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STUDENT TRAINEE (OPERATIONS SUPPORT)

Department of Homeland Security
Citizenship and Immigration Services
Northeast Regional Office
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in Field Operations Directorate, Office of Field Operations, Northeast Regional Field Offices.

As a STUDENT TRAINEE, you will provide assistance and support to field management staff on a variety of matters in support of USCIS programs and mission requirements.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/21/2022 to 06/27/2022
Salary
$15.47 to - $22.53 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 04
Locations
Hartford, CT
FEW vacancies
Boston, MA
FEW vacancies
Lawrence, MA
FEW vacancies
Portland, ME
FEW vacancies
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Internships
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
04
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Announcement number
NER-2022-0012
Control number
659387700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Internship program eligibles who have been accepted for enrollment or are currently enrolled in an accredited educational institution AND are able to physically report to the hiring office.

Duties

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  • As a Student Trainee, you will gain valuable professional, administrative, and/or technical on-the-job training and experience with the opportunity to explore future career possibilities with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
  • Research and assemble pertinent information from a variety of sources, including electronic files, archival records, instructions, directives, standing operating procedures, reference guides and operating manuals.
  • Provide general administrative support to the functional areas to which assigned, including responding to routine inquiries, maintaining hard copy and software based filing and tracking systems, and preparing and editing correspondence
  • Use software products such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel to produce briefing materials.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National to apply for this position
  • Successfully pass a Background Investigation including financial disclosure
  • You must pass a drug screening
  • You must submit resume and supporting documentation
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service
  • Political appointees may require OPM approval before on-boarding

To be eligible for this opportunity, you must be able to attend school and physically report to the actual hiring office, on a pre-determined schedule, in order to carry out work assignments. Remote location assignments or a telework schedules, is not currently an option.

Pathways Participant Agreement: All Student Interns are required to sign the Pathways Participant Agreement which outlines program requirements. 

The qualifications for this position must be met by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on the closing date of this announcement.

This position is in the bargaining unit.

This position is not considered "essential" for purposes of reporting to work when the facility might otherwise be closed.

Residency Requirement: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This residency requirement states that candidates must have, for three of the last five years immediately prior to applying for this position; (1) resided in the United States; OR (2) worked for the United States Government as an employee overseas in a Federal or Military capacity, OR (3) been a dependent of a U.S. Federal or Military employee serving overseas.

Background Investigation:To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a review of financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. The background investigation process is initiated after a selection is made. For more information visit the OPM Mythbuster Page.

If a SECRET or TOP SECRET clearance is needed or the position is designated a Sensitive National Security position, all selected candidates must meet the requirements for these clearances or Sensitive National Security position prior to placement AND maintain that level of clearance or national security eligibility while encumbering the position.

Qualifications

This is a Student Intern position in the Pathways Program. Selected individuals are placed in an excepted service position that integrates their academic studies with relevant federal work experience. 

GS-04: You qualify at the GS-04 level if you possess one (1) year of general experience.  Such experience may include:

  • Performing clerical, office or other work that includes filing, answering phones, greeting customers;
  • Responding to routine inquiries, performing data entry; and
  • Creating routine correspondence using a variety of automated systems. OR
  • Completion of two (2) full academic years of post-high school study or an associate's degree from an accredited institution. One year of full-time undergraduate study is defined as 30 semester or 45 quarter hours.

The assessments for this job will measure the following competencies:

  • Manages and Organizes Information
  • Flexibility
  • Technical Competence
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Oral Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Self-Management
  • Teamwork
  • Technology Application
  • Writing

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 the closing date. 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.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office

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

Requirements:

This is an internship appointment with a not-to-exceed (NTE) date. Initial appointments are temporary appointments NTE one year from the time of the initial appointment. These appointments may be extended for an additional year as needed. This is a student intern position in the Pathways Program. Selected individuals are placed in an excepted service position that integrates their academic studies with relevant federal work experience. This appointment may be extended up to one year from the start of the program, and up to one additional year after the first extension. Extensions do not allow for a change in series, grade, or geographic location.

