The Honorable Immigration Judge Nimmo Bhagat

Houston, TX 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 Nimmo Bhagat earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1981 from Patna Women's College and a Master of Arts in 1983 from Patna University in India, a Juris Doctor in 1988 from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, and a second Master of Arts in 1990 from Memphis State University. From 1996 to 2015 she was an immigration attorney in private practice in Memphis, Tennessee, and earlier served as counsel at Wolff Ardis, P.C. (1991-1995) and at Memphis Area Legal Services (1989-1991). She is a member of the Tennessee Bar.

Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,574
Completions per year
9,444 total
1.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
14 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
29.4%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
9.3%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
8.6%
Appeals remanded or reversed
105 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%
National 41.9% · median $6,500

Grant rates by type of relief

Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
14% 1,062 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
2.8% 1,970 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
32.1% 106 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
72.7% 11 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
92% 50 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
80.7% 114 decisions Moderate
14%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 1,062 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
14%
This court
10.4%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the bottom 29% 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 · 816 decisions since 2021
15.4%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 246 decisions since 2021
9.3%

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%2015: 6.5% of 186 decisions6.5%20152016: 14.7% of 593 decisions14.7%20162017: 13.2% of 567 decisions13.2%20172018: 10.9% of 679 decisions10.9%20182019: 8.3% of 629 decisions8.3%20192020: 7.9% of 189 decisions7.9%20202021: 12.8% of 39 decisions12.8%20212022: 18.9% of 190 decisions18.9%20222023: 35.6% of 104 decisions35.6%20232024: 31.6% of 98 decisions31.6%20242025: 9.2% of 436 decisions9.2%20252026 (partial year): 0% of 195 decisions0%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).
Houston, TX · home court
9,307 (99%)
90 (0.95%)
9 (0.10%)
5 (0.05%)
4 (0.04%)
4 (0.04%)