Immigration Judge Positions

[medsjet]

Feb 20, 2016 17:58:38 GMT -5 jafo said:

If there are still people interested (I know most are concerned about ALJ), "first interview" calls have been made to some of those who applied to the 2015 IJ announcement.

Thank you Jafo for this information to keep hope alive!  

[wacokid]

Feb 20, 2016 17:58:38 GMT -5 jafo said:

If there are still people interested (I know most are concerned about ALJ), "first interview" calls have been made to some of those who applied to the 2015 IJ announcement.

Raises hand.

[batman1463]

Hand raised as well.

[batman1463]

Just to clarify, I raised my hand in response to jafo's question whether or not there was still interest in knowing about interviews related to the November 2015 IJ announcement. I have not been called for a first interview yet, but like many on the list hope that I will.

[aljwatch]

Good luck to all who got the call for first interviews!! Jafo always seems to hear everything first. I also heard that interviews are starting in March, and if my memory serves, I got the call about two weeks before interviewing. Like last time, I suspect the first interviews will be done in waves, with the first ones being for the courts where the agency has the greatest need for new judges. I think I had my first interview early because at least one of the courts I applied for was one of the highest priorities .... but then I had to wait 6 months for a second interview, probably because of how I ranked the courts that I had applied for.

As for the Aug 2014 applications, they are still doing some second interviews, so I presume that means that not all offers have been made for whatever positions they still need to fill from that ad (but who knows when offers will be made or when they will come on board).

[batman1463]

I just received a call for an interview this March at the EOIR Headquarters related to the November 15th IJ announcement. 

[Administrator ALJ]

So my application package status says "complete" for the Immigration Judge posting from 09/2014. Does "complete" in this instance mean the same thing as "complete" for the ALJ announcement?

Thanks in advance!!

[rebfly]

Mar 4, 2016 11:43:30 GMT -5 batman1463 said:

I just received a call for an interview this March at the EOIR Headquarters related to the November 15th IJ announcement. 

CONGRATS!

[wannabejudginsumthin]

Mar 4, 2016 11:43:30 GMT -5 batman1463 said:

I just received a call for an interview this March at the EOIR Headquarters related to the November 15th IJ announcement. 

Are you at liberty to identify the general region(s)/location(s) you applied for? Trying to get an idea of what area they may be seeking to fill.

[medsjet]

Mar 4, 2016 11:43:30 GMT -5 batman1463 said:

I just received a call for an interview this March at the EOIR Headquarters related to the November 15th IJ announcement. 

Congratulations batman1463!  It is nice to know that they are still calling people for first interviews.  Best of luck to you.

[batman1463]

Thanks for the congrats and well wishes. The person I spoke with from Arlington didn't designate any particular court. The documents I'm required to submit at the interview, or shortly thereafter, allow for ranking of the order of preference based on the court location(s) selected. All of my preferences are in the Northeast with the exception of one location in the Southeast (least preferred).

[dvsw]

Alj - congrats on getting the job! are you at liberty to say roughly how many questions were asked at the interviews and the type of Qs (e.g., generic job interview qs, tailored to the applicant's resume - asking for details, abstract/what if qs to test ability to analyze, etc.)? My guess is that IJs who were DHS attorneys (most of them were) share this with their DHS-attorney friends who are applying (maybe this contributes to the high % of them getting hired). Would be nice to level the field a bit. Thanks in advance and understand if you can't.

[Pixie]

Mar 8, 2016 10:52:05 GMT -5 dvsw said:

Alj - congrats on getting the job! are you at liberty to say roughly how many questions were asked at the interviews and the type of Qs (e.g., generic job interview qs, tailored to the applicant's resume - asking for details, abstract/what if qs to test ability to analyze, etc.)? My guess is that IJs who were DHS attorneys (most of them were) share this with their DHS-attorney friends who are applying (maybe this contributes to the high % of them getting hired). Would be nice to level the field a bit. Thanks in advance and understand if you can't.

I think this is getting too specific as to what was asked at the interview.

Also I am confused. You directed your question to ALJ, who is a long time board member who was appointed years ago. He hasn't posted in this thread as far as I can tell.

BTW, welcome to the Board. You will figure it out with a little practice. Pix.

