The Honorable Immigration Judge Jason L Pope

Sterling, VA Immigration Court
Appointed May 2019 · President Donald Trump Attorney General William P. Barr
7 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration

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Background

The Honorable Immigration Judge Jason L Pope earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2003 from Niagara University and a Juris Doctor in 2006 from Syracuse University College of Law. From 2007 to 2012 he was an associate attorney specializing in immigration law at Berlin & Associates, P.A. in Baltimore, and later operated the Law Office of Jason Pope in Frederick, Maryland. From 2014 to 2019 he served as an assistant chief counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore.

Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,235
Completions per year
7,410 total
3.2%
Detained at decision
share of cases
11.1 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
26.1%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
14.1%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
7.3%
Appeals remanded or reversed
410 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.
26.4%
Bond requests granted
87 bond decisions Moderate
$15,000
Median bond when set
41 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 26.4%
Court average 50%
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
25.7% 1,517 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
2.4% 2,249 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
4.2% 72 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
20% 5 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
71.4% 21 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
89.3% 363 decisions High confidence
25.7%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 1,517 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
25.7%
This court
26.2%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 49% 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 · 1,386 decisions since 2021
26.5%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 131 decisions since 2021
17.6%

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%2019: 33.3% of 93 decisions33.3%20192020: 8.1% of 74 decisions8.1%20202021: 15.1% of 53 decisions15.1%20212022: 35.7% of 485 decisions35.7%20222023: 39.5% of 185 decisions39.5%20232024: 30.3% of 208 decisions30.3%20242025: 17.6% of 410 decisions17.6%20252026 (partial year): 0.6% of 176 decisions0.6%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).
Sterling, VA · home court
4,853 (65%)
2,177 (29%)
282 (3.8%)
18 (0.24%)
13 (0.18%)
13 (0.18%)