Congressional Liaison Specialist

Duties
As a Congressional Liaison Specialist, you will:

• Plan, direct and coordinate all congressional liaison activity within the USCIS District in accordance with the USCIS Office of Legislative Affairs Strategic Plan.
• Serve as the District's primary legislative affairs lead supporting the District Director.
• Maintain awareness of potential problems of a politically sensitive nature, areas of special or urgent congressional interest, and trends, and advise management on strategy to respond to congressional concerns.
• Plan and conduct regular outreach efforts specifically tailored for the needs of local congressional staff in order to exchange information, and promote USCIS programs and initiatives.
• Provide expert technical advice and assistance to Members of Congress and their staff in the analysis, interpretation and clarification of immigration issues and new and revised USCIS programs and initiatives.
• Develop and maintain extensive knowledge of the mission, operations, special interests and areas of concern of USCIS.
• Respond to written and telephonic congressional inquiries concerning a full range of immigration issues.
• Provide complex technical guidance and expertise on interpreting laws and regulations, and policy and procedures on highly sensitive complex legislative, policy or individual casework matters.

Qualifications
GS-13: You qualify at the GS-13 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-12 level in the federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the following duties:

• Analyzing complex immigration casework or congressional matters associated with the planning, coordination, and implementation of agency programs and activities.
• Independently planning and carrying out a wide variety of congressional matters associated with the planning and execution of major activities within the agency, and coordinating agency views on legislation or comments on congressional reports.
• Engaging in the practice of law or highly complex immigration casework concerned with the admission of aliens to, and their status, in the United States, as well as their exclusion or removal from the United States, including writing decisions and responses to immigration benefit decisions involving substantial problems but directly applicable precedents.
• And researching legislative history, precedent cases, and decisions regarding immigration petitions, claims, and information requests, including substantiating the rationale for action taken in event of appeal.

Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application:
It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please be clear and specific when describing your work history as we cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Your application will also be rated and ranked among others based on your responses to the online questions.

Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information:

• Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job)
• Duties (be specific in describing your duties)
• Employer's name and address
• Supervisor name and phone number
• Start and end dates including month, day and year (e.g. June 18 2007 to April 05 2008)
• Start and end dates for each grade/pay level if you've held a federal position.
• Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
• Salary

Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide the above information may result in a finding of ineligible.

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 criteria 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 service. Please provide the dates and amount of time/hours worked earning this experience.

Education
EDUCATIONAL SUBSTITUTION: There is no educational substitution at this grade level.