Charlotte immigration court
Address
Charlotte Immigration Court: 5701 Executive Center Drive, Suite 400, Charlotte, NC 28212
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 1 got relief. Very few cases end with relief.
7 of every 10 cases were decided in absentia, without the person at the hearing. Going to your hearing is the most important thing you can do.
With and without an attorney, the share with relief was similar (3.7 % and 0.1 %).
Of the 28,517 decisions in this court, 330 ended with relief, 1,590 with the case closed, 1,054 with voluntary departure and 25,543 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 330 | 1.2 % |
| Case closed | 1,590 | 5.6 % |
| Voluntary departure | 1,054 | 3.7 % |
| Removal order | 25,543 | 89.6 % |
| Decided in absentia | 18,619 | 65.3 % |
This court and the nation
With the Charlotte court, the share of cases with relief is 1.2 %: lower than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the Charlotte court, the share of removal orders is 89.6 %: higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the Charlotte court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 65.3 %: higher than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the Charlotte court, the share of people with an attorney is 30.5 %: lower than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the Charlotte court take longer than nationwide: a median of 975 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 8,683 | 3.7 % |
| Without an attorney | 19,834 | 0.1 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 55 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 10 of 71 courts for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Jun 2026 (3,139 decisions) and the quietest Jan 2026 (1,726).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 2,063 | 26 | 1,452 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 2,176 | 28 | 1,548 | up |
| Nov 2025 | 2,108 | 22 | 1,582 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 1,935 | 21 | 1,372 | down |
| Jan 2026 | 1,726 | 16 | 1,121 | down |
| Feb 2026 | 2,042 | 25 | 1,283 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 2,398 | 27 | 1,377 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 2,363 | 31 | 1,459 | down |
| May 2026 | 2,457 | 27 | 1,547 | up |
| Jun 2026 | 3,139 | 24 | 1,978 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 3,123 | 34 | 1,881 | down |
| Aug 2026 | 2,987 | 49 | 2,019 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
28 judges have this as their main court in the window (1 with limited data). The one who decided the most was Amy T. Lee, with 5,452 decisions.
Sorted by decisions over 12 months. The label compares each judge with the other judges in the court.
| Judge | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. the court |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge Amy T. Lee | 5,452 | 0.3 % | 83.1 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Scott D. Criss | 4,240 | 0.1 % | 81.9 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jeffery R. Nance | 3,272 | 0.2 % | 83.3 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Abby Anna. Batko-Taylor | 1,893 | 3.2 % | 74.8 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Alicia Brooks | 1,871 | 1.7 % | 55.4 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Ellen Karesh | 1,611 | 0.9 % | 58.6 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Theresa Holmes-Simmons | 1,567 | 0.4 % | 86.3 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Wade Thomas Napier | 1,107 | 2.8 % | 54.1 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Joseph Kassell | 1,061 | 3.5 % | 27.1 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Robert K. Lundberg | 930 | 5.2 % | 54.2 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Brian T. Palmer | 926 | 4.3 % | 23.2 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Stephen Stewart | 834 | 4.4 % | 28.5 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Chadwick Dotson | 808 | 4.2 % | 66.7 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Nicholas A. Martz | 768 | 3.3 % | 1.7 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge James C. Graulich | 757 | 3.4 % | 1.2 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Robert M. Lewandowski | 707 | 2.4 % | 11.6 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Charles N. Purnell | 702 | 1.4 % | 28.6 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Lisa A. de Cardona | 671 | 3.6 % | 10.7 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge David White | 530 | 3.2 % | 4.7 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Derek Julius | 418 | 5.7 % | 31.8 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Amy Walker | 380 | 0.0 % | 84.2 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jennifer Wells | 334 | 0.0 % | 56.3 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Steve Mannion | 174 | 2.3 % | 2.9 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Jeb Terrien | 122 | 11.5 % | 3.3 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge James Ingold | 115 | 0.0 % | 81.7 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Christopher Bragg | 92 | 0.0 % | 83.7 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Maria Lopez-Enriquez | 80 | 0.0 % | 0.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Charlotte D. Brown | 19 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |