Source: EOIR — Find an Immigration Court.
Recording an internet-based hearing is prohibited (8 C.F.R. § 1003.28). Respondents without a representative default to in-person hearings.
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Theresa Holmes-Simmons earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1985 from Brooklyn College, CUNY, and a Juris Doctor in 1988 from Rutgers University School of Law. Before her appointment, she served as an assistant district counsel for the former INS in New York (1996-1998), as a special prosecutor and assistant attorney general in the New York State Attorney General's Office (1994-1996), and as an assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office (1988-1994). She served as an immigration judge in New York City beginning in 1998 and in Charlotte from 2008.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
1,242
Completions per year
7,454 total
2%
Detained at decision
share of cases
35.4 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
44.2%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.3%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
26.2%
Appeals remanded or reversed
42 appeals decided
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
30.8%
143 decisions Moderate
Withholding / CAT
12.7%
197 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
97.1%
209 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
0%⚠
1 decision Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
99.4%
545 decisions High confidence
Voluntary departure
100%
123 decisions Moderate
30.8%
of asylum claims granted on the merits Moderate
Based on 143 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
30.8%
This court
12.6%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 43% 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 · 133 decisions since 2021
33.1%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 10 decisions since 2021
0%
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).