The Honorable Immigration Judge Donna M. Bates was appointed as an immigration judge to begin hearing cases in July 2026. Judge Bates earned a Bachelor of Science in 1992 from the United States Air Force Academy and a Juris Doctor in 2004 from Fordham University School of Law. From April 2018 to July 2026, she served as vice president and assistant general counsel for Cenlar FSB in Yardley, Pennsylvania. From August 2017 to April 2018, she served as an attorney at the Bayne Law Group LLC in Princeton, New Jersey. From March 2014 to May 2017, she served as of counsel in the consumer finance litigation practice group at Blank Rome LLP in Princeton, New Jersey. From March 2010 to March 2014, she served as a senior associate attorney in the business and finance litigation group at Reed Smith LLP in Princeton, New Jersey. From November 2007 to March 2010, she served as a senior associate attorney at Robinson Brog Leinwand Greene Genovese & Gluck PC in New York, New York. From October 2005 to November 2007, she served as a deputy district attorney in the District Attorney’s Office, 4th Judicial District, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. From January 2002 to June 2005, she served as an associate attorney and associate intern at Postner & Rubin in New York, New York. From May 1994 to June 1997, she served as a protocol officer and flight commander in the U.S. Air Force at Misawa Air Base, Japan. From May 1992 to May 1994, she served as a section commander in the U.S. Air Force at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. Judge Bates is a member of the New Jersey State Bar and the New York State Bar.
| Asylum | 0%⚠ | 3 decisions Too few cases | |
| Withholding / CAT | 0%⚠ | 6 decisions Too few cases |