KYJKnow Your Judge v0.6.5by SwansLake
Judge directoryArlene E. Dorfman

Active Specialty judge

Arlene E. Dorfman

Los Angeles - Van Nuys Boulevard Immigration Court

California

Identity verifiedOfficial profile locatedOfficial sources collectedPresentation intelligence
01

Overview

Identity and service

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

Judicial role
Immigration Judge
Service status
Active
Court level
Specialty
Jurisdiction
Federal
02

Before you appear

Preparation checklist

  1. 01

    Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.

  2. 02

    Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.

  3. 03

    Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

Scope note

Statewide and courtwide guidance is labeled by scope and is not evidence of a personal preference. Division, judge-specific, or case-specific orders may control.

03

Presentation rules

What the public sources say

CourtwideExplicit
Individual Calendar Hearing

Allowed with notice

For non-detained individual calendar hearings, advance filings are generally due at least 30 days before the hearing and responses are due within 10 days after the original filing; detained-case deadlines are set by the immigration judge.

Page
web page
Section
2.1(b)(2) Individual calendar hearings
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
Automated checks passed
Read supporting source excerpt
For individual calendar hearings involving represented, non-detained aliens, amendments to applications for relief, additional supporting documents, updates to witness lists, and other such documents must be submitted at least thirty (30) days in advance of the individual calendar hearing.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Pre Hearing Filing

Allowed with notice

Briefs, motions, and exhibits should use consecutive page numbers, and proposed exhibits or supporting documents should include a table of contents identifying page numbers.

Page
web page
Section
2.3(c)(3) Pagination and table of contents
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
Automated checks passed
Read supporting source excerpt
All documents, including briefs, motions, and exhibits, should always be paginated by consecutive numbers placed at the bottom center or bottom right-hand corner of each page.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Pre Hearing Filing

Allowed with notice

A witness list should identify each non-respondent witness, summarize the expected testimony, estimate its length, state the testimony language, and include a CV or resume for an expert.

Page
web page
Section
2.3(g) Witness Lists
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
Automated checks passed
Read supporting source excerpt
A witness list should include the following information for each witness, except the respondent: the name of the witness; if applicable, the alien registration number (A number); a written summary of the testimony; the estimated length of the testimony; the language in which the witness will testify; and a curriculum vitae or resume, if called as an expert.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Pre Hearing

Allowed with notice

A respondent or practitioner should request an interpreter no later than 30 days before the hearing at which interpreter services will be needed.

Page
web page
Section
3.10 Interpreters
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
Automated checks passed
Read supporting source excerpt
The respondent or the respondent’s attorney / practitioner of record should request an interpreter no later than 30 days before the next hearing where the interpreter services will be needed.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Hearing

Restricted

Address the immigration judge as “Your Honor” or “Judge,” and stand when the judge enters and exits the courtroom.

Page
web page
Section
3.11(a) Addressing the Immigration Judge
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
Automated checks passed
Read supporting source excerpt
The Immigration Judge should be addressed as either “Your Honor” or “Judge __.”

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Hearing

Restricted

Except when questioning witnesses, direct oral argument and statements to the immigration judge rather than debating the opposing party.

Page
web page
Section
3.11(c)(1) Communication between the parties
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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Read supporting source excerpt
All oral argument and statements made during a hearing must be directed to the Immigration Judge.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Hearing

Restricted

Only the immigration judge may record a hearing; practitioners of record may use silent electronic devices only for immediately relevant court business and subject to the judge’s control.

Page
web page
Section
3.12(a)-(c) Electronic Devices
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
Automated checks passed
Read supporting source excerpt
No device of any kind, including cameras, video recorders, and cassette recorders, may be used by any person other than the Immigration Judge to record any part of a hearing.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Individual Calendar Hearing

Allowed with notice

At an individual calendar hearing, be prepared to make opening and closing statements, raise evidentiary objections, present witnesses and evidence, and cross-examine opposing witnesses.

Page
web page
Section
3.15(d) Conduct of Hearing
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
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While the Immigration Judge decides how each hearing is conducted, parties should be prepared to:

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Pre Hearing

Allowed with notice

If the hearing medium is uncertain or an internet-based hearing cannot be accessed, contact the hearing immigration court; unrepresented respondents default to in-person hearings.

Page
web page
Section
Find an Immigration Court and Access Internet-Based Hearings
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
Automated checks passed
Read supporting source excerpt
Respondents who do not have a representative of record will always have a default hearing medium of in-person, regardless of the indication below.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

CourtwideExplicit
Internet Based Hearing

Restricted

Photographing or recording any part of an internet-based immigration hearing is prohibited and may result in penalties.

Page
web page
Section
Internet-based hearing access notice
Last checked
July 30, 2026
Verification
Automated checks passed
Read supporting source excerpt
Photographing or recording through the internet to capture any part of the hearing is strictly prohibited and subject to possible penalties.

The requirement is stated in current official court rules and is attached at court scope, not as a personal preference.

04

Courtroom technology

Published equipment guidance

No technology specification indexed

Technology availability is separate from procedural permission and evidentiary admissibility.

05

Published opinion footprint

Decisions and citations

Opinion data is not yet indexed for this profile

This does not mean the judge has no published opinions or no caseload. KYJ will only show opinion counts after transparent, source-linked CourtListener matching is available.

06

Sources

Public documents behind this profile

07

Change history

How this profile entered KYJ

Current profile indexed

Identity imported from U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review. 10 presentation-related claims migrated with source provenance.