Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Immigration Judge

Department of Justice
Executive Office for Immigration Review
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Applicants who have applied to previous Immigration Judge announcements and/or other locations must re-apply to this announcement to receive consideration for this/these location(s).

This is an Excepted Service position. Upon completion of the required trial period, the position will be permanent. Additional positions may be filled from this announcement within 90 days of certificate issuance.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/16/2021 to 04/29/2021
Salary
$140,010 to - $183,300 per year
Pay scale & grade
IJ 00
Locations
7 vacancies in the following locations:
Santa Ana, CA
Boston, MA
Napanoch, NY
New York, NY
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
00
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
IJ-11089911-21-AS
Control number
598529300

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

Duties

Help

This position is in the Executive Office for Immigration Review, Office of the Chief Immigration Judge. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) seeks highly-qualified individuals to join our team of expert professionals in becoming a part of our challenging and rewarding Agency. The primary mission of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is to adjudicate immigration cases by fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly interpreting and administering the Nation's immigration laws. Under delegated authority from the Attorney General, EOIR conducts immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings.

EOIR consists of three adjudicatory components: the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, which is responsible for managing the numerous immigration courts located throughout the United States where immigration judges adjudicate individual cases; the Board of Immigration Appeals, which primarily conducts appellate reviews of the immigration judges' decisions; and the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, which adjudicates immigration-related employment cases. EOIR is committed to providing the fair, expeditious, and uniform application of our Nation's immigration laws in all cases. EOIR's Headquarters is located in Falls Church, Virginia, about 10 miles from downtown Washington, DC.

Immigration Judges preside in formal, quasi-judicial hearings. Proceedings before Immigration Judges include but are not limited to deportation, exclusion, removal, rescission, and bond. Immigration Judges make decisions which are final unless formally appealed. In connection with these proceedings, Immigration Judges exercise certain discretionary powers as provided by law, and are required to exercise independent judgment in reaching final decisions. Immigration Judges may be required to conduct hearings in penal institutions and other remote locations.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Employment is contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Selectee(s) must be able to obtain and maintain a top secret clearance.
  • Selective Service Registration is required, as applicable.
  • Moving and Relocation Expense are not authorized.
  • Relevant experience (see qualifications below.)
  • Qualifications must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
  • You must file a financial disclosure statement in accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
  • All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for the Immigration Judge position, applicants must meet all of the following minimum qualifications:

  • Education: Applicants must possess a LL.B., J.D., or LL.M. degree. (Provide the month and year in which you obtained your degree and the name of the College or University from which it was conferred/awarded.)
AND
  • Licensure: Applicants must be an active member of the bar, duly licensed and authorized to practice law as an attorney under the laws of any state, territory of the U.S., or the District of Columbia. (Provide the month and year in which you obtained your first license and the State from which it was issued.)
AND
  • Experience: Applicants must have seven (7) years of post-bar admission experience as a licensed attorney preparing for, participating in, and/or appealing formal hearings or trials involving litigation and/or administrative law at the Federal, State or local level. Qualifying litigation experience involves cases in which a complaint was filed with a court, or a charging document (e.g., indictment or information) was issued by a court, a grand jury, or appropriate military authority. Qualifying administrative law experience involves cases in which a formal procedure was initiated by a governmental administrative body.
NOTE: Qualifying experience is calculated only after bar admission.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your assessment questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Ensure that your resume contains your full name, address, phone number, email address, and employment information. Each position listed on your Resume must include: From/To dates of employment (MM/YYYY-MM/YYYY or MM/YYYY to Present); agency/employer name; position title; Federal grade level(s) held, if applicable; hours, if less than full time; and duties performed. In addition, any experience on less than a full time basis must specify the percentage and length of time spent in performance of such duties.

Additional information

In addition to the minimum qualifications above, applicants must submit a Writing Sample, not to exceed 10 pages, which demonstrates their ability to author legal documents, and a document addressing the Quality Ranking Factors in order to be considered for this position. Failure to submit these documents will result in your application being removed from consideration. (See the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section.)

There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to Immigration Judge appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in Immigration Judge hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must claim their status when completing their application in the online application process and attach supporting documentation. (See the "Required Documents" section.)

Conditions of Employment: Only U.S. Citizens or Nationals are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Dual citizens of the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ applicants, both U.S. citizens and non-citizens, whose job location is with the U.S., must meet the residency requirement. For a total of three (not necessarily consecutive years) of the five years immediately prior to applying for a position, the applicant must have: 1) resided in the U.S., 2) worked for the U.S. overseas in a Federal or military capacity; or 3) been a dependent of a Federal or military employee serving oversees.

Alternative work schedule options are available.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants meeting the minimum requirements will be further evaluated to determine those who are best qualified. This determination will be based, in part, on the following Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs):

  1. Ability to demonstrate the appropriate temperament to serve as a judge.
  2. Knowledge of immigration laws and procedures.
  3. Substantial litigation experience, preferably in a high volume context.
  4. Experience handling complex legal issues.
  5. Experience conducting administrative hearings.
  6. Knowledge of judicial practices and procedures.
Applicants are required to address each of the six (6) QRFs in narrative form, to the best of the applicant's ability. A response stating only that the applicant does not have experience will not be considered as addressing the affected QRF. Applicants that do not have experience within a specific factor should instead discuss a similar skill/ability/knowledge/experience for evaluation. Failure to address each factor at this minimum level will result in an ineligible determination. The QRFs must be addressed on a separate document which indicates the by-number of the specific QRF being addressed. Applicants should be thorough in addressing each QRF. For example, applicants addressing QRF #3 (substantial litigation experience) should discuss the approximate number of cases handled in a given period of time, the applicant's specific role (first chair, co-counsel, responsible for the written brief only, etc.), and the length of time involved in a given role (lead counsel in 20 jury trials in 10 years). Applicants should also include specific examples of the types of cases, the number of court appearances made in those cases, and the case dispositions (plea, settlement, bench trial, Jury trial, etc.) Conclusory statements (such as, "the applicant has been involved in a substantial amount of litigation") will receive little or no weight in the evaluation of the QRFs.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.