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

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

Immigration judges

Thomas Bartleson

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

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Bartleson37.4%
New York court47.7%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
858
Asylum granted
505
Other relief granted
32
Denied
321
Against own court
-10.3 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26
19%21%26%49%64%

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

Docket

Respondents represented by counsel: 94% (nationally, 81% are represented).

Most common nationalities: China (100%).

Official biography

Attorney General William P. Barr appointed J. Thomas Bartleson as an immigration judge in June 2020. Judge Bartleson ear ned a Bachelor of Arts in 1994 from the University of Washington and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from the University of Montana School of Law. From2017 to 2020, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Districtof Montana, in Helena, Montana. From 2012 to 2017, he served in the Office of the State Public Defender, Major Crimes Unit, in Helena, Montana. From 2002 to 2012, he served in the U.S.Army and deployed as a judge advocate twice: once as the chief of claims for Multi-National Corps-Iraq/III Corps; and once as a trial defense counsel at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. During that time, from 2010 to 2011, he served as senior defense counsel at Fort Drum and the U.S. Military Academy. Judge Bartleson is a member of the State Bar of Montana.

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.