Job opening: Immigration Services Officer
Salary: $70 180 - 109 353 per year
Published at: Aug 02 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
This position is located in the Service Center Operations Directorate, Vermont Service Center.
As an Immigration Services Officer, you will grant or deny complex and highly sensitive applications and petitions for immigration benefits and assist with fraud detection and/or other federal agencies in identifying individuals who pose a threat to national security and public safety.
Duties
The responsibilities described are for the full performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope performed with less independence, and limited complexity.
Plans and conducts independent research concerning the eligibility and entitlement of persons seeking benefits, employment, and/or legal status under the Immigration and Nationality Act as amended.
Adjudicate applications and petitions for benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Conducts preliminary fact-finding and initiates further action where information indicates fraud has been detected.
Independently researches, interprets, and analyzes an extensive spectrum of sources including pertinent sections of the law and regulations.
Grants or denies complex applications and petitions for immigration benefits based on electronic or paper applications/petitions.
Qualifications
The qualifications for this position must be met by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on 08/11/2023.
Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service. The Time-in-Grade requirement must be met by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on 08/11/2023.
GS-11: You qualify at the GS-11 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the following duties:
Making final determinations on non-sensitive, routine immigration matters related to the Immigration and Nationality Act, or representing applicants on non-sensitive, routine hearing or appeal requests involving immigration matters, that included determining applicant credibility, analyzing evidence, and applying statutory requirements, regulations, judicial and administrative precedents.
Researching and writing well-organized, complex legal decisions consistent with adjudicative standards and legislation.
Making final adjudication determinations on complex applications and petitions for immigration benefits.
Deciding on motions to reopen or reconsider cases.
Conducting quality assurance reviews of work completed during the adjudication process to ensure productivity, efficiency, and integrity. OR
You may substitute a doctoral degree (PhD or equivalent degree) or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in any field, or L.L.M. if related for experience at the GS-11 grade level or such education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise three years of graduate study. If that information is not available, use 54 semester or 81 quarter hours
GS-12: In addition to the requirements at the lower grade level(s), you qualify at the GS-12 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the following duties:
Independently analyzing immigration laws, policies, and precedent decisions;
Analyzing information and documents to determine credibility and eligibility for immigration benefits.
Raising new or novel issues for further clarification.
Making final determinations on sensitive, complex immigration cases involving eligibility for citizenship and immigration benefits, or preparing legal briefs or other written memoranda that advocate for a determination in complex hearing or appeal cases;
Writing final determinations with legal analysis to support decisions;
Researching and analyzing laws and regulations independently to determine the eligibility and entitlement of immigration benefits.
Reviewing the adjudication process to ensure it is performed correctly and actively analyze process improvement to enhance the efficiency.
Resolving technical, complex and sensitive adjudicative issues of a problem or highly visible nature.
Please read the following important information to ensure you submit everything we need to consider your application: It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit your responses and appropriate documentation prior to 08/11/2023. Your resume will be used to determine your qualifications for the position advertised in this announcement. Therefore, your resume must highlight your most relevant, significant experience related to the requirements found in the qualification section of this announcement, as well as any applicable education. USCIS will only review the first 5 pages of your resume to determine your initial eligibility/qualifications for a position. As such, please be sure to include content to support your eligibility/qualifications for this position within the first 5 pages. Please note that your full resume will be made available to the hiring manager if you are referred. Be clear and specific when describing your work history since Human Resources cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Your application will be rated and ranked based on your responses to the online questions.
Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information:
Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job)
Duties (be specific in describing your duties)
Employer's name and address
Supervisor name and phone number
Start and end dates including month, day and year (e.g. June 18 2007 to April 05 2008)
Start and end dates for each grade/pay level if you've held a federal position.
Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
Salary
Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide the above information may result in a finding of ineligible.
Note: Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.
Federal Experience: If you are using current or prior federal experience as a basis for qualifying for this position, the grade levels and length of employment (mm/dd/year) at each grade level must be listed in your work history. This information will be further validated if selected for this position.
National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build criteria competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer service. Please provide the dates and amount of time/hours worked earning this experience.
Education
COMBINING QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION (at the GS-11 level only): If you do not qualify based on experience or education alone, you may be able to qualify based on a combination of your experience and education. For more information on combining education and experience, visit the following website:
General Schedule Qualification Standards.
Transcript required: If you don't submit a transcript, we will not use your education when deciding if you're qualified for the job. For verification purposes, the transcript submitted must include your name and educational institution.
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