New York · est. 2013Friday, September 4, 2026
Inside Immigration

Plain-language guides to US immigration, asylum and USCIS procedure.

Immigration judges

Antonio Capistrano

Immigration Judge, Philadelphia Immigration Court. Appointed December 2022.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Capistrano60.3%
Philadelphia court58.7%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
779
Asylum granted
246
Other relief granted
63
Denied
470
Against own court
+1.6 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY23FY24FY25FY26
21%27%50%77%

Read from TRAC's chart to the nearest point. Years with fewer than 25 decisions are not shown.

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 91% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Russia (15%), Brazil (14.1%), Turkiye (6.3%), Guatemala (5.8%), Colombia (5.4%).

Official biography

Antonio Capistrano was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in December 2022. Judge Capistrano ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 2005 from Rutgers University and a Juris Doctor in 2008 from the Temple University Beasley School of Law. From 2020 to 2022, he was the Managing Partner at MC Law Group, LLC, where he focused on immigration law and criminal defense. From 2010 to 2020, he was the senior associate at The Law Offices of Tahir Mella, P.C., where he represented individuals before EOIR and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security. Judge Capistrano is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.

As published by the Executive Office for Immigration Review at appointment, via TRAC.

In the record

No published reporting or appellate decisions naming this judge have been collected yet.

Other judges at Philadelphia

Court page →

About these figures. Denial rates describe outcomes in the cases a judge happened to hear, which differ by detention, nationality and representation. They are not a measure of fairness or competence. Method and sources are on the judges index.