The Honorable Immigration Judge Michael P Davis

Sterling, VA Immigration Court
Appointed August 2022 · President Joe Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland
4 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration

Background

The Honorable Immigration Judge Michael P Davis earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 from John Carroll University and a Juris Doctor in 2000 from the University of Illinois College of Law. From 2016 to 2022 he served as executive deputy principal legal advisor at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and from 2005 to 2016 held appellate counsel, deputy chief, chief, and deputy principal legal advisor roles at ICE. He earlier served with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, entering through the Attorney General's Honors Program.

Caseload & process (since 2021)
685
Completions per year
3,426 total
0.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
26.5 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
34%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
8.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
7.7%
Appeals remanded or reversed
39 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.
0%
Bond requests granted
1 bond decision Too few cases
Median bond when set
Released on own recognizance
This judge 0%
Court average 50%
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
35.6% 399 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
4.2% 518 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
2.9% 34 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100% 2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
82.4% 17 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
100% 64 decisions Moderate
35.6%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 399 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
35.6%
This court
26.2%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 36% 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 · 363 decisions since 2021
38.3%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 36 decisions since 2021
8.3%

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%2022: 44.4% of 27 decisions44.4%20222023: 48.3% of 116 decisions48.3%20232024: 41.1% of 168 decisions41.1%20242025: 5.7% of 88 decisions5.7%2025

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).
Sterling, VA · home court
3,389 (99%)
34 (0.99%)
1 (0.03%)
1 (0.03%)
1 (0.03%)