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Post by aljwatch on Aug 24, 2015 15:07:34 GMT -5
Heard rumor of an offer for Dallas, and some of my references were contacted, so there seems to be some activity...
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Post by lawbird on Aug 24, 2015 15:42:19 GMT -5
As I recall, we did not provide a list of references for this position; only three letters of reference. Are you saying that they have contacted some of your letter writers?
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Post by aljwatch on Aug 25, 2015 11:26:53 GMT -5
To be honest, the application was completed so long ago I don't remember exactly what they asked for...but, yes, the people who told me they were contacted were ones who had provided reference letters.
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Post by lawbird on Aug 25, 2015 12:31:39 GMT -5
Good to know. I'll alert them.
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Post by batman1463 on Aug 25, 2015 14:50:49 GMT -5
If you don't mind sharing, do you recall when you were interviewed for the position (how long ago from the time of the rumor)? And were you interviewed more than once?
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wb
New Member
Posts: 10
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Post by wb on Aug 31, 2015 22:11:25 GMT -5
Experience w immigration court should be mandatory for this job. Good candidates would be Sr. DHS line atty w decision power (no need to check w super) or experienced imm atty w own practice (exp in making decisions). A recent new IJ w no imm court exp asked for evidence all other IJs, TAs (dhs attys), exp Imm attys already know is not v important or practical. Just creates more delay/backlog, esp combined with DHS attys being hired fresh from law school (& many are). Its frustrates the system even more.
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Post by jafo on Sept 15, 2015 13:42:06 GMT -5
Is there anywhere one can find a list of all IJ offices showing the current judges and any vacancies? Investiture dates would also be a bonus.
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Post by aljwatch on Sept 15, 2015 15:52:58 GMT -5
I don't think there is anywhere to find where the vacancies are, but you can find a listing of the Immigration Courts and current judges assigned there here: www.justice.gov/eoir/eoir-immigration-court-listing The process has been very strange, but having heard from various sources (and been through some of it myself so far), this seems to be the general process. They start with a "first round" interviews. These commenced back in February, and there have been additional rounds of interviews every two months or so ... I heard there are more "first round" interviews this week. I guess those who are under consideration then have their references checked (the people who wrote letters, but also past supervisors listed in paperwork). Then, people are invited for a "second round" interview at Main Justice. After that, offers may be extended. The only people I have heard of who have gone through "second round" interview and/or been extended an offer since the June class of Immigration Judges are people who applied for Texas courts. And I am not aware of a start date being given (so the date when the next group will start is anyone's guess). But, they are holding more "second-round" interviews in the coming 3 weeks.
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Post by jafo on Sept 16, 2015 10:29:28 GMT -5
I don't think there is anywhere to find where the vacancies are, but you can find a listing of the Immigration Courts and current judges assigned there here: www.justice.gov/eoir/eoir-immigration-court-listing The process has been very strange, but having heard from various sources (and been through some of it myself so far), this seems to be the general process. They start with a "first round" interviews. These commenced back in February, and there have been additional rounds of interviews every two months or so ... I heard there are more "first round" interviews this week. I guess those who are under consideration then have their references checked (the people who wrote letters, but also past supervisors listed in paperwork). Then, people are invited for a "second round" interview at Main Justice. After that, offers may be extended. The only people I have heard of who have gone through "second round" interview and/or been extended an offer since the June class of Immigration Judges are people who applied for Texas courts. And I am not aware of a start date being given (so the date when the next group will start is anyone's guess). But, they are holding more "second-round" interviews in the coming 3 weeks. Thanks, I am familiar with that site. I was hoping an organization like AILA (or similar) kept some sort of roster w/vacancies or there was a federal resource that had the authorized position count for each court. My search continues.............
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Post by luckylady2 on Sept 17, 2015 14:54:07 GMT -5
jafo, I'm not sure that looking for empty spots in the immigration courts is going to help you all that much. I don't think that an empty chair = a vacancy for which the agency is hiring, in the federal context. FTE's get moved around and transmuted into what the agency needs at the time, and of course there's always a little political overlay. So it's no surprise that it sounds like they're beefing up the Texas IJ's first.
I'm sure you know that when it is hiring, USDOJ does go through USJOBS, but it has its own vacancies board on its own website, too, which sometimes has better descriptions. If there's nothing on those sites, all current hiring will be from the last USJOBS announcement.
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Post by jafo on Sept 17, 2015 17:41:57 GMT -5
jafo, I'm not sure that looking for empty spots in the immigration courts is going to help you all that much. I don't think that an empty chair = a vacancy for which the agency is hiring, in the federal context. FTE's get moved around and transmuted into what the agency needs at the time, and of course there's always a little political overlay. So it's no surprise that it sounds like they're beefing up the Texas IJ's first. I'm sure you know that when it is hiring, USDOJ does go through USJOBS, but it has its own vacancies board on its own website, too, which sometimes has better descriptions. If there's nothing on those sites, all current hiring will be from the last USJOBS announcement. I'm fully aware how the hiring process works and I'm pretty sure that Texas and courts located at detention centers will be filled first. I'm just trying in my own mind to come up with a very unscientific estimate of how many IJs may be hired in the next couple of years. While FTEs (judges) do move/transfer the net effect is the vacancy moves to a different court. My formula is "Vacancies + Projected Retirements + Wishful Thinking = Projected Hiring". If DOJ does want to fill all vacancies the only non-variable in that formula is the number of vacancies. The rest of the formula is pure speculation on my (and other's) part.
