The Honorable Immigration Judge Joyce Noche

Santa Ana, CA Immigration Court
Appointed March 2022 · President Joe Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland
4 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration

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Background

The Honorable Immigration Judge Joyce Noche earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1996 from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the University of California, Davis, School of Law. Before her appointment, she served as legal services director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, held senior attorney roles, worked as an asylum officer and in supervisory positions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and served as a staff attorney with Legal Momentum and the Legal Aid Society.

Caseload & process (since 2021)
951
Completions per year
5,706 total
1.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
12.6 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
25.8%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
11.3%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
11.7%
Appeals remanded or reversed
60 appeals decided

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
29.4% 1,076 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
3% 1,377 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
7.1% 14 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100% 5 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
92.9% 14 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
96.9% 64 decisions Moderate
29.4%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 1,076 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
29.4%
This court
19.1%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 46% 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 · 999 decisions since 2021
30.5%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 77 decisions since 2021
14.3%

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%2022: 75% of 60 decisions75%20222023: 61.7% of 149 decisions61.7%20232024: 35.8% of 179 decisions35.8%20242025: 25.8% of 380 decisions25.8%20252026 (partial year): 5.5% of 308 decisions5.5%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).
Santa Ana, CA · home court
5,514 (97%)
53 (0.93%)
32 (0.56%)
24 (0.42%)
18 (0.32%)
8 (0.14%)