The Honorable Immigration Judge Nicole Lane

Newark, NJ Immigration Court
Appointed August 2022 · President Joe Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland (AG inferred from date)
4 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration

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Background

The Honorable Immigration Judge Nicole Lane was appointed to begin hearing cases in August 2022. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1996 from the State University of New York at Albany and a Juris Doctor in 1999 from the George Washington University Law School. From 2008 to 2018 she served as an administrative law judge and later senior administrative law judge at the New York State Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, and from 2018 to 2022 as an assistant director at the New York State Adjudication Services Office. She is a member of the New Jersey State Bar and the New York State Bar and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,622
Completions per year
9,729 total
7.6%
Detained at decision
share of cases
18.7 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
24.8%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
8.6%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
7.1%
Appeals remanded or reversed
352 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.
44.9%
Bond requests granted
49 bond decisions Too few cases
$5,000
Median bond when set
16 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 44.9%
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
8.1% 1,350 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
1.9% 1,569 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
3.8% 26 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
42.9% 7 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
97% 337 decisions High confidence
8.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 1,350 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
8.1%
This court
19.9%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 14% 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 · 981 decisions since 2021
9.8%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 369 decisions since 2021
3.8%

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.
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%2022: 37.5% of 16 decisions37.5%20222023: 26.9% of 182 decisions26.9%20232024: 11.7% of 290 decisions11.7%20242025: 6.9% of 276 decisions6.9%20252026 (partial year): 0.3% of 586 decisions0.3%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).
Newark, NJ · home court
9,371 (96%)
267 (2.7%)
8 (0.08%)
8 (0.08%)
7 (0.07%)
5 (0.05%)