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Judge Wilbur Lee

Immigration Judge at Santa Ana, CA

7.9%
Approval Rate
189
Granted
2,192
Denied
2,381
Total Decided

Judge Wilbur Lee serves at the Santa Ana, CA Immigration Court. With an asylum approval rate of 7.9%, this judge is below average compared to the national average. Data sourced from EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review).

Community Discussion

DATA

Judge Lee (Santa Ana, CA) data snapshot: Overall rate fell from 15% to 3% in 3 years

A few numbers worth knowing if you have a hearing in front of Judge Lee, Wilbur (IJ code WRL, Santa Ana, CA):

6 years on the bench (since 2021), 2,713 cases total, lifetime grant rate 8.0%

Last 3 years (2023–2026): 2,210 cases, grant rate 5.8% — 3.7pp below the Santa Ana court average (9.5%)

Nationality / Cases / Grant rate
Mexico                 679    3.5%
Guatemala              259    0.8%
Colombia               247    0.9%
Nicaragua              241    1.3%
Venezuela              104    2.0%
China                  103   26.5%
El Salvador             91    6.4%
Honduras                86    2.4%
India                   71    4.2%
Peru                    68    0.0%
Russia                  40    2.5%
2023:  313 cases, 15.5% grant rate
2024:  479 cases, 6.0% grant rate
2025:  692 cases, 3.7% grant rate
2026:  726 cases, 3.0% grant rate

If you've appeared before Judge Lee, 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

Wilbur Lee is listed with the Santa Ana, CA Immigration Court. The headline asylum grant rate shown here is 7.9% based on granted and denied asylum decisions represented in the current dataset.

Among the largest nationality groups shown for this judge, the table highlights Mexico (702 decided, 6.1% grant rate), Guatemala (259 decided, 1.5% grant rate), and Colombia (251 decided, 1.2% 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
Mexico 702 6.1%
Guatemala 259 1.5%
Colombia 251 1.2%
Nicaragua 246 1.6%
China 130 32.3%
El Salvador 121 5.0%
Honduras 118 1.7%
Venezuela 108 1.9%

Yearly Trends

YearCasesGrant rate
2026 777 3.5%
2025 645 3.7%
2024 464 6.0%
2023 310 15.5%
2022 109 44.0%
2021 60 21.7%

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Judge Wilbur Lee's asylum approval rate?

Judge Wilbur Lee's asylum approval rate is 7.9% according to EOIR FOIA data.

How many asylum cases has Judge Wilbur Lee decided?

The dataset lists 2,381 total asylum cases for Judge Wilbur Lee.

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

Francis, Leon J. 9.9% approval rate Hsu, Lily C 10.9% approval rate Rothschild, Jerome M., JR. 9.1% approval rate Hom, Howard C. 15.2% approval rate Piepmeier, Kristin 3.1% approval rate Walker, Nathaniel B. 7.2% approval rate Fishkin, Andrew 15.7% approval rate Simmons, Gregory L. 10.9% approval rate Norregard, Aggie 5.9% approval rate Noche, Joyce 15.8% approval rate

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