Immigration Officer Qualifications

Immigration officers work for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security. Officers usually adjudicate immigration petitions, such as a U.S. citizen's petition for a spouse's legal status or a lawful permanent resident's application to become a U.S. citizen. Extensive immigration knowledge is not a critical requirement, as the USCIS provide training in immigration law. In fact, the majority of immigration officers are not attorneys, and have honed their skills by working at the USCIS.

Basics

You have to be a U.S. citizen to work as an immigration officer. Citizenship can be attained by birth, acquisition, derivation or naturalization. You also must pass a drug test, background check and successfully obtain a security clearance. Upon being hired, you will attend a six-week training, currently in Dallas, and a one-week session in Lee's Summit, Missouri, along with training at your base location, like a service center. Qualified applicants secure their employment after completing training.

Salary

Immigration officer positions typically are full-time. Salary depends on your General Schedule (GS) pay scale, which currently ranges from about $27,000 to over $40,000; however, federal benefits also include health insurance, paid vacation and retirement plans.

Specialist

There are many different positions within USCIS. For instance, the Fraud Detection and National Security unit identifies security threats and reviews fraud trends. For example, certain countries in Africa and South America have high levels of application fraud. To obtain a FDNS-related position, such as an intelligence research specialist or analyst, you must obtain proper security clearance and be able to collect as well as assess large amounts of data.

Resources

Other immigration-related positions might be available through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the Customs and Border Protection Department. For instance, immigration officers conduct inspections at airports throughout the United States. Border patrol agents mostly work along the U.S. and Canadian or Mexican borders, and do not require law enforcement backgrounds.

Job Announcements

Instead of relying on civil service exams, the federal government has established usajobs.gov as a central job search and application website. After applying online, you will be contacted to take a test. Based on your test score, you will be contacted regarding an interview. You receive extra points if you are a veteran. If you are a male, make sure you have registered for Selective Service.

References

• Government job search
• USCIS
• CBP