Appointed October 2022 · President Joe Biden→ Attorney General Merrick Garland
3 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge David Kim earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1990 from Emory University, a Master of Public Administration in 1997 from West Virginia University, and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from Brooklyn Law School. From 2011 to 2022, he was in private practice as the founder and principal attorney of the Law Office of David K. S. Kim PC, in Flushing, New York, focusing exclusively on immigration and nationality law. From 2006 to 2011, he was a senior associate at Bretz & Coven, LLP, in New York City. From 2003 to 2006, he was an associate at Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger, and Tetzeli P.A. in Miami. From 2001 to 2003, he served as a staff attorney law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Judge Kim is a member of the New York State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
617
Completions per year
3,704 total
3.6%
Detained at decision
share of cases
16.6 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
19.5%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.5%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 14 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
86.5%
490 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
19.7%
127 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
57.1%⚠
7 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
16 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
13 decisions Too few cases
86.5%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 490 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
86.5%
This court
57.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 2% 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 · 481 decisions since 2021
86.7%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 9 decisions since 2021
77.8%
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).