Continuing evolution

Why this position, why now? It’s all part of the “continuing evolution” of the CBP officer position, says Deputy CBP Commissioner Deborah J. Spero. Spero chartered a working group “to review the CBP officer occupation to further refine vital responsibilities and consider whether new position might be required.” Based on their discussions and research, CBP officials recognized that there are specialty areas that require additional, focused training and experience, and that the immigration secondary environment is one of them. For in addition to performing the full range of CBP officer function, admissibility officers require a thorough knowledge of immigration laws, regulations, procedures, and precedent decisions, and ability to make difficult disposition determinations and process complex casework.

There are other specialized positions within the CBP officer ranks as well. “We are enriching the basic CBP Officer position to capture the varied functions performed by CBP Officers,” stated Spero. “These critical functions include Liaison, Outreach, Hazardous Materials, Firearms, Non-deadly Force, Non-Intrusive Inspection, Enforcement and Special Response Teams, Targeting and Analysis, Port and Facilities Security, Intelligence, and Training responsibilities. These critical functions have been codified as addenda to the CBP officer positions.” Fully separate specialized positions, she stated, “have been retained or created for Canine, Law Enforcement, and Admissibility functions, due to their unique requirements.”

Admissibility vs. enforcement officer

The new position differs from the CBP officer (enforcement) position. Enforcement officers focus on the criminal prosecution of aliens who violate U.S. immigration laws and related statutes. Admissibility officers’ focus will be on administrative arrests, removal, and other enforcement-related actions of aliens who are in violation of immigration laws. Enforcement Officers evaluate and determine which cases have met the evidentiary threshold to be referred for criminal prosecution. Although Admissibility Officers will have the authority to refer a case for criminal prosecution, it would not be the majority of their casework.

“This is an important step in continuing to realize CBP's ambitious agenda to integrate and meet the specific needs of its inspectional workforce.”—Deputy Commissioner Deborah J. Spero

Level and qualifications

The admissibility officer position is a GS-1895-11, filled via assignment of work principles and lateral reassignment opportunities, as well as through vacancy announcements. Positions may be filled through Lateral Reassignment Opportunities. TECS announcements are to be posted nationally, with location-specific numbers/vacancies for commuting area. Registers will be forwarded to the Field Office, and selections will be made from the registers.

To be qualified for the new position, officers must have completed or be scheduled to complete the Advanced Admissibility Training or equivalent (also known as Basic Admissibility Secondary Processing). Successful candidates for the position must also meet the following criteria:

• Must be or have been a journeyman CBP Officer, GS-1895-11.
• Must have been trained in and worked all aspects of passport control passenger processing.
• New CBP officers must have completed all their on-the-job assignments, and worked at least 6 months in primary and 6 months in secondary on admissibility issues.
• CBP Officers with Customs experience must have received the appropriate cross-training modules and have been working in the passenger-processing environment for 6 months or longer.
• Must have knowledge of, and maintain access to applicable systems, to include, IDENT/AIFIS, ENFORCE, NCIC, INSMENU, CIS and TECS/IBIS.
• Must have a thorough knowledge of nonimmigrant and immigrant classifications, and inadmissibility grounds.
• Must have the ability to take legally sufficient sworn statements, and write accurate reports.

The Advanced Admissibility Training course is held at the CBP Academy, with new classes beginning every two weeks. The course is 22 classroom days or about a month in length. Almost 200 CBP Officers have either completed the course or are attending the course at this time.

Need for additional training

Why is the additional training necessary? CBP Officers exercise significant authority when determining a person’s admissibility to the United States: Immigration enforcement actions carry serious consequences for the alien applicant. For example, an expedited removal order results in a 5-year bar to re-entry, and carries the same weight as the decision of an administrative hearing. CBP’s enforcement actions are scrutinized by other government agencies, as well as non-government organizations and immigrant rights groups. For these reasons, it is imperative that CBP officers preparing casework that will result in an applicant’s removal/refusal, prosecution, or other enforcement action, have received thorough training to complete legally sufficient casework. In determining admissibility and making disposition recommendations, including the appropriate use of discretion, CBP officers will need to be knowledgeable in immigration law, regulation and policy, and precedent decisions. CBP officers must be able to weigh all pertinent information in a fair and deliberate process.

An extended assignment

The position is intended as an extended assignment; the length of the assignment will be determined by the Port Director, or his designee, according to the operational needs of the port. Since the position requires a significant training commitment, and learning curve, officers will be assigned to the position description for extended durations. Additionally, the Port Director, or his designee, will have the discretion to make changes to assignments of work in order to meet mission and operational requirements.

The establishment of the CBP Officer (Admissibility) creates another opportunity for officers with an aptitude for detecting fraud, eliciting responses, determining admissibility, and processing immigration enforcement actions to excel in this area, as well as train others to become proficient in this area. This, as with other specialty assignments will enable officers to expand their knowledge and skills in the specific areas and contribute to their career development and growth. DB