New York - Varick Immigration Court
Address
New York - Varick Immigration Court: 201 Varick Street, 5th Floor, Room 507, New York, NY 10014
Court decisions over 12 months
In plain words
Out of every 100 cases decided in this court, 4 got relief. The vast majority end without relief.
4 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 an attorney, 6 of every 100 got relief; without one, 0 of every 100 (6.2 % and 0.4 %).
Of the 9,128 decisions in this court, 359 ended with relief, 1,424 with the case closed, 430 with voluntary departure and 6,915 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 359 | 3.9 % |
| Case closed | 1,424 | 15.6 % |
| Voluntary departure | 430 | 4.7 % |
| Removal order | 6,915 | 75.8 % |
| Decided in absentia | 3,607 | 39.5 % |
This court and the nation
With the New York court, the share of cases with relief is 3.9 %: higher than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the New York court, the share of removal orders is 75.8 %: similar than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the New York court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 39.5 %: lower than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the New York court, the share of people with an attorney is 61.4 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the New York court take about the same as nationwide: a median of 795 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 5,607 | 6.2 % |
| Without an attorney | 3,521 | 0.4 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 20 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 36 of 71 courts for cases decided in absentia (1 = most in absentia).
Decisions per month (Sep 2025 – Aug 2026)
The busiest month was Aug 2026 (1,046 decisions) and the quietest Dec 2025 (439).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 672 | 33 | 344 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 670 | 33 | 301 | down |
| Nov 2025 | 629 | 36 | 307 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 439 | 30 | 172 | down |
| Jan 2026 | 546 | 11 | 177 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 580 | 13 | 281 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 813 | 40 | 279 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 858 | 13 | 342 | up |
| May 2026 | 1,008 | 64 | 340 | up |
| Jun 2026 | 990 | 25 | 348 | down |
| Jul 2026 | 877 | 26 | 306 | down |
| Aug 2026 | 1,046 | 35 | 410 | up |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
15 judges have this as their main court in the window (2 with limited data). The one who decided the most was Maria I. Akalski, with 2,392 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 Maria I. Akalski | 2,392 | 0.4 % | 40.7 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Shayne R. Burnham | 1,493 | 2.9 % | 43.1 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Francisco R. Prieto | 1,320 | 1.7 % | 46.6 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Lisa W. Ling | 1,260 | 3.3 % | 27.4 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge John DeCure | 1,168 | 1.5 % | 51.0 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Margaret Kolbe | 962 | 11.5 % | 34.0 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Thomas Mungoven | 485 | 5.0 % | 54.6 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Dara Reid | 462 | 2.2 % | 6.5 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Charles R. Conroy | 426 | 3.3 % | 13.2 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Kieran Lalor | 426 | 2.1 % | 40.8 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Thomas J. Mulligan | 206 | 7.3 % | 66.5 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Denise Bowen | 194 | 1.6 % | 51.0 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Lucy Billings | 81 | 7.4 % | 64.2 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Wendy Wedderburn | 21 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |
| Judge Jennifer Durkin | 2 | limited data | limited data | Limited data: Not enough data to compare |