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

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

Immigration judges

Francisco Mendez

Immigration Judge, Annandale Immigration Court. Appointed October 2018 by Jeff Sessions.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Mendez19.0%
Arlington court46.3%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
394
Asylum granted
228
Other relief granted
91
Denied
75
Against own court
-27.3 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24
18%14%24%17%

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: El Salvador (34.8%), Honduras (17.5%), Guatemala (10.4%), Turkiye (4.6%), Venezuela (4.3%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Francisco Mendez to begin hearing cases in October 2018. Judge Mendez ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1992 from Fordham University and a Juris Doctor in 1995 from Fordham Law School. From 2011 to 2018, he was an administrative judge for the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals, Department of Defense (DOD), in Arlington,Virginia. From 2003 to 2011, he was a trial attorney for DOD, also in Arlington. From 1996 to2016, he served as a judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force, six years on active duty and 14 year sin the reserves. Judge Mendez is a member of the New York State 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 Arlington

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.