Asylum Grant Rate
37.8% of merits decisions
Asylum cases decided at Seattle Immigration Court
Courts → Seattle, WA
Immigration court · Seattle, WA
Seattle Immigration Court
37.8% asylum grant rate across 16,153 merits decisions (FY2015–2025) - below the 48.2% national average.
Data updated 2026-06-21
- 37.8%
- Asylum grant rate
- 62.2%
- Asylum denial rate
- 42,205
- Pending cases
- 38 mo
- Time to decision
The verdict
The Seattle Immigration Court granted asylum in 37.8% of the 16,153 cases it decided on the merits - below the 48.2% national rate.
- 37.8%
- Asylum grant rate
- 16,153
- Merits decisions, FY2015–2025
- 18
- Judges with reported asylum decisions
- 42,205
- Pending cases (all types)
Statistical data only. Grant rates reflect historical case outcomes and are not predictive of any individual case result.
Consult a licensed immigration attorney for legal advice.
Case Insights: Seattle Immigration Court
The Seattle Immigration Court, based in Seattle, WA, decided 16,153 asylum cases on the merits between FY2015 and FY2025 - out of 164,059 total proceedings of all case types it handled. Of those asylum decisions, 6,108 were granted (37.8%) and 10,045 were denied (62.2%). The court has 18 immigration judges with enough asylum decisions to report, whose individual grant rates shape the court-wide average shown above.
Between fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2025, the grant rate at Seattle Immigration Court rose by 6.2 percentage points, moving from 37.3% to 43.5%. That window spans 11 fiscal years of reported data, covering shifts in bench composition, policy guidance, and nationality mix. The year-by-year table lower on this page shows the underlying annual case volume for every year in the series.
Outcomes vary substantially judge-to-judge. Judge BP1 decided the most asylum cases here - 3,673 merits decisions (38.9% grant rate). The spread between the highest-grant and lowest-grant judges at this court is 68.4 percentage points - TLF at 86.3% versus KJ at 17.9%. These differences reflect case mix, nationality assignments, and docket type rather than any single factor, and they are why EOIR cautions readers against treating any judge's rate as predictive of an individual case.
37.8%
Asylum Grant Rate
62.2%
Asylum Denial Rate
16,153
Asylum Decisions
38 mo
Avg Time to Decision
Pending Cases
42,205
Open proceedings (all case types)
Asylum Decisions
16,153
Merits decisions, FY2015–2025
Grant rate over time
Asylum grant rate by fiscal year at Seattle Immigration Court.
| Fiscal year | Decisions | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 386 | 37.3% |
| FY2016 | 788 | 37.8% |
| FY2017 | 796 | 34.9% |
| FY2018 | 854 | 40.7% |
| FY2019 | 993 | 27.5% |
| FY2020 | 608 | 28.6% |
| FY2021 | 928 | 33.9% |
| FY2022 | 1,939 | 31.3% |
| FY2023 | 2,350 | 37.2% |
| FY2024 | 2,565 | 42.2% |
| FY2025 | 3,946 | 43.5% |
The judge lottery at Seattle Immigration Court
18 judges with enough asylum decisions to report. Grant rates run from 86.3% (124 decisions) down to 17.9% (78 decisions) - a 68.4-point spread on the same bench. Rates based on smaller decision counts carry more statistical noise.
Judge names below are the anonymized judge codes EOIR assigns in its public case-data release, not verified public identities. EOIR does not publish immigration judges' full names in this dataset. See our methodology for detail.
| # | Judge | Decisions | Asylum grant rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judge TLF | 124 | |
| 2 | Judge JCO | 130 | |
| 3 | Judge CNF | 80 | |
| 4 | Judge TSC | 96 | |
| 5 | Judge PDF | 667 | |
| 6 | Judge HEW | 1,730 | |
| 7 | Judge JFW | 648 | |
| 8 | Judge GET | 39 | |
| 9 | Judge THS | 27 | |
| 10 | Judge BP1 | 3,673 | |
| 11 | Judge RBM | 2,540 | |
| 12 | Judge MIT | 1,160 | |
| 13 | Judge JTL | 37 | |
| 14 | Judge REY | 710 | |
| 15 | Judge DDE | 979 | |
| 16 | Judge SEJ | 1,619 | |
| 17 | Judge KSS | 1,665 | |
| 18 | Judge KJ | 78 | |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the grant rate at the Seattle Immigration Court immigration court? ▼
The Seattle Immigration Court immigration court has an overall grant rate of 37.8% and a denial rate of 62.2%, based on 16,153 asylum merits decisions (FY2015–2025) from DOJ EOIR records.
How many immigration judges serve at Seattle Immigration Court? ▼
Seattle Immigration Court has 18 immigration judges on record. Grant rates vary significantly between judges, from 17.9% to 86.3%.
How long do cases take at Seattle Immigration Court? ▼
The average wait time at Seattle Immigration Court is approximately 38 months. Wait times vary based on case type, docket load, and whether continuances are granted.
Where is the Seattle Immigration Court immigration court located? ▼
The Seattle Immigration Court immigration court is located in Seattle, WA. It is part of the DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) system.
Does the grant rate predict my case outcome at Seattle Immigration Court? ▼
No. Grant rates are historical averages reflecting aggregate outcomes across all case types and judges. Individual outcomes depend on the specific facts of each case, the judge assigned, the type of relief sought, and whether you have legal representation. Always consult a licensed immigration attorney.
How has the Seattle Immigration Court grant rate changed over time? ▼
Between FY2015 and FY2025, the grant rate at Seattle Immigration Court increased from 37.3% to 43.5%. Year-by-year data is shown in the trends table on this page.
Explore PlainImmigration
Data from the DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) via FOIA bulk case data. Statistical information only, not legal advice.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
Source: U.S. EOIR, Immigration Court Statistics Immigration court outcomes by court and case type · 2025
Every figure on PlainImmigration is rendered directly from federal immigration court records, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on DOJ EOIR case-level records, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.