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 Kalenna Lee earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2005 from New York University and a Juris Doctor in 2010 from Brooklyn Law School. She served as an assistant chief counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York (2015-2023), as an asylum officer with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (2013-2015), and was in private practice at Kuzmin and Associates PC in New York (2010-2013).
Caseload & process (since 2021)
473
Completions per year
2,837 total
4.3%
Detained at decision
share of cases
16.4 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
28.1%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
15.8%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
4%
Appeals remanded or reversed
200 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
29.1%
677 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
3.7%
896 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
0%⚠
26 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
50%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
85.7%⚠
7 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
93.5%⚠
46 decisions Too few cases
29.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 677 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
29.1%
This court
33.3%
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 · 488 decisions since 2021
39.5%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 189 decisions since 2021
2.1%
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).