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

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

Immigration judges

Ivan Gardzelewski

Immigration Judge, Denver Immigration Court. Appointed September 2016 by Loretta E. Lynch.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Gardzelewski63.1%
Denver court58.1%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
635
Asylum granted
189
Other relief granted
45
Denied
401
Against own court
+5.0 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
72%60%51%74%68%44%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 53% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Colombia (32%), Mexico (12%), Guatemala (9%), Peru (8.8%), Venezuela (7.7%).

Official biography

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Ivan Gardzelewski to begin hearing cases in September 2016. Judge Gardzelewski ear ned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2000 from Augustana College and a Juris Doctor in 2004 from the University of Oregon School of Law. From 2007 to September 2016, he served as an assistant chief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Denver. From 2009 through 2010, he served as a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Colorado, Department of Justice, in Denver. In 2007, he served as a deputy district attorney for the Colorado Fifth Judicial District Attorney's Office, in Breckenridge, Colo. From 2004 through 2007, he served as a municipal prosecutor for the Lakewood City Attorney's Office, in Lakewood, Colo. Judge Gardzelewski is a member of Colorado 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 Denver

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.