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Appellate Immigration Judge

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

Summary

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

This is a 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

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/16/2021 to 04/29/2021
Salary
$157,555 to - $183,300 per year
Pay scale & grade
IJ 00
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Falls Church, VA
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
AIJ-11092243-21-AS
Control number
598649900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

Duties

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This position is in the Board of Immigration Appeals, within the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The incumbent reports to the Deputy Chief Appellate Immigration Judge, who, in turn, reports to the Chief Appellate Immigration Judge.

Appellate Immigration Judges are commissioned to serve in the capacity of an appellate immigration judge in formal, quasi-judicial proceedings to review the determinations of immigration judges in removal and related proceedings, and of certain officers of the DHS in visa petition proceedings and other matters. All Appellate Immigration Judges review the record on appeal, including briefs, exhibits, and transcripts, and hear oral argument when conducted. The Appellate Immigration Judge may concur or present dissenting opinions based on his/her view of any given case. The majority of the Appellate Immigration Judge's duties fall into the general categories of removal proceedings, discretionary relief, claims of persecution, stays of removal, visa petitions, administrative fines, bond and detention, and immigration judge. Although the majority of the Appellate Immigration Judges' time concerns hearing appeals, the incumbent is also qualified to conduct and may be assigned to conduct proceedings in the first instance as an immigration judge.


Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • You must undergo a pre-employment security investigation.
  • 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 Appellate 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 ten (10) pages, demonstrating their ability to author legal documents and a document addressing the Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs). (See "How You Will Be Evaluated" section.) Failure to submit these documents will result in your application package being removed from consideration.

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 "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. Proven ability to manage cases, preferably in a high volume context.
  4. Experience handling complex legal issues.
  5. Experience conducting administrative hearings, including proven ability or potential to serve as an effective decision-maker.
  6. Knowledge of judicial practices and procedures.
  7. Excellent analytical, decision-making, and writing abilities.
Applicants are required to address each of the seven (7) 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 number of the specific QRF you are addressing. Applicants should be thorough in addressing the QRFs. 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.

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