Appointed April 2017 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch
9 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Maria Lurye earned a Bachelor of Science in 2001 from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and a Juris Doctor in 2007 from the Rutgers School of Law-Newark. From 2008 to January 2017, she served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in New York. She was previously an associate attorney with the Kuba Law Firm in New York City. Judge Lurye is a member of the New Jersey and New York State Bars.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,020
Completions per year
6,118 total
2.3%
Detained at decision
share of cases
19.4 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
22.9%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.1%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 8 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
86.9%
764 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
25.2%
143 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
92.3%
117 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
96.4%
84 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
10 decisions Too few cases
86.9%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 764 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
86.9%
This court
57.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 2% 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 · 748 decisions since 2021
87.8%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 16 decisions since 2021
43.8%
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).