The Honorable Immigration Judge Munish Sharda

Phoenix, AZ Immigration Court
Appointed June 2015 · President Barack Obama Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
11 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration

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Background

The Honorable Immigration Judge Munish Sharda earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 from the University of California, Irvine and a Juris Doctor in 2000 from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Before his appointment, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Arizona and the Western District of Wisconsin (2005-2015) and as a judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps (2000-2005).

Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,842
Completions per year
11,050 total
4.8%
Detained at decision
share of cases
13 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
26.2%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
9.9%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
70.3%
Appeals remanded or reversed
256 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.
8.3%
Bond requests granted
24 bond decisions Too few cases
$8,250
Median bond when set
2 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 8.3%
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
8.7% 970 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
1.6% 1,858 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
40.5% 247 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
50% 4 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
92.8% 83 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
81% 369 decisions High confidence
8.7%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 970 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
8.7%
This court
13.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 15% 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 · 839 decisions since 2021
9.5%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 131 decisions since 2021
3.1%

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%2015: 2.7% of 37 decisions2.7%20152016: 2.2% of 93 decisions2.2%20162017: 4.3% of 186 decisions4.3%20172018: 1.6% of 185 decisions1.6%20182019: 2.8% of 211 decisions2.8%20192020: 5.7% of 70 decisions5.7%20202021: 6.2% of 64 decisions6.2%20212022: 15.6% of 45 decisions15.6%20222023: 22.8% of 127 decisions22.8%20232024: 10.5% of 114 decisions10.5%20242025: 8.7% of 344 decisions8.7%20252026 (partial year): 0.7% of 276 decisions0.7%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).
Phoenix, AZ · home court
10,998 (100%)
21 (0.19%)
5 (0.05%)
4 (0.04%)
3 (0.03%)
3 (0.03%)