The Honorable Immigration Judge Karen Donoso-Stevens
Annandale (ANN), VA Immigration Court
Appointed October 2016 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
9 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Karen Donoso-Stevens earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1995 from the University of Illinois and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from Michigan State University College of Law. She served as a senior attorney for the Office of the Chief Counsel at Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 2010 to 2016 and as an assistant chief counsel there from 2007 to 2010, following earlier work as a staff attorney for the Children's Project at the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, juvenile diversion program director for the California Bar Foundation, and assistant state's attorney for the Illinois State's Attorney's Office. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
515
Completions per year
3,091 total
72.4%
Detained at decision
share of cases
3.6 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
3.4%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
9.8%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
36.3%
Appeals remanded or reversed
182 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.
62.3%
Bond requests granted
1,232 bond decisions High confidence
$5,000
Median bond when set
727 bonds with amounts
3.6%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 62.3%
Court average 62.1% · median $5,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
24.6%
256 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
18.8%
558 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
15.4%⚠
39 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
71.4%⚠
7 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
75%⚠
28 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
84.2%
430 decisions High confidence
24.6%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 256 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
24.6%
This court
27.1%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 48% 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 · 219 decisions since 2021
26.9%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 37 decisions since 2021
10.8%
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).