immigration officer

service assistant

examiner

transaction processing associate

operations associate

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

In my previous position as a desktop support technician, everyday was different. There were days when I installed hardware and software, or received service tickets which had to be evaluated to determined the root cause and ultimately the solution to the problem.

The consistent part of my responsibilities were to deliver quality service to my end users. That was very gratifying and enjoyable to be faced with problems which were on the service tickets and solve the problem/problems in an efficient manner which met my customers satisfaction.

I learned that everyday is different and every customer has a different level of expectation.  The hardest part of the job was gauging the customers expectation based on their level of technical experience and knowledge.  In providing service to my customers I began to know how much information a customer wanted to know about their problem and how to alleviate it in the future.

The management at my previous employer allowed me to perform my responsibilities without much interaction. I enjoyed the autonomy which I had and worked hard everyday to give the company my best effort.  

In the position I had, I basically worked independent of my co-workers.  However, their were a few projects in which we worked as a team during hardware installations and migrations.  That was rewarding to work in a team environment and exchange knowledge about various aspects of our job responsibilities.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part about working at USCIS is being the face of America to a diverse population of immigrants from all over the world while being enriched by their culture too. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part about working at USCIS is the high volume of work year round. There is never a dull moment. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment can be permeated with retaliation by management because  of favoritism especially in the hiring and promotion. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day for an Immigration Services Officer is about conducting an average of 8 interviews a day with the general public seeking an immigration benefit. The Officer determines eligibility and reviews case for possible fraud, whether document fraud, visa or marriage fraud. In the afternoon you will spend time writing final decisions on the cases.

Very meaningful mission, unfortunately management is not concerned about the true mission of the job. Primary focus of leadership is case completion numbers, to the detriment of the employees' well-being (no time to take legal breaks, no extra time to work on complex cases), and the quality of work suffers as a result of this.  Training is seriously lacking, and you will be expected to somehow keep up with ever-changing immigration law without support from management and senior officers. Promotion is based primarily on who you know rather than your skills and experience. This explains why people who have not been through basic immigration law academy training are somehow promoted to senior officer and management positions. 

I currently work as an Immigration Services Assistant and its an okay job. I am primarily responsible for handling the filing of documents for ICE and CBP. Consolidating files, printing, sending off files and letters is the bulk of the job. This is great for someone who enjoys general office duties with occasionally checking in customers with appointments. It can be monotonous and a bit boring since there isn't much variety and it's repetitive. Depending on your role as an ISA (Naturalization, Records, Adjudication) , it may or may not be telework eligible. The people here are generally friendly and its pretty diverse as well. They also encourage you to move up within the organization and become an ISO. Additionally, they offer an Alternative Work Schedule where you can adjust your start time and work extended hours so you can have rotating Friday's off. 




What is the best part of working at the company?
Incredible support from each and every employee every day. When in training and I had questions, coworkers would just stop what they were doing and help out. I’ve never felt so much support and so grateful for them..

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Learning a new job takes in this organization over a year to learn. So you have to be patient and show yourself some grace each and every day..

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work environment and culture within this organization was absolutely inclusive  and supportive of everyone.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Reviewing email in the morning and then starting the day with my upcoming projects and then finish up the afternoon with reviewing emails again.

Typical day at USCIS involves interviewing applicants for green cards or citizenship every day. The adjudications we make impact lives daily, so we conduct thorough security checks to make sure the applicants are eligible for benefits sought. The work culture is stressful at times due to case load. I have learned that sometimes it’s okay to ask for help when I’m unsure about cases. I’m very lucky to have supportive team members who are always willing to brainstorm cases with me when I’m unsure. The hardest part of the job is knowing not everyone will be truthful during interviews and it’s our job to make sure we do our due diligence. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Resolving clients problems which are unique in nature. Each client has different need. The solution to this need was not textbook base. It required experience, and a manager who can think outside the BOX. This process made me happy.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The city and state inspections especially the dynamic part of the inspection, new laws and ordinances which must be followed to the last letter on the law book.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Peaceful. The company let individual manager brings new idea, and the part the company use this idea and give credit to who initiate the idea.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Start slow, and end with intensity.

The mission is noble with a tremendous workload and backlog due to politics and uneducated media.  Time schedules are very tight based on legal decisions.

Career progression is very possible without having to relocate.  Work hours are very flexible with many options to choose from.  The most popular are 4 10-hour day work weeks or 9 9-hour days with a three day weekend every other week.

The frustrating aspect is a toxic union environment that appears to thwart continual improvement as “change in working condition” instead of embracing progress as found in top organizations.  Union defense of poor performance or behavior is disappointing; it’s more about job security than weeding out those who don’t belong.

Bureacracy unfortunately is very alive.

Like many government agencies, it provides good job security, ok pay, and decent benefits.   It's very family friendly - very flexible about leaving work to address family issues.  Most positions are protected by the Union, which makes it very hard to get fired.  Employees are usually prohibited from working over 40, and it's not possible to due work in evenings or weekends.

The work gets very repetitive and boring after a while.  Opportunities for advancement or creative, impactful work are very limited outside of Washington DC.  It's easiest to stay if you don't care too much about doing a great job.  Some of the agency's programs are subject to heavy fraud, and it is painful to watch superiors turn a blind eye to these problems.

USCIS previously ranked decently high in lists of great places to work in the federal government, but expect those rankings to fall this year (and probably for the federal government as a whole).  In my short time here, there have been several hiring freezes and budget cuts, including the threat of furloughs this summer.  That and the politicized nature of immigration agencies in this administration have weakened morale, eliminated training budgets, and made advancement virtually impossible.  
Otherwise, management is pretty good and the staff is diverse and competent.  Work/life balance is good and the mission is theoretically inspiring. Just know what you're getting into.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Immigration officer 7 salaries reported	$70,491 per year
Service assistant 1 salary reported	$36,737 per year
Examiner 3 salaries reported	$44,667 per year
Transaction processing associate 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Operations associate 1 salary reported	$61,477 per year

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