The Honorable Immigration Judge Virginia Perez-Guzman
Dallas, TX Immigration Court
Appointed December 2010 · President Barack Obama→ Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.
15 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Democratic administration
Background
The Honorable Immigration Judge Virginia Perez-Guzman earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1993 from Florida International University and a Juris Doctor in 1997 from the University of Miami School of Law. From 2009 to 2010 she was in private practice in Miami, and from 2002 to 2009 she directed the Miami office of the Immigration and Refugee Program at Church World Service. Earlier she served as a program administrator for the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (2000-2002) and founded and directed Lucha: A Women's Legal Program at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (1997-2000). She is a member of the Florida Bar.
Caseload & process (since 2021)
892
Completions per year
5,354 total
16.4%
Detained at decision
share of cases
23 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
18.3%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
1.7%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
16.4%
Appeals remanded or reversed
55 appeals decided
Bond decisions
Custody redetermination (bond) rulings since 2021.
"Granted" means the judge lowered the bond, ordered release on recognizance, or otherwise granted the request.
42.4%
Bond requests granted
257 bond decisions High confidence
$7,500
Median bond when set
119 bonds with amounts
0%
Released on own recognizance
This judge 42.4%
Court average 24% · median $10,000
National 41.9% · median $6,500
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
39.2%
237 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
6.9%
333 decisions High confidence
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
43.6%
55 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
80%⚠
15 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
77.8%⚠
27 decisions Too few cases
Voluntary departure
44.9%
214 decisions High confidence
39.2%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 237 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
39.2%
This court
14.1%
National average
31.8%
0%100% granted
In the top 31% 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 · 163 decisions since 2021
50.3%
Without a lawyerunrepresented · 74 decisions since 2021
14.9%
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).