Job opening: General Attorney
Salary: $104 008 - 155 700 per year
Published at: Dec 08 2023
Employment Type: Full-time
Do you desire to be a part of the vibrant United States immigrant admission process, to protect American interests and to secure our nation while building a meaningful and rewarding career? If so, United States Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS), and its Office of the Chief Counsel are calling!
The Office of the Chief Counsel (OCC), is seeking an attorney for an Associate Counsel position to handle immigration issues with the Refugee Asylum Law Division to be located in Multiple locations.
Duties
As part of both USCIS and the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), you will work with other highly talented attorneys and colleagues on a rich array of intellectually challenging, critically important, cutting edge legal issues. Working along-side other components of DHS, USCIS strives to administer immigration benefit applications fairly, efficiently, and in keeping with the law, while simultaneously safeguarding our borders, our cyber space, and other elements of our nation's security. This vital mission is achieved by a diverse workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join, OCC, USCIS, and DHS!
The Office of the Chief Counsel (OCC), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security, is seeking an experienced attorney for an Associate Counsel position to handle immigration issues with the Refugee and Asylum Law Division (RALD) to be located in Camp Springs, MD or Atlanta, GA.
The attorney selected will serve as an advisor to the RALD Division Chief and Deputies, the Chief Counsel, and to USCIS and other Departmental components on U.S. immigration laws relating to humanitarian protection issues and international treaty obligations. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, providing legal advice to USCIS personnel on asylum and refugee processing, protection screening, other humanitarian benefits, and related issues such as confidentiality, asylum fraud, national security and others. This attorney would also be responsible for providing litigation support in federal litigation on these and other humanitarian protection issues.
Qualifications
You qualify at the GS-13 level if you: are currently an attorney in federal employment with the equivalent of being a GS-12 and at least one year experience at that level, or if not a federal employee and you have at least one year of post-J.D. professional legal experience commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position.
You qualify at the GS-14 level if you: are currently an attorney in federal employment with the equivalent of being a GS-13 and at least one year experience at that level, or if not a federal employee and you have at least two years of post-J.D. professional legal experience commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position.
You qualify at the GS-15 level if you: are currently an attorney in federal employment with the equivalent of being a GS-14 and at least one year experience at that level, or if not a federal employee and you have at least three years of post-J.D. professional legal experience commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position.
Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M. degree from an ABA-accredited law school or serve a legal apprenticeship in California, Virginia, Vermont, or Washington and pass the bar exam in order to be permitted to practice law in one (1) of those jurisdictions.
Bar Requirement GS-13 thru GS-15: Be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction).
Prior to entering on duty, all selected attorneys must provide a Certificate of Good Standing in holding an active Bar License to practice law in any state or territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
All applicants will be rated against the following factors:
Ability to resolve questions and provide accurate legal advice to both attorneys and non-attorneys on complex legal matters.
Ability to handle a heavy workload and meet deadlines.
Legal aptitude as reflected in the resume provided.
Quality of writing sample not to exceed 10 pages.
Quality of the cover letter addressed to OCC summarizing interest in the position not to exceed 1 page.
Quality of recommendations provided (No more than 3 recommendations total).
To preview the job questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12205627.