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

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

Immigration judges

John S. Rubenstein

Immigration Judge, Hyattsville Immigration Court. Appointed March 2022.

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Rubenstein65.0%
Hyattsville court57.6%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
856
Asylum granted
281
Other relief granted
19
Denied
556
Against own court
+7.4 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
4%32%44%89%92%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 84% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: El Salvador (23.6%), Cameroon (14.3%), Honduras (10.2%), Venezuela (8.3%), Guatemala (7.5%).

Official biography

John S. Rubenstein was appointed as an Immigration Judge to begin hearing cases in March 2022. Judge Rubenstein ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1999 from the University of Pennsylvania, a Juris Doctor in 2005 from the Georgetown University Law Center, and a Master of Arts in 2012 from California State University, Los Angeles. From 2019 to 2022, he served as an Assistant Chief Counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Harlingen, Texas. From 2015 to 2019, he served in various capacities with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS, including, Asylum Officer, Senior Immigration Services Officer (ISO), and Supervisory ISO. From 2009 to 2015, he was in private practice in Costa Mesa and Los Angeles, California. In 2008, he was an Associate Attorney with Greenberg Traurig LLP in Irvine, California. In 2007, he was an Associate Attorney with Bingham McCutchen LLP in Costa Mesa, California. From 2005 to 2007, he was an Associate Attorney with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in the District of Columbia. Judge Rubenstein is a member of the State Bar of California and the District of Columbia 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 Hyattsville

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.