The 2026-09-01 snapshot lists a 37.7% historical asylum grant rate for Margaret Kolbe at New York Varick 5th, NY, based on 1,305 grants and 2,159 denials (3,464 decided outcomes).
The 2026-09-01 EOIR snapshot lists Margaret Kolbe with New York Varick 5th, NY. With an asylum approval rate of 37.7%, this judge is above average compared to the national average. Data sourced from EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review). Historical listings do not by themselves establish a current assignment.
What This Profile's Data Shows
Same-court context
Its 37.7% historical rate is 14.4 percentage points above the 23.3% median among 25 same-court profiles with at least 100 decided outcomes.
Published yearly context
The latest qualifying published year is 2026: 16.5% across 595 decisions, 22.0 percentage points below the 2025 rate.
Largest nationality sample
The largest published nationality row is Ecuador: 333 decisions and a 24.9% grant rate in that row's stated scope.
These comparisons describe published historical aggregates; they do not measure judge quality,
control for case mix, establish a current assignment, or predict an individual outcome. Thresholds are applied only
to reduce unstable small-sample comparisons.
Community Discussion
DATAAsylumTracker Data
Judge Kolbe (New York Varick 5th, NY) data snapshot: China vs Honduras grant rates differ 7×, overall rate fell from 38% to 17% in 3 years
A few numbers worth knowing if you have a hearing in front of Judge Kolbe, Margaret (IJ code MGK, New York Varick 5th, NY):
Overall track record
30 years on the bench (since 1997), 4,854 cases total, lifetime grant rate 38.6%
Last 3 years (2023–2026): 2,502 cases, grant rate 30.2% — 9.7pp above the New York Varick 5th court average (20.5%)
Nationality breakdown (2023–2026 cumulative)
Nationality / Cases / Grant rate
El Salvador 371 21.3%
Ecuador 368 22.0%
Honduras 325 12.0%
Guatemala 213 14.0%
Peru 166 15.6%
Nicaragua 161 29.2%
India 140 55.9%
Colombia 138 17.3%
Venezuela 88 39.5%
China 77 79.4%
Mexico 70 23.7%
China applicants see a 79.4% grant rate versus 12.0% for Honduras applicants — a 6.6× gap on this judge's docket.
Year-by-year
2023: 450 cases, 37.7% grant rate
2024: 626 cases, 30.4% grant rate
2025: 733 cases, 38.2% grant rate
2026: 693 cases, 16.8% grant rate
If you've appeared before Judge Kolbe, I'd love to hear:
1. What's your nationality, and when was your most recent hearing?
2. How did your attorney prepare for this judge specifically?
Source: EOIR (U.S. Executive Office for Immigration Review) public statistics, July 2026 release, compiled by AsylumTracker. A judge's historical pattern does not predict the outcome of any individual case; this is shared to help set realistic expectations. Real-experience accounts from the community are welcome.
Have experience with this judge? Open AsylumTracker to reply or read more responses from the community.
How to Interpret These Judge Statistics
Margaret Kolbe is listed with the New York Varick 5th, NY Immigration Court. The headline asylum grant rate shown here is 37.7% based on granted and denied asylum decisions represented in the current dataset.
Among the largest nationality groups shown for this judge, the table highlights Ecuador (333 decided, 24.9% grant rate), El Salvador (287 decided, 22.0% grant rate), and Honduras (222 decided, 11.7% grant rate). Compare these rows with the judge's overall rate because nationality mix can materially change how the headline number should be read.
Grant rate is calculated as granted / (granted + denied). Other procedural outcomes, including terminated, withdrawn, administratively closed, or removed cases, are tracked separately where available and are not treated as asylum grants.
This page is based on public EOIR data last updated 2026-09-01. It is for research and information only, not legal advice.
Judge Margaret Kolbe granted asylum in 37.7% of 3,464 decided cases (grants plus denials), according to EOIR data.
Does Judge Margaret Kolbe grant asylum more or less often than other judges?
The rate (37.7%) is above the 16.6% national rate; the median judge at New York Varick 5th, NY grants 23.3%. It is a historical average, not a prediction for any one case.
How is this grant rate calculated?
Grants divided by grants plus denials. Terminations, withdrawals and administrative closures are not counted.
