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

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

Immigration judges

John Burns

Immigration Judge, New York/Federal Plaza Immigration Court. Appointed December 2020 by William P. Barr.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Burns96.1%
New York court47.7%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
1,566
Asylum granted
32
Other relief granted
29
Denied
1,505
Against own court
+48.4 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
84%85%98%98%98%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 60% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Ecuador (21.9%), China (13.6%), Colombia (9.6%), Venezuela (9.6%), Russia (6.1%).

Official biography

Attorney General William P. Barr appointed John P. Burns as an Immigration Judge in December 2020. Judge Burns ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 2004 from Beloit College and a Juris Doctor in 2009 from Fordham University School of Law. From 2016 to 2020, he served as an assistant chief counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in New York. During this time, from 2016 to2017, he deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and Operation Spartan Shield. From 2010 to 2016, he served as an attorney at the Social Security Administration. Since 2013, he has served as an officer in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG)Corps of the New York Army National Guard. Judge Burns 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 New York

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.