrier, A New Guide to Establishing Asylum Eligibility for Victims of Human Trafficking and Forced Marriage, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-319/section-319.1, Book Review: AsylumA Memoir & Manifesto by Edafe Okporo, Crime and Asylum: A Guide for the Perp-plexed, Confusing New Rule Seems to Allow Asylees to Get Their Green Cards More Quickly. In most cases, the judges and DHS are respectful of the asylum seekers. I am glad I left and even though there were huge challenges and regrets; especially not seeing my mother before she died; at least I know I am free to be myself in country that accepts me. And what will happen to my asylum case? "Nearly two-thirds (64%) were appointed since FY 2017," said a report by pro-migration research group TRAC Report Inc., As such, though EOIR was established to function as an independent body, it is subject to changing political motivations and priorities within the Justice Department. When did you apply for green card and is it based on Asylum? When I have been there lately, it is almost all Afghans. Almost every AOS applicant pending based on Marriage route will have to appear( 99.9%) for interview along with US spouse before USCIS officer. Thanks Jason! Help support LPBN Blog by making purchases through Amazon links on this site at no cost to you. Im not sure what you mean by adjust the law accordingly, asylum law or immigration law in general? But if your preference is to come to the US, I would talk to a US immigration lawyer before starting the refugee process in Canada. In previous eras, border apprehensions were more often single male Mexican adults trying to surreptitiously cross the border in pursuit of economic opportunities. Available online. Cameroon (1.5%), Nepal (1.2%). Trump Administration Moves to Decertify Outspoken Immigration Judges Union. country made up 29.1% of his caseload. Conversely, if you do not have an attorney, your odds of receiving asylum are probably lower than the judges overall denial rate would suggest. 202-266-1900. Also, if you do get permanent status in a third country, that will make it more difficult or impossible to win asylum in the US if that happens, talk to a lawyer about how it might affect your case, but again, if you leave the US to do this, you may not be able to return. First, the raw TRAC data does not distinguish between represented and unrepresented applicants, and having a lawyer generally makes a difference. Take care, Jason. I have pending asylum case still no interview. Probably this is true in other areas of law, but I suspect it is worse in Immigration Court or at least it is the only court I can think of where people with zero experience in this area of law become judges. TRAC Immigration. Its a brilliant move that should have been made decades ago. Note: Nationalities with the 10 largest numbers of decisions in the data set are labeled.Source: TRAC, Table 2. It carried on into later years, but even in the workplace there was a sense of suspicion even though I never gave any impression or admittance of being gay. Many asylum seekers do not appear in court, which is a sign of this. A third important factor in examining IJ approval rates is the distinction between detained and non-detained asylum applicants. Basically, if you are before such a judge, and you have an attorney, your odds of success are probably better than the judges overall denial rate would suggest. It could, but I think it is not a major factor in the embassys decision. Information on criminal enforcement of immigration law including statutes used is also available. Sometimes a strong case can overcome a judges tendency to deny, and after all, even the worst IJs grant cases now and again (except for the 0% guy in Houston). Even though cases are assigned randomly to judges within courts, grant rates at the judge level vary widely in some courts (see Figure 6). Available online. Immigration judges have repeatedly spoken out against what they see as a push to make the courts move faster without balancing due process or providing the additional resources needed to bolster the system. Orlando. Available online. 16.7% of asylum seekers are not represented. Do you have any idea what is next? Immigration judges have been busier than ever before. (Rates for years with less than 25 decisions are not shown.). U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). . Thompson, Gabriel. Director of Media Relations, Division of Communications and Marketing. Thanks. to percentage terms, Picton denied 46.1 percent and granted 53.9 percent of asylum cases (including forms Recent decisions by the Trump administration have only exacerbated the workload. 2018. And, given the required legal grounds for a successful asylum claim, asylum seekers from some However, if you mean that we should change the immigration law in general and figure out a way to give these people legal status, I completely agree. See Figure 2. A persons chance of being granted asylum can depend not only on the court he or she has been assigned to, but also the individual judge hearing the case. Because thinking that we should decide who we want to help and then change Aslyum law to accommodate that desire wont end up well. Is anyone else facing same problem? Budget data for FY 2003-18. Between 2007 and 2012, just 37 percent of all respondents and 14 percent of those in detention obtained representation, according to a national study by Ingrid Eagly and Steven Shafer. (FY) 2022, according to the Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearing House (TRAC). Judge Picton's asylum grant and denial rates are compared with other judges serving on the same court in this table. How the trip will affect the asylum application depends on the case I wrote some about this issue on January 26, 2022, but basically, if your return trip causes the asylum officer to think that the principals application is false or that asylum is not needed, it could cause the case to be denied. 16.7% of asylum seekers are not represented. Accessed September 29, 2019. If you married a US citizen and got the GC based on the marriage, and you are still married, you can apply for citizenship 2 years and 9 months after the date on your initial GC, assuming you are otherwise eligible. In Boston, Audencio Lopez applied for asylum seven years ago. 2019. According to TRAC Immigration, a non-profit that tracks asylum approval rates in Immigration Court, Immigration Judge ("IJ") approval rates vary widely.