New York · est. 2013Thursday, September 24, 2026
Inside Immigration

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

Immigration judges

Kelley N. Fowler

Immigration Judge, Atlanta W. Peachtree Street Immigration Court. Appointed November 2018 by Jeff Sessions.

StrictDenies far more often than the national average+30.3 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Fowler93.2%
Atlanta court82.4%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
235
Asylum granted
2
Other relief granted
14
Denied
219
Against own court
+10.8 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY25FY26
91%95%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 52% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Venezuela (31.9%), Mexico (17.4%), Colombia (11.9%), Honduras (11.1%), Ecuador (3.8%).

Official biography

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Kelley N. Fowler to begin hearing cases in November 2018. Judge Fowler earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2002 from the University of Alabama and a Juris Doctor in 2005 from Vanderbilt University Law School. From 2017 to2018, she served as a special assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, in Atlanta. From 2008 to 2017, she served as an assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement,Department of Homeland Security, in Atlanta. From 2007 to 2008, she was an associate with Merritt, Flebotte, Wilson, Webb, and Caruso PLLC, in Brentwood, Tennessee. From 2006 to2007, she was an associate with Reina and Associates, in Dallas, Texas. Judge Fowler is a member of the Tennessee Bar.

As published by the Executive Office for Immigration Review at appointment, via TRAC.

In the record

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review

    EOIR notice announcing new immigration judges

    This EOIR announcement lists Kelley N. Fowler as an immigration judge at the Fort Worth Immigration Adjudication Center, appointed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to begin hearing cases in November 2018. The release includes a biography covering education and prior legal roles.

Other judges at Atlanta

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.