[Judge McJudgeypants]

I also am a board newbie and applied for the November 2015 IJ position, so please forgive any repeated or naive questions. I primarily have three questions. 1) if the USAjobs status is "referred" as opposed to complete, does this have significance regarding chances for an interview; 2) is one less likely to get an

[Judge McJudgeypants]

See, told you I was new--hit post too soon
My second question was... Is one less likely to get an interview or offer if they only applied for two locations as opposed to casting a geographically broad net; and 3) am I correct in the inference I've drawn from reading these posts that interviews are scheduled for certain locations as those need to be filled based on court need, such that if the two courts I applied for are not in current dire straits compared to others, I might not get an interview until those courts need people? Thanks!

[Pixie]

Welcome to the Board LadyBearClaw. Yes you are new. I remember approving your application just this morning, I believe it was.

As a technical tip, if you post too soon, there is a delete button available that allows you to start over and not have the incomplete message posted along with the finished message. Also there is an edit button that allows you to go back in and finish the post.

I'm not going to delete the first incomplete message as your second message would be confusing without the precedent message.

You will figure it out. Pixie.

[medsjet]

I have received no call for an interview for IJ job applications I submitted in November 2015. My friend was just interviewed and informed me his interviewers state that they were interviewing through April for the first interview for those who applied November 2015. Evidently Congress has told DOJ to speed up the hiring process or they may lose money allocated. Not sure that will be any faster for those of us who wait, especially considering their classes seem to be quite small compared to ALJ ODAR training. Good luck to all awaiting word or pending the first interview.

[dvsw]

My apologies for the confusion. " ALJwatch" I thought just got an offer for the IJ pos. I am too used to abbreviating. I was only hoping for some general guidance on the interview... something I felt other candidates may be getting already b/c some DHS attys are friends with IJs.

[wacokid]

I have received first interviews from both the 2014 and 2015 applications. In both situations I applied to a relatively small number of locales, 6 or fewer both times. The interview followed the exact same format in both instances and was about 30 minutes long. Generally, interviewers are three assistant chief immigration judges. I was never asked a technical question, i.e. testing my knowledge of immigration law. Rather, it was, broadly speaking, oriented toward fleshing out suitability to being an administrative-type judge in a high-volume context. There was no "secrecy" oath in either instance.
With respect to where they might be focusing initial efforts to fill slots, I don't know anything specific, but I can say that I have some reason to believe based largely on what I heard from another interviewee that one of the locations on the radar at the moment is Harlingen, TX. Obviously there are many others, also, but I'm reasonably confident of that one.
I was told that there were 10,700 applications in 2014 and 8,700 in 2015. I don't know how many unique individuals in either instance applied, e.g. if a person applied to 10 locations, that's 10 applications (not 1), but I believe those to be the raw totals. I can also say that they moved much more quickly -- many months more quickly -- on this go-around for me than they did for the 2014 openings.
Finally, they are still filling slots from the 2014 postings, but the takeaway I received is that if you haven't yet heard about a second interview from a 2014 application, then it's probably not looking good for one of those openings.

[medsjet]

Mar 9, 2016 4:03:36 GMT -5 wacokid said:

I have received first interviews from both the 2014 and 2015 applications. In both situations I applied to a relatively small number of locales, 6 or fewer both times. The interview followed the exact same format in both instances and was about 30 minutes long. Generally, interviewers are three assistant chief immigration judges. I was never asked a technical question, i.e. testing my knowledge of immigration law. Rather, it was, broadly speaking, oriented toward fleshing out suitability to being an administrative-type judge in a high-volume context. There was no "secrecy" oath in either instance.
With respect to where they might be focusing initial efforts to fill slots, I don't know anything specific, but I can say that I have some reason to believe based largely on what I heard from another interviewee that one of the locations on the radar at the moment is Harlingen, TX. Obviously there are many others, also, but I'm reasonably confident of that one.
I was told that there were 10,700 applications in 2014 and 8,700 in 2015. I don't know how many unique individuals in either instance applied, e.g. if a person applied to 10 locations, that's 10 applications (not 1), but I believe those to be the raw totals. I can also say that they moved much more quickly -- many months more quickly -- on this go-around for me than they did for the 2014 openings.
Finally, they are still filling slots from the 2014 postings, but the takeaway I received is that if you haven't yet heard about a second interview from a 2014 application, then it's probably not looking good for one of those openings.

Thanks for all of the intel wacokid. Best of luck to you.