Appeals Officer

Citizenship and Immigration Services; Camp Springs (MD); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) seeks an Appeals Officer to conduct thorough reviews of complex immigration appeals, draft detailed decisions, and adjudicate motions within the agency's administrative appellate authority.

The role requires analytical legal reasoning, strong writing skills, and the ability to manage competing deadlines in a federal context.

Qualifications

• Experience conducting legal research on matters involving complex or novel issues of law or fact.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills (e.g. writing decisions for an appellate authority or related activities).
• Proven ability to meet deadlines, manage diverse workload, and follow established procedures.

Responsibilities

• Conduct thorough review of appeals, write detailed decisions on, and adjudicate complicated and sensitive appeals, motions, and certifications within the jurisdiction of the USCIS administrative appellate authority.

Skills

Legal research

Written communication

Oral communication

Time management

Job description

Protect your homeland and defend your culture. Join USCIS, America's frontline defense against illegal foreign infiltration and fraud. As an Appeals Officer, you will conduct thorough review of, write detailed decisions on, and adjudicate complicated and sensitive appeals, motions, and certifications within the jurisdiction of the USCIS administrative appellate authority.

DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.

Qualifications Deadline

The qualifications for this position must be met by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on 09/14/2026.

Time in Grade does not apply to Delegated Examining Announcements, any reference to Time in Grade in the questionnaire will not apply to the rating and ranking of applicants.

Application Limit

This vacancy is limited to the first 100 applications received. All applications received prior to midnight 11:59 PM (ET) of the day the application limit is reached will be accepted and considered. If the application limit is not reached by the closing date of the announcement, all applications received during the open period will be considered. Any required documents must be submitted at the time that you apply as documents will not be accepted past the day the application limit is reached, if applicable. If you choose to edit your application after it has been submitted, it will be removed from consideration until you re-submit your application. The date your application is last submitted will be used to determine whether you meet the cut‑off criteria.

Selective Placement Factor

You must have experience working on immigration‑related appeals and/or motions. This experience must be documented in your resume. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.

GS-14

You qualify at the GS-14 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the majority of the following duties:

• Experience conducting legal research on matters involving complex or novel issues of law or fact.
• Demonstrated expertise applying immigration laws, regulations, precedents, and policy by either 1) writing legal briefs in support of applications and petitions for immigration benefits or 2) adjudicating immigration benefit requests.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills (e.g. writing decisions for an appellate authority such as the Board of Immigration Appeals, writing legal briefs or motions relating to immigration litigation, drafting policy, briefing senior management, providing training or similar activities).
• Proven ability to meet deadlines, manage diverse workload, work independently, and follow established procedures and standards.

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.

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 critical 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 experience.