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

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

Immigration judges

Yul-Mi Cho

Immigration Judge, Chelmsford Immigration Court. Appointed May 2023.

StrictDenies more often than the national average+7.4 points

Asylum record, FY 2021-2026

TRAC source →
Judge Cho70.3%
Chelmsford court62.3%
All judges nationally62.9%
Decisions on the merits
259
Asylum granted
43
Other relief granted
34
Denied
182
Against own court
+8.0 pts
Denial rate by fiscal year
FY25FY26
67%74%

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: Brazil (14.7%), Guatemala (14.3%), Angola (9.3%), Haiti (6.9%), El Salvador (6.6%).

Official biography

Yul-mi Cho was appointed as an immigration judge to begin hearing cases in May 2023. Judge Cho earned a combined Bachelor of Arts/Master of Arts in 2001 from Boston University and a Juris Doctor in 2009 from Roger Williams University School of Law. From 2018 to 2023, she served as an assistant chief counsel, Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in Boston. From 2010 to 2018, she served as an assistant district attorney with the Bristol County District Attorney's Office in Fall River, Massachusetts. Judge Cho is a member of the Connecticut Bar, the Massachusetts Bar, and the New York State Bar.

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

In the record

  • The Christian Science Monitor · 2026-08-28

    In immigration court's mass hearings, absence can mean deportation

    The Monitor describes Judge Yul-mi Cho presiding over a 'mega master' calendar in Chelmsford, scheduled to hear 56 cases involving 86 people in a single afternoon session, according to EOIR scheduling data, as courts consolidate initial appearances.

  • Executive Office for Immigration Review · 2023-05-12

    EOIR Announces 19 New Immigration Judges

    EOIR announced the appointment of Yul-mi Cho as an immigration judge at the Boston Immigration Court, beginning in May 2023. From 2018 to 2023 she served as an assistant chief counsel in ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.

Other judges at Chelmsford

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.