Job opening: Immigration Services Officer
Salary: $51 332 - 80 737 per year
Published at: May 17 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
This position is located in Field Operations Directorate, Office of Field Operations, District C31, C32, C33, and C34, Central Region Office.
As an Immigration Services Officer, you will adjudicate complex applications and petitions for immigration benefits and provide assistance to other federal agencies in identifying those who pose a national security and public safety threat.
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.
Grant or deny complex and highly sensitive applications and petitions for immigration benefits based on electronic or paper applications/petitions.
Research, interpret and apply appropriate statutes, regulations, and precedent decisions to make adjudicative decisions.
Interview applicants and petitioners to elicit statements, assess credibility, and analyze information to identify facts that form the basis for a decision concerning eligibility for immigration benefits.
Conduct security checks and provide assistance to federal law enforcement agencies to identify individuals who are ineligible for immigration benefits due to national security, public safety, or other legal grounds.
Use electronic systems to provide verification of any number of established data points to make adjudicative decisions, determine appropriate level of adjudicative review, and update databases with appropriate information and decisions.
Qualifications
The qualifications for this position must be met by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on 05/27/2024.
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 05/27/2024.
GS-09: You qualify at the GS-09 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-07 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:
Examining, evaluating evidence, and analyzing immigration benefits documents received for authenticity;
Researching, analyzing and applying appropriate immigration laws, policies and procedures;
Adjudicating immigration benefits based on reviews of applications in coordination with policies.
OR
You may substitute successful completion of a Master's or equivalent graduate degree or at least two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B or J.D. in a field related to the work of this position.
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.
OR
You may substitute successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or at least three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. in a field related to the work of this position.
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 05/27/2024. 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: 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.
Training: If you have not already done so, you will be required to attend and complete a USCIS Officer training course. This is typically provided through a blended approach of virtual instruction followed by in-residence instruction at a training venue. Training must be successfully completed according to the standards of the agency. Failure to do so will be grounds for mandatory removal from the position. Such failure will result in either reassignment to a different position, demotion or separation by appropriate procedures.
