Legal Careers
Chief Immigration Judge
Falls Church, VA 22041 - United States
If you are interested in a rewarding and challenging career, this is the position for you!
NOTE: The Chief Immigration Judge position is designated as SES General and may be filled by either a Career or Noncareer Senior Executive Service member.
This position is located in the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ) which includes a headquarters staff and all Immigration Courts located throughout the country. The incumbent provides overall program direction, establishes and articulates operating policies, oversees policy implementation and establishes priorities for immigration courts, adjudication centers and judges throughout the Nation. The OCIJ also manages the Office of the Chief Clerk, the Language Services Unit and coordinates management and operation of all immigration courts.
Typical work assignments will include:
- Responsible for the formulation and administration of policies affecting the mission of EOIR.
- Manages the development, evaluation, and implementation of policies for agency-wide programs.
- Explores and plans long-range development goals, as well as short-term strategies.
- Develops and implements funding and resource strategies to further the agency's goals and oversees strategic planning for all agency components.
- Exercises the authority delegated by the Attorney General and represents the position and policies of EOIR before the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, Members of Congress and other governmental bodies, the press, the bar, and private groups interested in immigration matters.
In order to qualify for the Chief Immigration Judge position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
- Education: Applicants must possess an LL.B. or a J.D. 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 a minimum of seven (7) years of post-bar admission legal experience including a minimum of one (1) year of experience at or equivalent to the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service.
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, 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.
In addition to the minimum qualifications listed above, you must possess the following Executive Core Qualifications and Mandatory Technical Qualifications:
Executive Core Qualifications: Applicants seeking initial career appointment to the Senior Executive Service (SES) must submit narrative responses addressing each of the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ). Current or former SES members must submit an SF-50 and/or QRB Certification of ECQs to show current or former service in the SES. OPM's Guide to the Senior Executive Service Qualifications provides detailed information on the ECQs.
- ECQ 1: Leading Change. This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
- ECQ 2: Leading People. This core qualification involves the ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.
- ECQ 3: Results Driven. This core qualification involves the ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations. Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
- ECQ 4: Business Acumen. This core qualification involves the ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
- ECQ 5: Building Coalitions. This core qualification involves the ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.
AND
Mandatory Technical Qualifications: All applicants must submit narrative responses addressing each of the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQ).
- MTQ 1: Comprehensive, professional knowledge of, and experience in, immigration law and procedures including regulatory, statutory, administrative, and judicial case law. Temperament to serve as an Immigration Judge, experience handling complex legal issues, and knowledge of judicial practices and procedures.
- MTQ 2: Executive management and legal experience in court system management involving allocation, planning and directing of human and fiscal resources, supervision of staff, evaluation of program effectiveness and compliance with agency/organizational fair employment initiatives. Leadership to motivate and retain a productive, highly trained, and specialized corps of Immigration Judges, attorney advisors, and court staff.
MTQ 3: Experience providing counsel or advice under challenging and sensitive domestic and international conditions, which may involve unprecedented novel and complex foreign and domestic laws, covering a vast subject range that may substantially impact individuals and foreign relations and communicating counsel or advice to develop program and policy goals.
Additional information
Location will be in a non-detained Immigration Court in the continental United States.
To apply for this position, please click the below link to access the vacancy announcement via USA Jobs: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/834937000 . Please read announcement thoroughly. You must submit a complete application package by 11:59PM (EST) on 5/8/2025, the closing date of this announcement.
Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflicts of interest or disqualification issues that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
$150,160 - $225,700 per year
Department Policies
The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. To learn more, please visit the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department’s Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.
Unless otherwise required by law, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits employees of the U.S. Department of Justice or a federal contractor acting on its behalf from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history record, either in writing or orally, before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint within 30 days of the date of the alleged non-compliance directly to the hiring office using the contact information listed in the announcement.
It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee’s Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates must have lived in the United States for at least three of the past five years. The three-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. This is a Department security requirement which is waived only for extreme circumstances and handled on a case-by-case basis.
There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must include that information in their cover letter or resume and attach supporting documentation (e.g., the DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) to their submissions. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service- connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that their retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
Assistant United States Attorneys must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.
This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.