Raphael Choi

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

AverageClose to the national average+0.8 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

Judge Choi63.7%

Arlington court46.3%

All judges nationally62.9%

Decisions on the merits: 300
Asylum granted: 97
Other relief granted: 12
Denied: 191
Against own court: +17.4 pts

Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24
59%	54%	59%	83%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 77% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: El Salvador (40.3%), Honduras (16.7%), Guatemala (11%), Mexico (4.3%), Venezuela (2.7%).

Official biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Raphael Choi to begin hearing cases in April 2018.Judge Choi ear ned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996 from Iowa State University and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from the University of Wisconsin Law School. From 2007 to 2018, he worked as chief counsel for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Arlington, Va. From 2006 to2007, he served as a deputy chief counsel at ICE, DHS, also in Arlington, Va. From 2002 to2006, he served as an assistant chief counsel at ICE, DHS, in New York, N.Y.

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

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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.