Appointed October 2018 · President Donald Trump→ Attorney General Jeff Sessions
7 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Sebastian T. Patti earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1975 from Duke University and a Juris Doctor in 1978 from the University of Kansas School of Law. He served as regional counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago from 1979 to 1995, and then served for more than two decades as a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, including in its Housing Section, Chancery Division, and Domestic Violence Division, as well as briefly on the Illinois Appellate Court (2009-2010). He was appointed as an immigration judge in October 2018 and sits at the Chicago Immigration Court. Judge Patti is a member of the Kansas and Illinois State Bars.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
913
Completions per year
5,480 total
2.1%
Detained at decision
share of cases
21.6 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
19.6%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.4%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
45.5%
Appeals remanded or reversed
22 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
81.1%
433 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
13.6%
162 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
82.8%
122 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
7 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
98.3%
58 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
97.7%⚠
44 decisions Too few cases
81.1%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 433 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
81.1%
This court
45.7%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 4% 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 · 422 decisions since 2021
82.2%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 11 decisions since 2021
36.4%
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.
* 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).