Policy Advisor

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division, Office of Domestic Operations, Visa Services Directorate (CA/VO/DO/I).

The incumbent analyzes visa data, forecasts immigrant visa demand, supports publication of the Visa Bulletin, and advises senior leadership on immigration policy, legislation, and global trends affecting visa allocation, foreign policy, and national security.

Applicants must meet all the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of this announcement.

If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript with your application.

NOTE: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements, by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-In-Grade Requirements: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions, per 5CFR 300, Subpart F.

Applicants must have the required experience or education as described below and meet any selective factors, when specified.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: Have a bachelor's or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in international law, international relations, political science, economics, history, sociology, geography, social or cultural anthropology, law, statistics, or in the humanities; OR Have a bachelor's or graduate degree from an accredited college or university that included a combination of courses, with at least 24 semester hours in international law and international relations, political science, economics, history, sociology, geography, social or cultural anthropology, law, statistics, or in the humanities; OR Have 12 semester hours in one of the above disciplines and 12 semester hours in statistics / quantitative methods.

OR Have a combination of education and experience where your coursework was equivalent to a major, or a combination of related courses totaling at least 24 semester hours, (as shown above), PLUS appropriate relevant experience OR additional education.

OR Have completed at least 4 years of appropriate experience in one OR more of the fields listed above in work associated with international organizations, problems, or other aspects of foreign affairs.

(NOTE: qualifying work experience may have been gained through residence, study, teaching, business or commercial activities, military service, newspaper work, military or civil government activities, missionary or international relief work, or other experience in foreign countries.) Note: If you are qualifying based on education, you MUST submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement by the closing date of this announcement.

If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you WILL lose consideration for this position.

IN ADDITION to the basic requirements, this position requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service which provided the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Experience researching and analyzing visa legislation and regulations; Experience responding to complex data inquiries and requests for information; Experience evaluating the effectiveness of the visa processes and making recommendations to improve effectiveness and efficiency; and Experience using Standard Querying Language (SQL) programming language and data visualization.

Note: If you are qualifying based on education, you MUST submit transcripts as verification of educational requirement by the closing date of this announcement.

If you fail to provide requested information, or the information you submit is insufficient to verify your eligibility, you WILL lose consideration for this position. Major Duties:

• Researches and analyzes visa legislation and regulations, as well as procedural and policy proposals as they pertain to the management, collection, dissemination of statistical data on visa activities, and the allocation and control of visa numbers.
• Responds to a broad range of complex inquiries and requests for information- including those received from Bureau and Department officials, Congress, attorneys, and the public.
• Exercises accountability for the preparation of special purpose reports on visa statistics as requested by the Visa Office, the Bureau, overseas posts, Department, Congress, and other parties interested in or affected by visa statistics and trends.
• Research and implements best practices for collecting, maintaining, and publishing statistics in accordance with office and Department mission goals