The Honorable Immigration Judge Bao Q Nguyen

Houston, TX Immigration Court
Appointed October 2019 · President Donald Trump Attorney General William P. Barr
6 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration

Attend this judge's internet-based hearing

EOIR publishes a WebEx link and telephonic access code for each sitting judge. Use these only if you have a hearing scheduled before this judge.

▶ Join by WebEx
Dial 1-415-527-5035Access code: 199 062 7728Telephonic access
Source: EOIR — Find an Immigration Court. Recording an internet-based hearing is prohibited (8 C.F.R. § 1003.28). Respondents without a representative default to in-person hearings.

Background

The Honorable Immigration Judge Bao Q. Nguyen earned a Bachelor of Science in 2001 from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from Temple University School of Law. Before his appointment, he served as an assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in San Antonio and Pearsall, Texas (2016-2019). Earlier he was an attorney at Margaret W. Wong & Associates in Cleveland (2013-2016) and at Reza Athari & Associates in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City (2007-2013).

Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,479
Completions per year
8,876 total
4.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
24 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
22%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
6.4%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
1.7%
Appeals remanded or reversed
59 appeals decided

Bond decisions

Custody redetermination (bond) rulings since 2021. "Granted" means the judge lowered the bond, ordered release on recognizance, or otherwise granted the request.
100%
Bond requests granted
1 bond decision Too few cases
$7,000
Median bond when set
1 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 100%
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
19.8% 805 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
1.8% 1,228 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
23.4% 64 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
89.5% 19 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
92.6% 68 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
76.7% 103 decisions Moderate
19.8%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 805 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
19.8%
This court
10.4%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 39% of the 825 judges nationally with enough cases to compare.

Does a lawyer matter here?

Asylum grant rate by whether the person had legal representation.
With a lawyerrepresented · 639 decisions since 2021
23%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 166 decisions since 2021
7.2%

Asylum grant rate over time

Each point is that calendar year's grant rate, back to 2015 where the judge was deciding cases — the longer career view. Dashed grey line = current national average (31.8%). Headline rates above use 2021 – today.
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%2016: 0% of 1 decisions0%20162018: 0% of 4 decisions0%20182019: 3.5% of 85 decisions3.5%20192020: 13.8% of 138 decisions13.8%20202021: 26.8% of 41 decisions26.8%20212022: 36.1% of 122 decisions36.1%20222023: 38.3% of 47 decisions38.3%20232024: 29.9% of 87 decisions29.9%20242025: 14.4% of 326 decisions14.4%20252026 (partial year): 7.1% of 182 decisions7.1%2026*
* 2026 is a partial year (data through 06/01/2026) and is incomplete.

Courts where this judge has decided cases

Hearing locations for cases this judge completed since 2021, by number of decisions. Many judges hear cases from more than one court (detained facilities, video dockets, or reassignments).
Houston, TX · home court
8,447 (95%)
323 (3.6%)
20 (0.23%)
16 (0.18%)
13 (0.15%)
8 (0.09%)