This serves as public notice for the use of OPM's Direct Hire Authority(link removed) Applicants who meet the qualification requirements will be forwarded to the selecting official for consideration. We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.

Applicants must meet all the 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.

Applicants applying for the GS-05 must meet one of the qualification requirements listed below:

General Experience:

A. Completion of three years of general experience, one of which was equivalent to the GS-04 level, involving the analysis, explanation, application, or interpretation of laws, rules, regulations, procedures, etc. Qualifying general experience may have been gained as a law clerk, contact representative, claims examiner, voucher examiner, or similar work with a government or private employer.

OR

B. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in any field leading to a bachelor's degree.

OR

C. Combination of education and experience.

If you do not qualify based on education or experience alone, you can combine your education and experience by converting each to a percentage and then adding the percentages. To calculate this, determine your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required; then determine your education as a percentage of the education required; then add the two percentages. The total percentages 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.

Applicants applying for the GS-07 must meet one of the qualification requirements listed below:

A. Completion of at least 1 full year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service) that demonstrated knowledge of the immigration and/or nationality laws of the United States. Qualifying specialized experience may have been gained in work such as developing, examining, investigating, or authorizing claims arising under the immigration and/or nationality laws of the United States.

OR

B. Completion of 1 full year of graduate level education in law, or other administrative or management fields related to the position. For your information, one academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

OR

C. A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university AND you meet one of the following provisions of the superior academic achievement:

Grade point averages should be rounded to one decimal point. For example, 2.95 is rounded to 3.0, and 2.94 is rounded to 2.9. NOTE: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honor society.

OR

D(link removed) Combination of graduate level education and specialized experience. If you have some but not all of the experience or education described above, you may still qualify by combining the amount of creditable experience and education that you do have. To do so, convert each to a percentage and then add the percentages the sum of which must equal at least 100%. For example, an applicant who has 6 months of professional experience (50% of the experience requirement) and at least 9 semester hours of creditable graduate work (50% of the education required) would satisfy the qualifications requirements for the GS-07 level. 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.

• For reasonable accommodation at the U.S. Department of State, please contact the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations at (202) 663-3474 or OAA@state.gov.
• If eligible, telework agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to other similar positions in other Bureaus/Offices in the Department for up to 240 days. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.
• A recruitment incentive of 10% (of the rate of basic pay) may be authorized for newly hired employees and would require employees who receive a recruitment incentive to sign a 24-month Continued Service Agreement.