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 Donald Pashayan earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1994 from Boston College and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. From 2012 to 2020, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force of the District of Arizona, and from 2003 to 2012 as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Ohio and the Middle District of Florida. He was a litigation associate at Frantz Ward LLC in Cleveland (2002), served as a judge advocate in the U.S. Navy (1999-2002) and retired from the Naval Reserves in 2019, and earlier was a police officer with the Avon Lake Police Department in Ohio (1994-1999). He is a member of the Arizona State Bar and Ohio State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,041
Completions per year
6,244 total
1.5%
Detained at decision
share of cases
21.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
36.5%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
12.4%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
58.1%
Appeals remanded or reversed
167 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.
0%⚠
Bond requests granted
3 bond decisions Too few cases
—
Median bond when set
—
Released on own recognizance
This judge 0%
Court average 37.1% · median $10,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
10.5%
677 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
3.3%
1,203 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
11.5%
52 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
50%⚠
8 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
74.2%⚠
31 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
79.9%
154 decisions Moderate
10.5%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 677 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
10.5%
This court
19.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 20% 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 · 616 decisions since 2021
11.5%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 61 decisions since 2021
0%
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).