The Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) Branch is responsible for the nationwide coordination of all civil immigration litigation before the federal district courts and circuit courts of appeals. OIL has two sections: the General Litigation and Appeals Section (OIL-GLA) and District Court National Security Section (OIL-DNS).
Applicants must possess a J.D. degree (or equivalent), be an active member in good standing of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), have at least one year of post J.D. (or equivalent) legal or other relevant experience to qualify at the GS-12 level; have at least one and a half years of post J.D. experience to qualify at the GS-13 level; have at least two and a half years of post J.D. experience to qualify at the GS-14 level; and four years of post J.D. experience to qualify at the GS-15 level. You must also be a U.S. citizen. Applicants should have excellent writing, negotiation, and interpersonal skills; exhibit good judgment, and have experience in trial work. Judicial clerkship experience is desirable.
OIL-DNS attorneys handle individual and class-based challenges to the Immigration and Nationality Act and its implementing regulations related to National Security. Many of these challenges involve issues of first impression involving constitutional rights and entitlements, statutory interpretation, federal authority over immigration matters, agency rulemaking procedures, and Article III standing. In federal courts around the country, OIL-DNS primarily represents the interests of client agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State. Work includes handling all aspects of trial and appellate practice in all jurisdictions nationwide. The Section's work arises in a variety of immigration contexts, including defense of: de novo lawsuits under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1421(c) and 1447(b), denials and delays of naturalization applications to prevent terrorists from obtaining United States citizenship (and U.S. passports); habeas corpus petitions filed by individuals posing a national security threat; national-security-focused challenges to the denial of applications for adjustment of status and visas under the Administrative Procedure Act; class-action and programmatic challenges to national-security checks and immigration-benefit adjudications; and mandamus challenges to immigrant-benefit application delays involving both overt and non-overt national-security concerns. A critical component of DNS's complex work involves litigation of extraordinary detention authorities to detain suspected or known terrorists presenting unique removal challenges as some of the most dangerous aliens in the United States. This is not a remote location position. You will be required to work in person five days a week.