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

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

Immigration judges

Robert B.C. McSeveney

Immigration Judge, Seattle Immigration Court. Appointed 1980 by Jeff Sessions.

AverageClose to the national average+2.0 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge McSeveney64.9%
Seattle court73.9%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
2,053
Asylum granted
699
Other relief granted
22
Denied
1,332
Against own court
-9.0 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY21FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
56%77%62%57%64%74%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 67% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: Russia (14.3%), Mexico (12.6%), Brazil (11.7%), Colombia (11%), Honduras (6.7%).

Official biography

Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Robert B.C. McSeveney to begin hearing cases in November 2018. Judge McSeveney earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1980 from Seattle Universityand a Juris Doctor in 1984 from the University of Puget Sound Law School. In 2018, he served as a superior court judge for the Chelan County Superior Court, in Washington. From 2011 to2017, he served as an immigration judge for the Executive Office for Immigration Review,Department of Justice, in San Diego. From 1994 to 2011, he served as a municipal court judge for the City of Kent, in Washington. From 1988 to 1994, he was an attorney in private practice,in Bellevue, Washington. From 1985 to 1988, he was a deputy prosecuting attorney and assistant city attorney for the City of Bellevue, in Washington. Judge McSeveney is a member of the Washington State Bar.

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

In the record

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review · 2018-11-16

    Executive Office for Immigration Review Swears in 16 Immigration Judges

    EOIR announced that Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Robert B.C. McSeveney to the Seattle Immigration Court, beginning in November 2018. The notice records that in 2018 he served as a superior court judge for Chelan County Superior Court in Washington.

Other judges at Seattle

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.