Passport Specialist

Summary

This position is located in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Passport Services Directorate, Office of Adjudication, Restrictive Actions Division (PPT/S/A/RA). Serves as the primary liaison with law enforcement and civil matters involving citizenship, passport or other related issues. Reviewing, determining passport issuance with regard to all law enforcement holds, and examining or adjudicating the legal status cases involving the denial, limitation, and revocation of U.S. passport products.

Duties

• Reviews and examines a wide variety of the most complex, controversial, or sensitive cases referred to the office for decisions regarding the continuing eligibility of applicants to receive U.S. passports.
• Provides advice, guidance, and direction to passport agencies/centers and U.S. embassies and consulates on the appropriate procedures to be followed and actions to be taken on the most complex cases where a passport is denied, limited, or revoked.
• Analyzes passport agency/center workload trends on passport restrictive actions based on data gathered from a wide variety of sources.
• Establishes and maintains liaison with a wide array of stakeholders and provides expert technical advice and guidance to ensure the uniform administration and interpretation of laws and regulations applicable to passport restrictive actions.
• Prepares and disseminates correspondence, cables, and other written program related materials on a wide range of matters involving the denial, limitation and revocation of passports where the materials represent the position of the Department.

Qualifications

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. To qualify for the GS-11, you must meet A, B or C as follows: A. At least one year of specialized experience, equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, that demonstrates the ability to plan and coordinate program activities and the ability to make decisions; the ability to communicate orally and to meet and deal; the ability to assemble data, analyze management problems and recommend solutions; the ability to research, interpret and apply regulatory and precedent material; the ability to communicate in writing; and the ability to interpret statistical data. Qualifying specialized experience may have been gained in work such as developing, examining, investigating, adjudicating, or authorizing claims arising under the immigration and/or nationality laws of the United States. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Experience processing, examining and resolving holds on passport. Experience using consular data bases to research cases. Experience working with internal stakeholders and the general public. Experience applying citizenship and nationality laws to determine U.S. citizenship. OR B. A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or have successfully completed three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree. Major field of study should be public administration, political science, or other field related to this position. OR C. A combination of specialized experience as described in A and more than two years of graduate education as described in B which totals at least one year. To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. If you are qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with your application, and if selected, an official college transcript will be required to verify education prior to employment. To qualify for the GS-12: Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 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 may have been gained in work such as developing, examining, investigating, adjudicating, or authorizing claims arising under the immigration and/or nationality laws of the United States. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Experience interpreting & applying nationality and citizenship laws to determine entitlement to a U.S. passport. Experience using automated passport systems, to access passport application-related information used in the adjudication of restrictive action cases. Experience analyzing and evaluating technical evidence or other documentation that may lead to the denial, limitation, or revocation of passports. Experience participating in interagency forums, committees, or working groups to address policy issues related to the adjudication of passport restrictive action cases. There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-12 position. To qualify for GS-13: Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to 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 may have been gained in work such as developing, examining, investigating, adjudicating, or authorizing claims arising under the immigration and/or nationality laws of the United States. Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Experience reviewing and resolving complex passport restrictive action cases. Experience interpreting and applying citizenship and nationality laws to complex passport cases. Experience analyzing evidence to determine passport denial, limitation, or revocation actions. Experience providing guidance to internal and external stakeholders on passport restrictive action cases. There is no substitute of education for specialized experience for the GS-13 position.

Education

See the qualifications section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.

How to apply

Prepare your application in USAJOBS To start your application, click Apply and we'll walk you through the process to attach a resume and any required documents. During the application process you can review, edit, delete, and update your information. We'll automatically save your progress as you go, so you won't lose any changes. You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement to complete the application process. STEP 1: Select the "Apply" button and follow the instructions to register or sign into USAJOBS. STEP 2: Submit your resume. Please see the Required Documents section for specific information that should be outlined in your resume. STEP 3: Complete the online assessment questions. STEP 4: Submit all required documentation applicable to you, as listed in the Required Documents section. To learn how to view the status of your submitted supporting documentation and application, visit the Application Instructions section of our agency's Civil Service selection process site. Technical assistance with your on-line application is available through the Help Desk at [email protected] or by calling (866) 656-6830 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. ET Alternate Application Procedures If applying online poses an extreme hardship, you may request alternate application procedures to submit your application package. Contact the Human Resources office listed on the announcement between the business hours of 8:15 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET at least 2 working days prior to the closing date of this announcement. The application package for alternate application procedures must be submitted and received in the Human Resources office no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the closing date of this announcement. Paper applications and information sent by mail will not be accepted.