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 John Burns earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2004 from Beloit College and a Juris Doctor in 2009 from Fordham University School of Law. He served as an attorney with the Social Security Administration (2010-2016) and as an assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in New York (2016-2020), and has served as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the New York Army National Guard since 2013, including a deployment to Kuwait and Iraq (2016-2017).
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,171
Completions per year
7,025 total
3.6%
Detained at decision
share of cases
18.4 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
36.3%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
23.1%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
3.4%
Appeals remanded or reversed
177 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.
10.7%⚠
Bond requests granted
28 bond decisions Too few cases
$3,500
Median bond when set
5 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 10.7%
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
2.1%
1,676 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
0.6%
3,214 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
0%
71 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
83.3%⚠
6 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
76.9%⚠
26 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
98.1%
161 decisions Moderate
2.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 1,676 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
2.1%
This court
33.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 3% 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 · 1,039 decisions since 2021
3.4%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 637 decisions since 2021
0.2%
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).