What is Judge Richard Vanveldhuisen's background?
EOIR's notice says that Richard Vanveldhuisen was appointed in February 2023. Judge VanVeldhuisen earned a Bachelor of Science in 1987 from Northeastern University, a Juris Doctor in 1990 from California Western School of Law, and a Master of Arts in Diplomacy and International Relations in 2004 from Seton Hall University. From 2014 to 2022, he served as the chief division counsel with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the Anchorage, Baltimore, and Norfolk Divisions, and from 2005 to 2014, he served as an assistant general counsel with the FBI in Washington. In 2012, he served as a trial attorney with the Office of International Affairs, Department of Justice. From 2001 to 2005, he served as an assistant chief counsel with the Office of the Chief Counsel (currently known as the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, in New York. From 1998 to 2001, he served as a deputy attorney general with the Division of Law, New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, in Trenton.
What does TRAC report about Judge Richard Vanveldhuisen'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 Richard Vanveldhuisen decided 463 asylum cases at Annandale Immigration Court and denied 79.3 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 Richard Vanveldhuisen 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.