Philadelphia immigration court
Address
Philadelphia Immigration Court: 900 Market Street, Suite 504, Philadelphia, PA 19107
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.
6 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, 11 of every 100 got relief; without one, 0 of every 100 (10.5 % and 0.1 %).
Of the 17,147 decisions in this court, 712 ended with relief, 975 with the case closed, 1,194 with voluntary departure and 14,266 with a removal order.
| Outcome | Decisions | % |
|---|---|---|
| Relief | 712 | 4.2 % |
| Case closed | 975 | 5.7 % |
| Voluntary departure | 1,194 | 7.0 % |
| Removal order | 14,266 | 83.2 % |
| Decided in absentia | 9,908 | 57.8 % |
This court and the nation
With the Philadelphia court, the share of cases with relief is 4.2 %: higher than nationwide (2.4 %).
With the Philadelphia court, the share of removal orders is 83.2 %: higher than nationwide (75.6 %).
With the Philadelphia court, the share of cases decided in absentia is 57.8 %: higher than nationwide (45.3 %).
With the Philadelphia court, the share of people with an attorney is 39.0 %: higher than nationwide (38.1 %).
Cases with the Philadelphia court take longer than nationwide: a median of 942 days versus 793.
With and without an attorney
| Decisions | Relief | |
|---|---|---|
| With an attorney | 6,678 | 10.5 % |
| Without an attorney | 10,469 | 0.1 % |
Compared with other courts
- Ranked 16 of 71 courts for relief (1 = most relief).
- Ranked 15 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 (2,486 decisions) and the quietest Dec 2025 (1,087).
| Month | Decisions | Relief | In absentia | Vs. prior month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 1,354 | 80 | 905 | — |
| Oct 2025 | 1,227 | 64 | 710 | down |
| Nov 2025 | 1,124 | 59 | 685 | down |
| Dec 2025 | 1,087 | 35 | 717 | down |
| Jan 2026 | 1,183 | 37 | 658 | up |
| Feb 2026 | 1,213 | 20 | 696 | up |
| Mar 2026 | 1,498 | 72 | 797 | up |
| Apr 2026 | 1,427 | 57 | 679 | down |
| May 2026 | 1,391 | 59 | 631 | down |
| Jun 2026 | 2,486 | 114 | 1,635 | up |
| Jul 2026 | 1,921 | 77 | 1,050 | down |
| Aug 2026 | 1,236 | 38 | 745 | down |
Months with fewer than 5 decisions are dotted: with so few cases, that month's percentage says little.
Judges at this court
14 judges have this as their main court in the window. The one who decided the most was Mary C. Lee, with 2,285 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 Mary C. Lee | 2,285 | 4.5 % | 66.1 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge John B. Carle | 2,268 | 6.8 % | 59.2 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Forrest W., III Hoover | 2,254 | 1.5 % | 67.1 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Joseph C. Scott | 2,139 | 3.8 % | 23.6 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Antonio Capistrano | 2,003 | 5.4 % | 57.8 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Lauren T. Farber | 1,719 | 3.4 % | 73.7 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Dawn Kulick | 1,678 | 2.0 % | 75.9 % | Less relief: Less relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Melissa Fox | 803 | 5.0 % | 60.7 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge William Mcdermott | 698 | 4.4 % | 43.7 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Ayodele Gansallo | 690 | 9.6 % | 38.6 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |
| Judge Johanna P. Gaymer | 229 | 3.1 % | 41.5 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Keith Lipiec | 194 | 2.1 % | 32.5 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Devin A. Winklosky | 173 | 6.4 % | 34.7 % | Similar: Relief similar to the other judges in this court |
| Judge Mary A. Futcher | 156 | 13.5 % | 38.5 % | More relief: More relief than the other judges in this court |