The Honorable Immigration Judge Mark Sameit

Otay Mesa, CA Immigration Court
Appointed October 2021 · President Joe Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland
4 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration

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Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,044
Completions per year
6,264 total
46.5%
Detained at decision
share of cases
1.2 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
0.3%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
3.8%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
27.2%
Appeals remanded or reversed
114 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.
61.6%
Bond requests granted
1,101 bond decisions High confidence
$6,000
Median bond when set
665 bonds with amounts
0.1%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 61.6%
Court average 60.8% · 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
30.1% 435 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
4.3% 759 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
10.5% 19 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
25% 4 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
40% 5 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
88.2% 398 decisions High confidence
30.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 435 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
30.1%
This court
31.3%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 44% 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 · 366 decisions since 2021
32%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 69 decisions since 2021
20.3%

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.
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%2017: 0% of 1 decisions0%20172018: 100% of 2 decisions100%20182020: 0% of 1 decisions0%20202021: 16.7% of 18 decisions16.7%20212022: 17.1% of 35 decisions17.1%20222023: 24.5% of 49 decisions24.5%20232024: 31% of 100 decisions31%20242025: 33.5% of 194 decisions33.5%20252026 (partial year): 35.9% of 39 decisions35.9%2026*
* 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).
Otay Mesa, CA · home court
6,136 (98%)
59 (0.94%)
45 (0.72%)
18 (0.29%)
5 (0.08%)