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Judge Barbara A. Nelson

Immigration Judge at New York City, NY

Snapshot answer

The 2026-07-01 snapshot lists a 28.3% historical asylum grant rate for Barbara A. Nelson at New York City, NY, based on 4,143 grants and 10,497 denials (14,640 decided outcomes).

28.3%
Approval Rate
4,143
Granted
10,497
Denied
14,640
Total Decided

The 2026-07-01 EOIR snapshot lists Barbara A. Nelson with New York City, NY. With an asylum approval rate of 28.3%, this judge is below average compared to the national average. Data sourced from EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review). Historical listings do not by themselves establish a current assignment.

What This Profile's Data Shows

Same-court context

Its 28.3% historical rate is 8.0 percentage points below the 36.3% median among 69 same-court profiles with at least 100 decided outcomes.

Published yearly context

The latest qualifying published year is 2026: 4.5% across 840 decisions, 7.0 percentage points below the 2025 rate.

Largest nationality sample

The largest published nationality row is Ecuador: 736 decisions and a 4.2% grant rate in that row's stated scope.

These comparisons describe published historical aggregates; they do not measure judge quality, control for case mix, establish a current assignment, or predict an individual outcome. Thresholds are applied only to reduce unstable small-sample comparisons.

Community Discussion

DATA

Judge Nelson (New York City, NY) data snapshot: China vs Colombia grant rates differ 27×, overall rate fell from 34% to 4% in 3 years

A few numbers worth knowing if you have a hearing in front of Judge Nelson, Barbara A. (IJ code BAN, New York City, NY):

Overall track record

34 years on the bench (since 1993), 18,753 cases total, lifetime grant rate 28.5%

Last 3 years (2023–2026): 3,196 cases, grant rate 15.5% — 6.2pp below the New York City court average (21.7%)

Nationality breakdown (2023–2026 cumulative)

Nationality / Cases / Grant rate
Ecuador                670    2.4%
China                  306   47.3%
Venezuela              277    3.7%
Colombia               241    1.7%
El Salvador            175   23.5%
Guatemala              155   20.4%
India                  142   13.9%
Honduras               115   13.6%
Dominican Republic     101   11.5%
Mexico                  99   15.1%
Peru                    83    2.6%

China applicants see a 47.3% grant rate versus 1.7% for Colombia applicants — a 27.3× gap on this judge's docket.

Year-by-year

2023:  612 cases, 33.9% grant rate
2024:  800 cases, 17.5% grant rate
2025:  963 cases, 11.5% grant rate
2026:  821 cases, 3.5% grant rate

If you've appeared before Judge Nelson, I'd love to hear:

1. What's your nationality, and when was your most recent hearing?

2. How did your attorney prepare for this judge specifically?

Source: EOIR (U.S. Executive Office for Immigration Review) public statistics, May 2026 release, compiled by AsylumTracker. A judge's historical pattern does not predict the outcome of any individual case; this is shared to help set realistic expectations. Real-experience accounts from the community are welcome.

Have experience with this judge? Open AsylumTracker to reply or read more responses from the community.

How to Interpret These Judge Statistics

Barbara A. Nelson is listed with the New York City, NY Immigration Court. The headline asylum grant rate shown here is 28.3% based on granted and denied asylum decisions represented in the current dataset.

Among the largest nationality groups shown for this judge, the table highlights Ecuador (736 decided, 4.2% grant rate), China (369 decided, 49.9% grant rate), and Venezuela (296 decided, 5.4% grant rate). Compare these rows with the judge's overall rate because nationality mix can materially change how the headline number should be read.

Grant rate is calculated as granted / (granted + denied). Other procedural outcomes, including terminated, withdrawn, administratively closed, or removed cases, are tracked separately where available and are not treated as asylum grants.

This page is based on public EOIR data last updated 2026-07-01. It is for research and information only, not legal advice.

Read the grant-rate methodology or learn how to read immigration judge statistics.

Nationality Breakdown

NationalityCasesGrant rate
Ecuador 736 4.2%
China 369 49.9%
Venezuela 296 5.4%
Guatemala 251 21.9%
Colombia 245 2.4%
El Salvador 228 33.8%
Honduras 197 20.8%
India 177 23.2%

Yearly Trends

YearCasesGrant rate
2026 840 4.5%
2025 862 11.5%
2024 709 17.5%
2023 548 33.9%
2022 408 57.1%
2021 61 63.9%
2020 389 26.7%

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Judge Barbara A. Nelson's asylum approval rate?

Judge Barbara A. Nelson's asylum approval rate is 28.3% according to EOIR FOIA data.

How many asylum cases has Judge Barbara A. Nelson decided?

The dataset lists 14,640 total asylum cases for Judge Barbara A. Nelson.

How is this approval rate calculated?

The approval rate is calculated as granted divided by (granted + denied). It excludes terminations and withdrawals, and the source is EOIR FOIA data.

Other judges at this court

Rohan, Patricia A. 65.8% approval rate Weisel, Robert D. 52.9% approval rate Videla, Gabriel C. 32.6% approval rate Bain, Terry A. 71.9% approval rate Hom, Sandy 36.3% approval rate Schoppert, Douglas B. 57.9% approval rate Elstein, Annette S. 61.3% approval rate Morace, Philip L. 64.3% approval rate Mcmanus, Margaret 75.7% approval rate Lamb, Elizabeth A. 60.9% approval rate

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Data from EOIR (U.S. DOJ) · Last updated 2026-07-01
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