Appointed October 2010 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
15 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Philip J Costa earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1989 and a Juris Doctor in 1992, both from New York University. From 1992 to 1997 he was a commercial litigation associate at Chadbourne & Parke LLP in New York. He then served as an assistant district counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service in New York from 1997 to 2003, and as a deputy chief counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in New York from 2003 to 2010. He is a member of the New York State Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
814
Completions per year
4,069 total
0.6%
Detained at decision
share of cases
23.2 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
13.2%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
3.8%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
5.4%
Appeals remanded or reversed
37 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
56.9%
364 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
3.9%
380 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
72.9%
144 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
78.9%⚠
19 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
91.6%
83 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
92.5%⚠
40 decisions Too few cases
56.9%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 364 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
56.9%
This court
32.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 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 · 354 decisions since 2021
57.9%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 10 decisions since 2021
20%
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.
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).