Asylum Grant Rate
37.7% of merits decisions
Asylum cases decided at San Diego Immigration Court
Courts → San Diego, CA
Immigration court · San Diego, CA
San Diego Immigration Court
37.7% asylum grant rate across 7,539 merits decisions (FY2015–2025) - below the 48.2% national average.
Data updated 2026-06-21
- 37.7%
- Asylum grant rate
- 62.3%
- Asylum denial rate
- 3,266
- Pending cases
- 17 mo
- Time to decision
The verdict
The San Diego Immigration Court granted asylum in 37.7% of the 7,539 cases it decided on the merits - below the 48.2% national rate.
- 37.7%
- Asylum grant rate
- 7,539
- Merits decisions, FY2015–2025
- 23
- Judges with reported asylum decisions
- 3,266
- 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: San Diego Immigration Court
The San Diego Immigration Court, based in San Diego, CA, decided 7,539 asylum cases on the merits between FY2015 and FY2025 - out of 303,472 total proceedings of all case types it handled. Of those asylum decisions, 2,841 were granted (37.7%) and 4,698 were denied (62.3%). The court has 23 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 San Diego Immigration Court rose by 9.4 percentage points, moving from 38.9% to 48.3%. 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 PSL decided the most asylum cases here - 850 merits decisions (25.4% grant rate). The spread between the highest-grant and lowest-grant judges at this court is 66.3 percentage points - IPF at 76.7% versus RBM at 10.4%. 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.
37.7%
Asylum Grant Rate
62.3%
Asylum Denial Rate
7,539
Asylum Decisions
17 mo
Avg Time to Decision
Pending Cases
3,266
Open proceedings (all case types)
Asylum Decisions
7,539
Merits decisions, FY2015–2025
Grant rate over time
Asylum grant rate by fiscal year at San Diego Immigration Court.
| Fiscal year | Decisions | Grant rate |
|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 270 | 38.9% |
| FY2016 | 249 | 37.8% |
| FY2017 | 423 | 29.6% |
| FY2018 | 815 | 20.1% |
| FY2019 | 1,036 | 15.4% |
| FY2020 | 1,242 | 18.0% |
| FY2021 | 359 | 51.3% |
| FY2022 | 647 | 56.6% |
| FY2023 | 747 | 64.5% |
| FY2024 | 607 | 63.4% |
| FY2025 | 1,144 | 48.3% |
The judge lottery at San Diego Immigration Court
23 judges with enough asylum decisions to report. Grant rates run from 76.7% (30 decisions) down to 10.4% (96 decisions) - a 66.3-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 IPF | 30 | |
| 2 | Judge CHR | 264 | |
| 3 | Judge SS2 | 434 | |
| 4 | Judge GRN | 131 | |
| 5 | Judge MHH | 150 | |
| 6 | Judge AAN | 524 | |
| 7 | Judge BAR | 395 | |
| 8 | Judge GGG | 549 | |
| 9 | Judge APA | 120 | |
| 10 | Judge JPJ | 288 | |
| 11 | Judge ZZD | 93 | |
| 12 | Judge JDV | 518 | |
| 13 | Judge HPI | 378 | |
| 14 | Judge OEA | 194 | |
| 15 | Judge LOC | 526 | |
| 16 | Judge VAB | 39 | |
| 17 | Judge RLR | 291 | |
| 18 | Judge JCL | 548 | |
| 19 | Judge PSL | 850 | |
| 20 | Judge CPN | 69 | |
| 21 | Judge JLR | 542 | |
| 22 | Judge CAB | 331 | |
| 23 | Judge RBM | 96 | |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the grant rate at the San Diego Immigration Court immigration court? ▼
The San Diego Immigration Court immigration court has an overall grant rate of 37.7% and a denial rate of 62.3%, based on 7,539 asylum merits decisions (FY2015–2025) from DOJ EOIR records.
How many immigration judges serve at San Diego Immigration Court? ▼
San Diego Immigration Court has 23 immigration judges on record. Grant rates vary significantly between judges, from 10.4% to 76.7%.
How long do cases take at San Diego Immigration Court? ▼
The average wait time at San Diego Immigration Court is approximately 17 months. Wait times vary based on case type, docket load, and whether continuances are granted.
Where is the San Diego Immigration Court immigration court located? ▼
The San Diego Immigration Court immigration court is located in San Diego, CA. It is part of the DOJ Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) system.
Does the grant rate predict my case outcome at San Diego 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 San Diego Immigration Court grant rate changed over time? ▼
Between FY2015 and FY2025, the grant rate at San Diego Immigration Court increased from 38.9% to 48.3%. 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.