Legal Administrative Specialist (Lead)

This position is located in the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Executive Office for Immigration Review, U. S. Department of Justice. This position leads appellate case processing before the Board of Immigration Appeals by assigning and monitoring work, reviewing records, analyzing legal issues and workflows, and supporting timely, accurate adjudication. This is a Competitive Service position; additional positions may be filled from this announcement within 90 days of certificate issuance.

Duties

The duties and responsibilities for a Legal Administrative Specialist (Lead), GS-0901-11 generally include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Leading administrative appellate case processing by assigning work, setting deadlines, monitoring progress, coaching staff, and reporting team accomplishments and training needs.
• Establishing and adjusting short-term priorities, schedules work, allocates resources, and coordinates with management to support efficient program operations.
• Analyzing case processing workflows, program operations, legislation, regulations, and technology changes to identify problems and recommend operational improvements.
• Reviewing signed Board decisions, circulation sheets, and case dockets for accuracy, initiates corrective action, and ensures timely movement of cases through the processing team.
• Verifying case data and official records, including legal citations, decisions, names, and identification numbers, to maintain data integrity and quality control.
• Evaluating case files and legal documents for completeness, deficiencies, litigation requirements, patterns, and trends, and determines appropriate processing actions.
• Conducting legal and historical research, statistical analysis, and records searches to obtain information needed for attorney review and case adjudication.

Salary

• $85,447 - $111,087/year

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• You will be required to complete a pre-employment security investigation and background check which includes a drug screening.
• You may be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
• Selective Service registration is required for males born on, or after, December 31st 1959. Those not registered should have an approved exemption on file.
• Financial Disclosure: If selected, you may be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.
• Salary payments must be by direct deposit to a financial institution.
• If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. See “How to Apply” section for more information.
• Must be a Current DOJ/EOIR Employee and applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements for consideration.
• Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for the Legal Administrative Specialist (Lead) position, you must meet the following time in grade requirements and minimum qualifications:

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-9 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-11 level. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. If your eligibility for both merit promotion and/or time-in-grade cannot be determined, your application will be rated ineligible. Please see Required Documents for additional information).

AND

Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one year (52 weeks, full-time) of specialized work experience equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service (or comparable experience outside the Federal service), performing 3 or more of the following duties:

• Coordinating legal or administrative casework by setting priorities, tracking deadlines, and resolving routine workload issues;
• Reviewing case files and supporting documents to verify accuracy, completeness, party information, and required documentation;
• Analyzing workflows, policies, procedures, and processing trends to identify problems and recommend operational improvements; and
• Conducting legal research to identify applicable laws, regulations, and precedents and support appropriate case actions.

(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience)

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here.

Other Information Conditions of Employment: Only U.S. citizens or nationals are eligible for employment with the EOIR. Dual citizenship will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants must also meet DOJ's residency requirement by having, for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately preceding application, either: (1) resided in the U.S., (2) worked overseas for the U.S. Government or military, or (3) been a dependent of a Federal or military employee serving overseas. This position is open to Current Department of Justice/Executive Office for Immigration Review Employees in the Competitive Service with Career or Career Conditional Tenure. Your SF-50 must reflect current employment with and career/career-conditional tenure (Tenure field is 1 or 2); AND status in the competitive service (Position Occupied field is 1). This includes current Department of Justice/Executive Office for Immigration Review employees who are Competitive and/or Non-Competitive eligibles. Note: Multiple selections may be made from this announcement. Salary is approximate and subject to locality pay based on the official duty station. Required Documents

Your complete Application Package (containing the required documents) must be received no later than 11:59 pm Eastern on the closing date.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Your Resume (2 pages) showing relevant experience; cover letter optional. (Please see the How You Will Be Evaluated section for more details on the resume)
2. A complete Application Questionnaire. To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13108106
3. Complete the USA Hire Assessments, you will receive a notification with your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline if an assessment is required.
4. SF-50 reflecting current employment and proof of status with the Department of Justice/Executive Office for Immigration Review. The SF-50 must show you are a current DOJ/EOIR employee. Must provide your most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are in the competitive service (block 24 must contain a 1 or 2 and block 34 must contain a 1), highest grade held (and promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title (block 15), series, grade and step (blocks 17, 18 & 19), and organization of record (block 22). If your current grade is not your highest permanent grade, submit an additional SF-50 showing your highest grade. If you are a current temporary/term employee who previously held a status Federal position, you need to submit your SF-50 which shows your eligibility to be considered. Examples of qualifying SF-50s: Promotion, WIG, new appointment, and SF-50s dated more than one year. You may have to submit multiple SF-50s. If your eligibility for both merit promotion and/or time-in-grade cannot be determined, your application will be rated ineligible. Must be uploaded and submitted with your application packaged by the closing date of the announcement.
5. Other Supporting Documents, if applicable to you.

• Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), most recent performance appraisal, SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, full performance level, and duty location with your application.To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and (for scored examining) score 85 or better on established ranking criteria and must submit proof of eligibility for the special selection priority. Additional information about CTAP eligibility can be found by clicking here.
• Any other supporting documentation required for verification as described in the announcement.
• All documentation, including resumes and transcripts, must be in English or include an English translation.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Remove photos from badges, licenses, or other documents, as hiring officials may not review documents containing images.

Failure to submit all required documents may result in your application being deemed incomplete and removed from consideration. It is your responsibility to ensure your application package is complete.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:

1. To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Occupational questionnaire can be previewed here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13108106
3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 11/12/2026.
4. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
5. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
6. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
7. Set aside about two (2) hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
8. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.

Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.

To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.