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Post by luckylady2 on Sept 17, 2015 19:20:02 GMT -5
My formula is "Vacancies + Projected Retirements + Wishful Thinking = Projected Hiring". If DOJ does want to fill all vacancies the only non-variable in that formula is the number of vacancies. The rest of the formula is pure speculation on my (and other's) part. I like your formula! Good luck!
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Post by jafo on Sept 18, 2015 9:42:37 GMT -5
To be honest, the application was completed so long ago I don't remember exactly what they asked for...but, yes, the people who told me they were contacted were ones who had provided reference letters. Congratulations on reaching the next step, holding out hope here that one day my references will also be contacted. This process certainly is different than the ALJ journey where a reference check seems to be somewhat of a indication that you're on the way to D.C. Do you feel that by having your references contacted that you will be going to DOJ for the second interview or is this just part of ranking all acceptable candidates for specific locations with the determination of who will get a second interview coming at a later date? Or, assuming that your references don't undermine you, are you on the way for an appointment after an acceptable second interview? I'm guessing that after the first interview the numbers that are advancing have been greatly reduced and only those that they are considering for appointment are having their references contacted. I know much of this is speculation but it appears your intel is way better than most. Again, congratulations and thanks for any insight that you (or others) may be able to share.
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Post by aljwatch on Sept 18, 2015 9:59:15 GMT -5
Thanks, yes I did get contacted this week for a second interview next week. And the only other people I know of whose references were contacted also had a second interview. I do know some people who had a second interview who have not been given an offer (so, a second interview does not guarantee an offer ... but it might just be taking a while??). The Syracuse University TRAC website has a lot of information about the Immigration Courts. At some point (last year) I took their information on the pending caseloads in different immigration courts and divided that by the number of immigration judges in the courts to get a sense of which courts have the highest case-per-IJ ratio. That at least gave me some info to speculate on where their priorities might be for hiring. Here is that website: trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/ Unfortunately, a couple of the courts that I am most interested had some of the lowest case-per-IJ rations. That might at least give you an idea whether the court(s) that you applied for is very overburdened (and thus likely to hire sooner) or less-overburdened (and thus likely to hire later). There may even be some of the 31 courts or so that they advertised openings in where they do not hire under the current ads. Who knows? They may end up readvertising those, along with their next priorities. No matter what, it does appear likely that they will be doing significant hiring in many courts in the next couple of years.
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Post by mamaru on Sept 18, 2015 10:01:24 GMT -5
On the SSA ALJ journey you do not even provide references until you are on your way to DC, rather FC. That information is part of what you are sent when your interview is scheduled - not to sidetrack the thread.
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Post by jafo on Sept 18, 2015 11:41:27 GMT -5
Thanks, yes I did get contacted this week for a second interview next week. And the only other people I know of whose references were contacted also had a second interview. I do know some people who had a second interview who have not been given an offer (so, a second interview does not guarantee an offer ... but it might just be taking a while??). The Syracuse University TRAC website has a lot of information about the Immigration Courts. At some point (last year) I took their information on the pending caseloads in different immigration courts and divided that by the number of immigration judges in the courts to get a sense of which courts have the highest case-per-IJ ratio. That at least gave me some info to speculate on where their priorities might be for hiring. Here is that website: trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/ Unfortunately, a couple of the courts that I am most interested had some of the lowest case-per-IJ rations. That might at least give you an idea whether the court(s) that you applied for is very overburdened (and thus likely to hire sooner) or less-overburdened (and thus likely to hire later). There may even be some of the 31 courts or so that they advertised openings in where they do not hire under the current ads. Who knows? They may end up readvertising those, along with their next priorities. No matter what, it does appear likely that they will be doing significant hiring in many courts in the next couple of years. I guess my research isn't as good as I thought - many thanks for the link to the SU site. In any case, there does seem to be some evidence to "references checked = second interview = unknown % chance of an offer". Darn those unknowns! As always, good luck and thanks for your insight.
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Post by jafo on Sept 22, 2015 18:28:33 GMT -5
Thanks, yes I did get contacted this week for a second interview next week. And the only other people I know of whose references were contacted also had a second interview. I do know some people who had a second interview who have not been given an offer (so, a second interview does not guarantee an offer ... but it might just be taking a while??). Hope I'm not too late to wish you good luck in your interview this week.
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Post by sealaw90 on Sept 23, 2015 14:23:34 GMT -5
My formula is "Vacancies + Projected Retirements + Wishful Thinking = Projected Hiring". If DOJ does want to fill all vacancies the only non-variable in that formula is the number of vacancies. The rest of the formula is pure speculation on my (and other's) part. I like your formula! Good luck! Hey wait, doesn't that formula also work for ALJ hiring?
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Post by jafo on Sept 28, 2015 9:30:02 GMT -5
Thanks, yes I did get contacted this week for a second interview next week. And the only other people I know of whose references were contacted also had a second interview. I do know some people who had a second interview who have not been given an offer (so, a second interview does not guarantee an offer ... but it might just be taking a while??). quote] No news is good news? I hope it went well.
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Post by aljwatch on Sept 29, 2015 8:15:17 GMT -5
Thanks for the well-wishes. I was told that decisions after this round of second interviews would probably be made "in the next few weeks." But, given that some people just had their first round interviews, it appears that there will be ongoing second-round interviews periodically. They gave no indication of the city or cities that I was actively under consideration for... and a lot has changed in the past year. Just have to keep taking the advice on this Board to be patient and not let it drive you crazy!
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