What is Judge Lena Golovnin's background?
TRAC reports that Lena Golovnin was appointed in August 2018. Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Lena Golovnin to begin hearing cases in August 2018.Judge Golovnin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002 from Hunter College and a Juris Doctor in 2008 from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. From 2010 to 2018, she was assistantchief counsel for the Office of the Chief Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement,Department of Homeland Security in New York, N.Y. From 2009 to 2010, she was attorneyadvisor for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), Department of Justice (DOJ),also in New York, N.Y. From 2008 to 2009, she was a judicial law clerk and later attorneyadvisor for EOIR, DOJ in San Antonio, Texas.
What does TRAC report about Judge Lena Golovnin's asylum decisions?
TRAC, a research center that began at Syracuse University, reports that for FY 2021 - 2026 (data covers the first 9 months of fiscal year 2026), Judge Lena Golovnin decided 807 asylum cases at New York Immigration Court and denied 39.7 percent, based on its report of Aug 27, 2026. These are past figures for one court. They do not predict your case, which turns on your facts, evidence, nationality and representation, and TRAC cautions against simple comparisons between judges at different courts. Read the full report at TRAC, and talk to a lawyer about your own case.
What the official record establishes
The source lists the name Lena Golovnin in 1 alphabetical row. The recorded title is Immigration Judge. The record is not an appointment history or an employment certification.
Dated court associations
EOIR’s court-specific tables associate this entry with New York - Federal Plaza Immigration Court. The relationship is recorded as listed 2026-10-20; it may include supervisory coverage rather than a merits-hearing assignment.