Appointed June 2004 · President George W. Bush→ Attorney General John Ashcroft(AG inferred from date)
22 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Loreto Geisse earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1989 from Washington University and a Juris Doctor in 1995 from the Washington College of Law of American University. She began her career as a judicial law clerk through the Attorney General's Honor Program in the Baltimore, Philadelphia, and York immigration courts, then served as an attorney-advisor to the Chief Immigration Judge, as a trial attorney with the Department of Justice Civil Division's Office of Immigration Litigation, and as Counsel to the Chief Immigration Judge. She is a member of the Maryland Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
716
Completions per year
4,295 total
1.4%
Detained at decision
share of cases
13.5 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
19.1%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
3.5%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
23.3%
Appeals remanded or reversed
30 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
$3,000
Median bond when set
3 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 100%
Court average 50% · median $20,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
80.7%
431 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
9.9%
152 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
95.3%⚠
43 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
8 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
9 decisions Too few cases
80.7%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 431 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
80.7%
This court
66%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 4% 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 · 397 decisions since 2021
82.9%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 34 decisions since 2021
55.9%
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.
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).