What is Judge Raphael Choi's background?
TRAC reports that Raphael Choi was appointed in April 2018. Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Raphael Choi to begin hearing cases in April 2018.Judge Choi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996 from Iowa State University and a Juris Doctor in 2002 from the University of Wisconsin Law School. From 2007 to 2018, he worked aschief counsel for the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in Arlington, Va. From 2006 to 2007, he served as a deputy chief counsel at ICE, DHS, also in Arlington, Va. From 2002 to 2006, he served as an assistant chief counsel at ICE, DHS, in New York, N.Y.
What does TRAC report about Judge Raphael Choi'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 Raphael Choi decided 300 asylum cases at Arlington Immigration Court and denied 63.7 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 Raphael Choi 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 Annandale Immigration Court. The relationship is recorded as listed 2026-10-20; it may include supervisory coverage rather than a merits-hearing assignment.