Ethiopia: Asylum Approval Rates and Decisions in US Immigration Courts

638 asylum merits decisions; 40.0% granted (2025-09 to 2026-08). Historical EOIR decisions do not predict an individual case. Judge-code history is not verified personal tenure.

How we estimate

EOIR grant rate means grants divided by grants plus denials for asylum merits decisions, excluding other closures. Rates require at least 2 decisions; rankings require at least 30. Proceedings history can extend to 1951; the first recorded asylum merits month in this import is Dec 1972. Each dataset states its own coverage. Do not interpret proceedings coverage as asylum decision coverage. Reconstructed pending counts may differ from agency totals. Historical judge-code attribution is not verified personal tenure.

Grants and denials by period

Totals and breakdowns use the canonical page period. Court and nationality trend tables include all available decision history; other trend tables use their labeled periods. All tables apply the display floor. Interactive filters can select a different period. Empty buckets and cells below the floor have no reported rate.

Decision trend
Group	Grants	Denials	Merits decisions	Asylum merits grant rate
1976	0	0	0	Too few decisions to report a rate (minimum 2).
1977	0	0	0	Too few decisions to report a rate (minimum 2).
1978	0	0	0	Too few decisions to report a rate (minimum 2).
1979	0	0	0	Too few decisions to report a rate (minimum 2).
1980	0	0	0	Too few decisions to report a rate (minimum 2).
1981	0	0	0	Too few decisions to report a rate (minimum 2).
1982	2	0	2	100.0%
1983	0	2	2	0.0%
1984	2	4	6	33.3%
1985	9	22	31	29.0%
1986	14	15	29	48.3%
1987	39	42	81	48.2%
1988	62	23	85	72.9%
1989	44	39	83	53.0%
1990	69	32	101	68.3%
1991	84	58	142	59.2%
1992	34	45	79	43.0%
1993	27	53	80	33.8%
1994	89	83	172	51.7%
1995	171	194	365	46.8%
1996	306	269	575	53.2%
1997	242	257	499	48.5%
1998	194	228	422	46.0%
1999	201	184	385	52.2%
2000	261	186	447	58.4%
2001	217	249	466	46.6%
2002	233	337	570	40.9%
2003	217	246	463	46.9%
2004	294	228	522	56.3%
2005	252	182	434	58.1%
2006	364	163	527	69.1%
2007	368	167	535	68.8%
2008	332	124	456	72.8%
2009	380	119	499	76.2%
2010	439	107	546	80.4%
2011	534	88	622	85.8%
2012	435	77	512	85.0%
2013	416	82	498	83.5%
2014	345	81	426	81.0%
2015	273	61	334	81.7%
2016	188	51	239	78.7%
2017	164	46	210	78.1%
2018	178	69	247	72.1%
2019	173	60	233	74.2%
2020	66	32	98	67.4%
2021	90	22	112	80.4%
2022	254	29	283	89.8%
2023	302	58	360	83.9%
2024	395	128	523	75.5%
2025	343	385	728	47.1%
2026	149	234	383	38.9%

Representation breakdown
Group	Grants	Denials	Merits decisions	Asylum merits grant rate
Represented	247	346	593	41.6%
Not represented	8	37	45	17.8%

Custody breakdown
Group	Grants	Denials	Merits decisions	Asylum merits grant rate
Never detained	189	221	410	46.1%
Detained	51	141	192	26.6%
Released	15	21	36	41.7%

Courts with recorded decisions

Guides

Methods and limitations

What is the asylum grant rate for Ethiopia?

638 asylum merits decisions; 40.0% granted (2025-09 to 2026-08). Rates reflect the period and sample on this page. Historical EOIR decisions do not predict an individual case. Judge-code history is not verified personal tenure.

How do asylum grant rates vary by country?

Our nationality directory compares EOIR asylum merits decisions by the nationality recorded in court data. Use the same period and sample floor for comparisons. Nationality does not determine an individual outcome.

Which courts have the most recorded decisions for Ethiopia?

Hyattsville Immigration Court; Annandale Immigration Court (ANN); Jena Immigration Court. These are leading courts by merits-decision count in the page’s period, not recommendations about venue or individual outcomes.

Why is a grant rate or ranking missing?

We display a rate only with at least 2 merits decisions and rank judges or court comparisons only with at least 30. Small samples can vary widely. A missing rate is not a zero grant rate.