Appointed August 2023 · President Joe Biden→ Attorney General Merrick Garland
3 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Sameer Ahmed earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2003 from Stanford University, a Master of Science in 2005 from the University of London, a Master of Studies in 2007 from the University of Oxford, and a Juris Doctor in 2009 from Yale Law School. From 2020 to 2023, he was a clinical instructor in the Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program at Harvard Law School, and from 2019 to 2020 he was an assistant teaching professor at Northeastern University School of Law. He was an attorney at the ACLU of Southern California (2017-2019) and at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Boston (2013-2014 and 2015-2017), and served as a law clerk to U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Kermit V. Lipez (2014-2015) and U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris (2011-2013). Earlier he was a Skadden fellow at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. He is a member of the Massachusetts and New York State Bars.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
712
Completions per year
4,274 total
3.5%
Detained at decision
share of cases
27.1 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
1.9%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.2%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 10 appeals — too few
Bond decisions
Custody redetermination (bond) rulings since 2021.
"Granted" means the judge lowered the bond, ordered release on recognizance, or otherwise granted the request.
73.3%⚠
Bond requests granted
30 bond decisions Too few cases
$7,250
Median bond when set
22 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 73.3%
Court average 60.8% · median $5,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
84.3%
407 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
7.8%
115 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
35%⚠
20 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
50%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
25 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
97.6%⚠
42 decisions Too few cases
84.3%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 407 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
84.3%
This court
36.8%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 3% 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 · 399 decisions since 2021
85.5%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 8 decisions since 2021
25%
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).