Appointed August 2018 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General Jeff Sessions
8 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Kaarina Salovaara earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1976 from Smith College and a Juris Doctor in 1980 from the University of Virginia School of Law. She clerked for Judge Barbara B. Crabb of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin from 1980 to 1981 and was an associate and later partner with Jenner & Block in Chicago from 1981 to 1991. From 1991 to 2018, she served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
788
Completions per year
4,727 total
2.3%
Detained at decision
share of cases
31.6 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
15.4%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
4.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
9.1%
Appeals remanded or reversed
55 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.
100%⚠
Bond requests granted
1 bond decision Too few cases
$5,000
Median bond when set
2 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 100%
Court average 56.1% · median $3,500
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
46.2%
435 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
6%
383 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
64.9%
114 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
7 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%
93 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
94.1%
68 decisions Moderate
46.2%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 435 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
46.2%
This court
45.7%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 23% 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 · 425 decisions since 2021
46.4%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 10 decisions since 2021
40%
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).