The Honorable Immigration Judge Jacquelyn J Joyce

Houston — S. Gessner Road, TX Immigration Court
Appointed August 2023 · President Joe Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland
3 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration

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▶ Join by WebEx
Dial 1-415-527-5035Access code: 2761 095 3185Telephonic 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 Jacquelyn J Joyce earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2007 from Florida State University and a Juris Doctor in 2010 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. From 2018 to 2023, she served as an assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Pearsall, Texas. From 2015 to 2018, she served as an assistant public defender in the Third Judicial Circuit of Florida in Lake City, and from 2010 to 2015 as a trial court law clerk for the Third Judicial Circuit of Florida in Live Oak. She is a member of the Florida Bar.

Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,097
Completions per year
6,581 total
8.4%
Detained at decision
share of cases
14.3 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
27.3%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
6.2%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
0%
Appeals remanded or reversed
42 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.
55.6%
Bond requests granted
45 bond decisions Too few cases
$10,000
Median bond when set
30 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 55.6%
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
3% 365 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
0.5% 663 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
0% 16 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
66.7% 3 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
36.4% 11 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
66.8% 217 decisions High confidence
3%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 365 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
3%
This court
6.9%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 5% 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 · 274 decisions since 2021
3.6%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 91 decisions since 2021
1.1%

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%2023: 12.8% of 39 decisions12.8%20232024: 5.3% of 94 decisions5.3%20242025: 0.5% of 213 decisions0.5%20252026 (partial year): 0% of 19 decisions0%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
6,135 (93%)
234 (3.6%)
171 (2.6%)
10 (0.15%)
5 (0.08%)
5 (0.08%)