Fort Snelling immigration court
Address
Fort Snelling Immigration Court: 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1850, Fort Snelling, MN 55111
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 2 got relief. The vast majority end without relief.
5 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 (5.0 % and 0.1 %).
Of the 11,723 decisions in this court, 235 ended with relief, 1,036 with the case closed, 787 with voluntary departure and 9,665 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 235 | 2.0 % |
| Case closed | 1,036 | 8.8 % |
| Voluntary departure | 787 | 6.7 % |
| Removal order | 9,665 | 82.4 % |
| Decided in absentia | 5,529 | 47.2 % |
This court and the nation
With the Fort Snelling court, the share of cases with relief is 2.0 %: similar than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the Fort Snelling court, the share of removal orders is 82.4 %: higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the Fort Snelling court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 47.2 %: higher than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the Fort Snelling court, the share of people with an attorney is 39.3 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the Fort Snelling court take about the same as nationwide: a median of 785 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 4,602 | 5.0 % |
| Without an attorney | 7,121 | 0.1 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 42 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 26 of 71 courts for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Sep 2025 (1,319 decisions) and the quietest Nov 2025 (687).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,319 | 15 | 778 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 1,007 | 10 | 509 | down |
| Nov 2025 | 687 | 2 | 336 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 690 | 8 | 341 | up |
| Jan 2026 | 877 | 3 | 510 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 894 | 2 | 517 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 958 | 20 | 496 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 1,061 | 39 | 455 | up |
| May 2026 | 1,129 | 32 | 453 | up |
| Jun 2026 | 1,172 | 44 | 437 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 1,122 | 32 | 440 | down |
| Aug 2026 | 807 | 28 | 257 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
10 judges have this as their main court in the window. The one who decided the most was Brian Sardelli, with 2,808 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 Brian Sardelli | 2,808 | 0.3 % | 57.9 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Monte G. Miller | 2,629 | 0.9 % | 43.8 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Kalin Ivany | 2,139 | 0.8 % | 46.2 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge M. Audrey Carr | 1,855 | 1.4 % | 51.8 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Nina M. Carbone | 1,498 | 6.2 % | 34.0 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Sarah B. Mazzie | 1,079 | 1.5 % | 50.9 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Andrew J. Caborn | 702 | 7.6 % | 1.0 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Chris A. Brisack | 458 | 4.4 % | 3.1 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Nathan M. Hansen | 346 | 1.7 % | 11.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Amy K. Zaske | 224 | 0.0 % | 72.3 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |