Appointed October 2021 · President Joe Biden→ Attorney General Merrick Garland
4 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Shira M Levine earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2005 from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor in 2012 from Stanford Law School. Before her appointment to the San Francisco Immigration Court, she worked with immigration advocacy organizations.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
722
Completions per year
4,335 total
0.7%
Detained at decision
share of cases
44.6 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
3.9%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
2.4%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 19 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
95.5%
1,199 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
30.9%
110 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
96.1%
76 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
8 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
98.4%
61 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
31 decisions Too few cases
95.5%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 1,199 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
95.5%
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 · 1,156 decisions since 2021
95.9%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 43 decisions since 2021
83.7%
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).