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

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

Immigration judges

Douglas Donaldson Nelson

Immigration Judge, Salt Lake City Immigration Court. Appointed August 2023.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Nelson49.0%
West Valley court36.9%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
572
Asylum granted
273
Other relief granted
19
Denied
280
Against own court
+12.1 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY23FY24FY25
4%37%67%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 94% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Venezuela (49.5%), Colombia (17.5%), Peru (10.1%), Mexico (7.5%), Nicaragua (4.4%).

Official biography

Douglas D. Nelson was appointed as an immigration judge to begin hearing cases in August 2023. Judge Nelson ear ned his Bachelor of Arts in 1991 from Brigham Young University and a Juris Doctor in 1994 from the University of San Diego School of Law. From 1995 to 2023, he worked as an immigration attorney in private practice for Alejandro O. Campillo APLC and the Law Office of Douglas D. Nelson. During this time, from 2002 to 2004, he served as chair of the Immigration Section for the San Diego County Bar, and from 1996 to 2021, he was liaison between the San Diego chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and numerous Federal immigration agencies. From 1994 to 1995, he was a judicial law clerk at the San Diego Immigration Court, entering on duty through the Attorney General's Honors Program. Judge Nelson is a member of the State Bar of California.

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 West Valley

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.