The Honorable Immigration Judge Vivienne E Gordon-Uruakpa
New York — Federal Plaza, NY Immigration Court
Appointed June 2002 · President George W. Bush→ Attorney General John Ashcroft(AG inferred from date)
24 years on the immigration bench
Appointed under a Republican administration
Caseload & process (since 2021)
753
Completions per year
4,517 total
2.3%
Detained at decision
share of cases
19.9 mo
Median time to decision
from case start
12.2%
Ordered removed in absentia
person absent
0.5%
Decisions appealed to BIA
appeal rate
—
Appeals remanded or reversed
only 7 appeals — too few
Grant rates by type of relief
Share granted among merits decisions for each application type, since 2021.
Asylum
89.9%
680 decisions High confidence
Withholding / CAT
28.8%
132 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42B (non-LPR)
96%
101 decisions Moderate
Cancellation — 42A (LPR)
100%⚠
3 decisions Too few cases
Adjustment of status (245)
98.6%
73 decisions Moderate
Voluntary departure
100%⚠
14 decisions Too few cases
89.9%
of asylum claims granted on the merits High confidence
Based on 680 asylum decisions (grants + denials) since 2021.
This judge
89.9%
This court
57.3%
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 · 672 decisions since 2021
90%
Without a lawyer⚠unrepresented · 8 decisions since 2021
75%
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).