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 Jason L Stern earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2008 from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor in 2014 from Seton Hall University School of Law. From 2022 to 2023, he served as a deputy chief counsel with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Houston. From 2018 to 2022, he served as an assistant chief counsel in San Antonio (Pearsall), and from 2015 to 2018 as a presidential management fellow and asylum officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Washington, D.C. From 2014 to 2015 he clerked for the Honorable Sohail Mohammed of the New Jersey Superior Court. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,047
Completions per year
6,284 total
18.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
11.4 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
26.2%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
12%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
9.9%
Appeals remanded or reversed
81 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.
29.7%
Bond requests granted
138 bond decisions Moderate
$8,500
Median bond when set
39 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 29.7%
Court average 48.8% · median $7,500
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
4.5%
579 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
0.2%
1,123 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
0%⚠
30 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
33.3%⚠
3 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
25%⚠
8 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
45.5%
121 decisions Moderate
4.5%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 579 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
4.5%
This court
6.8%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 7% 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 · 341 decisions since 2021
7.3%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 238 decisions since 2021
0.4%
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).