Summary View Common Definitions of terms found in this announcement. Organizational Location: These positions are located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations within various offices throughout the country. These are non-bargaining unit positions. This job announcement has an applicant limit and will close early when the limit has been reached. Responsibilities As a Criminal Investigator, at the full performance level you will perform the following duties: Conduct and coordinate high-level comprehensive investigations involving individuals, groups, or large organizations operating at a local, national, or international level. Use electronic surveillance, interviews, polygraph examination, and physical surveillance to obtain evidence in investigative cases. Make arrests, confront multiple suspects, secure scenes sometimes under potentially dangerous and hazardous environments. Take part in securing signed statements, affidavits, and documentary evidence for inclusion in reports or case records. Prepare sworn testimony on behalf of the government in criminal and federal grand jury cases. IMPORTANT NOTE This job announcement has an applicant limit and will close early when the limit has been reached. While we appreciate your interest in this critical role at ICE, please note that applications will move forward in the order in which they were received; not all applicants will advance to the assessment phases. All applicants for this announcement are required to test on ALL assessments. Due to recent changes to the assessments, passing results from 2024 and prior years will NOT be reused. Applicants who failed those assessments within the last two years may now retest. Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the lowest and highest potential salaries for this position. The actual salary range will be based on the applicable locality pay for the selected duty location. General Schedule locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Please limit your resume to 5 pages. If more than 5 pages are submitted, only the first 5 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. You qualify for the GL-07 grade level if you possess one of the following: Experience: One (1) year of specialized experience at the GL-05 grade level or equivalent, related to the work of the position, such as: Formal or on-the-job activities that support learning the principles, practices, procedures, objectives, and techniques of investigating; Completing assignments, under supervision, that progressively develop skills to initiate, plan, and conduct investigations; Observing and assisting in law enforcement and prosecutorial activities; AND, Assisting in preparation of documents related to various stages of the investigatory process. OR Education: One (1) full year of graduate level education from an accredited college or university in a field of study which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of a GL-07 Criminal Investigator; OR a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university AND meet one of the Superior Academic Achievement Provisions: Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university, or major subdivision. Grade Point Average (GPA): 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. 3. Election to membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. A college transcript(s) is required if claiming education in lieu of experience and must show your grade point average for all four years of undergraduate study, including all transferred courses. GPAs are rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9. If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honor society. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of successfully completed education and experience as described above that totals at least one year. Education must be from an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. *****OTHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: HSI Special Agent Basic Training: A mandatory component of continued employment is the successful completion of Basic Training, which consists of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP) and the HSI Special Agent Training Program (HSISAT). The training is approximately 22 weeks in total. You may be temporarily reassigned to a non-law enforcement position if you fail to complete basic training. Physical Fitness Testing (PFT): A pre-employment Physical Fitness Test (PFT) will be administered. A passing score is required. If you have failed a PFT, you are not eligible for consideration for 12 months from the closing date of the announcement in which you applied that required the PFT. Additionally, a PFT will also be administered at FLETC during Basic Training. Every trainee must pass the PFT during training. Current Federal Employees: Current federal employees who apply to this announcement may be required to accept a change to lower grade which will reduce their current salary based on Federal pay regulations. Pay retention will not apply. Current ICE employees in the 1811 job series will not be eligible for consideration under this vacancy announcement. National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under ICTAP, you must be placed in the well-qualified category for this position, as described above. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement. Education If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, quarter and semester hours earned, the institution's full name, and your full name. Your transcript(s) must clearly demonstrate the course(s) listed in the qualification requirement section. If the transcript(s) does not clearly demonstrate this, you must submit a copy of the course description and/or other documentation demonstrating that the courses are equivalent. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: https://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/search.aspx . Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating of your application. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in loss of consideration. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications ***Prior to the final job offer, an official transcript will be required.*** OTHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Polygraph: ICE has designated this position for polygraph testing which you may be required to submit to and successfully complete as a pre-employment requirement. If referred for polygraph testing, you will be required to travel to a testing location at your own expense. If you previously had an unsuccessful polygraph examination administered by ICE within the last 365 days, ICE will use those results which will remove you from continuing in the hiring process. Medical Requirements: Click here for information about the medical process. You must complete a pre-employment medical examination and be found to meet the medical standards for this position. Age Requirement: Applicants must be at least 21 years of age by the closing date of this announcement. Provisions of Public Law 93-950 and 100-238 allow the imposition of a maximum age for initial appointment to a Criminal Investigator position with the Department of Homeland Security. The date immediately preceding an individual's 37th birthday is the last day for application submission. However, the age restriction may not apply to individuals who are qualified preference eligible veterans or who are currently or have previously served in a federal civilian (not military) law enforcement position covered by 5 U.S.C. 8336(c) or 5 U.S.C. § 8412(d). Suitability: If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. Pursuant to Executive Order 12564, and the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan, ICE is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions (testing designated positions) are subject to random drug testing. Moreover, other drug testing of employees (e.g., reasonable suspicion drug test) may be conducted in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. All applicants tentatively selected for employment at ICE are subject to pre-employment drug testing and a final offer of employment is contingent upon a negative drug test result. E-Verify: DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet these standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully obtain and maintain a background investigation for Top Secret as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP): This position may require substantial amounts of irregular or occasional overtime. You will be required to work on an unscheduled basis in excess of the 40-hour workweek. You must be readily available to perform this unscheduled overtime on a continual basis. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change. Additional Information Incentives: Student Loan Repayment Incentive up to $10,000 may be available for all locations. A Relocation Allowance may be available for locations outside the Continental United States (Alaska, Hawaii and other U.S. Territories). A Service Agreement will be required for all incentives. The incentives listed above will be paid out upon successful completion of FLETC training and upon reporting to the specified duty location. The Agency reserves the right to add or remove locations available for incentives based on availability of funding. Geographic Locations: You have the opportunity to identify one (1) geographic preference in your application. Your preference location is NOT guaranteed. The duty location extended at the final job offer will be based on the needs of the agency and availability of positions and funding. You must be willing to accept any duty location that falls within the area of responsibility (AOR) of one of the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) offices listed in this vacancy announcement. Please refer to the following link to view the duty locations within each SAC AOR here. If you decline the duty location offered during the final job offer, you will be removed from further consideration. Please be advised "not all duty locations have vacancies at this time". Promotion Potential: When promotion potential is shown, the agency is not making a commitment and is not obligated to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval. To be eligible for promotion potential to higher grades, employees must have attended and successfully completed basic training and satisfy the requirements to carry and use a service approved firearm. Benefits: DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including: health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays. Other benefits may include: flexible work schedules; telework; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any Federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more. Applicants who are hired as Criminal Investigators with ICE after the closing date of this vacancy announcement will be removed from further consideration under this vacancy announcement.