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

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

Immigration judges

Christopher J. Thielemann

Immigration Judge, Dallas Immigration Court. Appointed 1994 by Jeff Sessions.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Thielemann58.2%
Dallas court70.1%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
545
Asylum granted
78
Other relief granted
150
Denied
317
Against own court
-11.9 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
60%73%65%43%59%51%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 70% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Honduras (21.5%), El Salvador (16.1%), Venezuela (13.2%), Mexico (11.9%), Guatemala (9%).

Official biography

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Christopher J. Thielemann to begin hearing case sin November 2018. Judge Thielemann ear ned a Bachelor of Science in 1994 from Georgia Southern University, a Juris Doctor in 2002 from Florida State University College of Law, and a Master of Laws in 2009 from the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School. From2015 to 2018, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida, Department of Justice, in Tallahassee. From 2002 to 2015, heserved as a judge advocate with the U.S. Marine Corps in the following locations: Camp Pendleton, California; Horn of Africa, Djibouti; and Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan. Judge Thielemann is a member of the Florida 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 Dallas

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.