Immigration Services Officer

Citizenship and Immigration Services•Yakima, WA

About The Position

The Immigration Services Officer adjudicates complex immigration cases and performs analytical and evaluative work supporting USCIS program activities. The role includes oversight of lower-level Officers and responsibility for cases involving national security and serious public safety concerns. The position also develops and evaluates policies and procedures to detect and prevent benefit fraud and support quality, consistent adjudications. Selected candidates must successfully complete the USCIS Immigration Service Officer Basic (ISO BASIC) Training Program at the USCIS Academy Training Center in Charleston, South Carolina. The program is approximately five to six weeks of academic instruction covering the Immigration and Nationality Act, Code of Federal Regulations, and other immigration-related topics. Failure to achieve the minimum required exam average may result in removal from the position.

Requirements

Be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national.
Successfully pass a background investigation, including financial disclosure.
Pass drug screening; the position may also be subject to random drug testing.
Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must be registered with the Selective Service.
Applicants not currently employed by USCIS must meet the residency requirement: for three of the five years immediately before applying, they must have resided in the United States, worked overseas as a U.S. Government employee in a Federal or Military capacity, or been a dependent of such an employee serving overseas.
Current Federal employees must have completed 52 weeks at the lower grade or equivalent grade band; the time-in-grade requirement must be met by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 26, 2026.
At the GS-13 level, have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-12, including experience performing the majority of the listed duties: making final determinations on complex and fraud-prone immigration cases; reviewing and assessing junior staff casework for compliance; and training, coaching, or mentoring staff in immigration adjudications.
Submit a resume of no more than two pages with the required work-history details and supporting application materials by the stated deadline.
Successfully complete the approximately five-to-six-week ISO BASIC training program and meet its minimum exam-average requirement.
Political appointees may need OPM approval before onboarding.
If a SECRET or TOP SECRET clearance or sensitive national security eligibility is required for the position, meet and maintain the applicable requirements.

Responsibilities

Adjudicate complex cases, including making final determinations on complex and fraud-prone immigration cases.
Conduct security checks, identify fraud, and interview applicants and petitioners.
Provide oversight of lower-level Officers and review junior staff casework for compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.
Ensure program quality assurance and provide training, coaching, or mentoring to promote quality and consistency in adjudications.
Analyze the effectiveness of existing and proposed standards, regulations, and policies.
Assume adjudication authority for cases involving national security and serious public safety concerns.
Conduct legal research and prepare briefs, position papers, legal decisions and opinions, notices of intent, notices to appear in removal proceedings, and court motions or responses.
Develop standard operating policies and procedures to detect and prevent benefit fraud, and monitor progress toward objectives.
Liaise with others and communicate decisions.