Do you desire to be a part of the vibrant United States immigrant admission process, to protect American interests and to secure our nation while building a meaningful and rewarding career? If so, United States Citizenship and Immigration, and its Office of the Chief Counsel (OCC) are calling! The Office of the Chief Counsel (OCC) is seeking an experienced attorney for Associate Counsel position to handle immigration issue with the Refugee and Asylum Law Division.
Duties
The Office of the Chief Counsel (OCC), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland Security, is seeking an experienced attorney for an Associate Counsel position to handle immigration issues with the Refugee and Asylum Law Division (RALD). The attorney will serve as an advisor to the RALD Division Chief and Deputies, the Chief Counsel, and to USCIS and other Departmental components on a wide variety of humanitarian immigration matters, including asylum and refugee status, parole, U and T nonimmigrant visas, VAWA, Special Immigrant Juvenile status, temporary protected status, and numerous other benefit types and immigration requests. RALD attorneys provide advice to the Director and USCIS directorates and program offices on the legal consequences of laws, policies, and initiatives that affect immigration processing, adjudication, or other obligations (such as international treaty obligations; screening and vetting processes; national security and fraud; and confidentiality). Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, providing legal advice in the development and review of regulations, policy memoranda, and field guidance; providing litigation support to the Department of Justice in individual and class action federal lawsuits involving USCIS regulations, adjudications, practices, and/or policies. This position is supervised by a RALD Deputy and the RALD chief.
Salary
Qualifications
You qualify at the GS-13 level if you: are currently an attorney in federal employment with the equivalent of being a GS-12 and at least one year experience at that level, or if not a federal employee and you have at least one year of post-J.D. professional legal experience commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. You qualify at the GS-14 level if you: are currently an attorney in federal employment with the equivalent of being a GS-13 and at least one year experience at that level, or if not a federal employee and you have at least two years of post-J.D. professional legal experience commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. You qualify at the GS-15 level if you: are currently an attorney in federal employment with the equivalent of being a GS-14 and at least one year experience at that level, or if not a federal employee and you have at least three years of post-J.D. professional legal experience commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position. Applicants must possess a J.D. or LL.M. degree from an ABA-accredited law school or serve a legal apprenticeship in California, Virginia, Vermont, or Washington and pass the bar exam in order to be permitted to practice law in one (1) of those jurisdictions. Bar Requirement GS-13 thru GS-15: Be an active member of the bar (any jurisdiction). Prior to entering on duty, all selected attorneys must provide a Certificate of Good Standing in holding an active Bar License to practice law in any state or territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, or Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. All applicants will be rated against the following factors: Ability to resolve questions and provide accurate legal advice to both attorneys and non-attorneys on complex legal matters. Ability to handle a heavy workload and meet deadlines. Legal aptitude as reflected in the resume provided. Quality of writing sample not to exceed 10 pages. Quality of the cover letter addressed to OCC summarizing interest in the position not to exceed 1 page. Quality of recommendations provided (No more than 3 recommendations total). To preview the job questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12625687.
Required Documents
In addition to completing an online questionnaire, the following supporting documents must be received by the closing date of this announcement: A cover letter addressed to the Office of the Chief Counsel (OCC) no more than 1 page in length summarizing your background and interest in the position not otherwise evident from the other required documents. Resume. A writing sample not to exceed 10 pages. No more than 3 optional recommendations total. A declaration under penalty of perjury that the applicant is a member in good standing with the bar of a state, territory of the U.S., the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and that his or her fitness to practice law or conduct as an attorney have never been challenged in any jurisdiction, OR if either has been challenged, a sworn declaration concerning the facts and circumstances together with any explanation the applicant may deem appropriate. This notarized sworn statement must be dated within 3 months of the date the application is submitted. If you are or have been a FEDERAL EMPLOYEE, please submit a copy of your last Notification of Personnel Actions, Form SF-50, which shows tenure group, promotion potential and salary, and your most recent or last performance appraisal. Recommendations must be scanned and uploaded into the system along with other supporting documents and addressed to the OCC. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS accounts, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. It is your responsibility to ensure that your correct documents are uploaded and received. Please only submit documents listed in the Required Documents section. This job is being filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive civil service.
How to Apply
Your application must be received by 11:59PM EST on 12/12/2024. To begin, click the Apply Online button and follow the prompts to register or sign into USAJOBS, take the online questionnaire, and submit the required documents. See Required Documents section. Applications will NOT be accepted by mail, email or fax. Relocation expenses will NOT be reimbursed for this position.