In order to be appointed, you must be enrolled in a qualifying and accredited educational institution pursuing a degree, diploma, or certificate.

A qualifying educational institution is a:

  • Public high school whose curriculum has been approved by a state or local governing body.
  • Private school that provides secondary education as determined under state law.
  • Home-school that is allowed to operate in a state.
  • Technical or vocational school.
  • Two (2)-year or four (4)-year college or university.
  • Graduate or professional school (e.g., law school, medical school).
  • Post-secondary home-school curriculum that has been approved by an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education is qualifying.


A certificate program means post-secondary education, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one (1) academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum.

Students who take online courses are eligible to participate in the Student Internship Program so long as all other requirements are met and the school is accredited by the U.S. Department of Education.

IMPORTANT NOTE: To be eligible for this opportunity, you must provide Spring/Summer or Fall 2022 transcripts and or verification of enrollment. If selected you will be required to provide transcripts to show you are continuing school through or beyond August 31st, 2022; these will be required prior to entering on duty. If you are graduating prior to August 31st, 2022 you are NOT eligible for this program. You must be able to physically report to the actual hiring office in order to carry out work assignments. Remote location assignments are not currently an option.

Transcript required: Transcripts or official documentation to verify current or projected enrollment, with an accredited educational institution, must be submitted as part of the complete application package and must be received by the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If education is being used as the only means for qualifying for this position, appropriate transcripts MUST be submitted, in addition to current or projected enrollment documents, in order to support the receipt of the required level of education. Applicants full name and name of educational institution must be clearly identified on documents submitted. If you don't submit a transcript, we will not use your education when deciding if you're qualified for the job. 

Additional information

Multiple Location :  The actual salary will be set based on the grade, step, and location of the selectee(s) and/or position. You may be expected to report for work at a local USCIS facility based on the needs of the hiring office.  View the 2022 Locality Pay Charts for more information. 

Location Selection Limit: Announcement is open to multiple locations. Applicants are limited to selecting ONE location only.

Special Employment Consideration: The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Personnel Management guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Additional Information:

USCIS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

It is our responsibility to eliminate any risks to national security, public health, and public safety that could be posed by individuals who use illegal drugs. This position may be subject to random testing as a condition of employment. A positive drug test or refusal to be tested will result in disciplinary action, up to and including removal from Federal service.

Note: If you previously retired from the Federal service and are receiving an annuity, your salary may be offset by the amount of your annuity.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Common definitions for hiring terms found in this announcement.

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 position and placed in one of the three categories below based upon information reflected in your resume. Your resume must support your responses to the job specific assessment questionnaires, level of education claimed, experience, and/or training. To remain in consideration for this position, please ensure your resume covers this requirement and that your resume has been successfully submitted as part of your on-line application package.

  • Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a superior level of all evaluation criteria.
  • Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing a background that demonstrates a satisfactory level of the evaluation criteria.
  • Qualified: Applicants possessing the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Creation of this package includes completing two on-line assessments (technical assessment which measures your experience and an Predictive assessment which measure your cognitive ability and soft skills) , uploading your resume, and uploading any required supporting documents. (See the “How To Apply” section of this announcement.)

NOTE: Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified. If you rated yourself higher than what is supported by your application material, you may be excluded from consideration for this job. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

If you are found best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be contacted for an interview.

Veterans: Qualified Veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. (This position is not considered scientific/professional.) Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans' preference.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligible:If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP or ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position, as described above. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement.

Note: Applicants who are referred to the hiring office for selection consideration may be required to complete a writing sample and/or other writing exercise as part of the interview/selection process. If the hiring office decides to request a writing sample and/or other writing exercise as part of its selection process, a designated contractor or Agency representative will contact you to: (1) inform you of this requirement; and (2) provide further instructions.

Conditions of Employment Reminder: If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment


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