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 Cynthia Shepherd Torg earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1989 and a Juris Doctor in 1992, both from the University of Virginia. She served as an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Virginia Beach from 1993 to 1998 and then clerked for U.S. District Judge Tommy E. Miller. From 1998 to 2018 she was a senior trial attorney in the Organized Crime and Gang Section at the Department of Justice, including service as chief counsel for the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center from 2004 to 2008. She is a member of the Virginia State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
905
Completions per year
5,430 total
0.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
31.4 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
25.3%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
8.8%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
15.6%
Appeals remanded or reversed
45 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
24%
541 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
4.3%
789 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
42.2%⚠
45 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
0%⚠
1 decision Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
69.6%⚠
23 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
96%
124 decisions Moderate
24%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 541 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
24%
This court
32.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 47% 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 · 487 decisions since 2021
22.8%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 54 decisions since 2021
35.2%
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.
* 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).