Appointed December 2020 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General William P. Barr
5 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Samuel Y Kim earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2000 from Vanderbilt University and a Juris Doctor in 2004 from Washington University in Saint Louis School of Law. Before his appointment, he worked in private practice in San Francisco and Los Angeles, served as an assistant chief counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and served on active duty as a judge advocate in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
228
Completions per year
683 total
0.1%
Detained at decision
share of cases
56 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
1.8%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.5%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 4 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
92.4%
211 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
11.1%⚠
27 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
83.3%⚠
6 decisions Too few cases
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
2 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
100%⚠
18 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
85.7%⚠
7 decisions Too few cases
92.4%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 211 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
92.4%
This court
68.2%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 1% 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 · 209 decisions since 2021
92.3%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 2 decisions since 2021
100%
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).