Language Specialist

Protect your homeland and defend your culture. Join USCIS, America's frontline defense against illegal foreign infiltration and fraud.

As a Language Specialist
, you will provide interpretation and translation services during immigration benefit interviews with USCIS, translate public information materials related to immigration benefits, and other language services in support of the Department Homeland Security (DHS) mission.
The qualifications for this position must be met by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on 01/16/2026.

Time in Grade does not apply to Delegated Examining Announcements, any reference to Time in Grade in the questionnaire will not apply to the rating and ranking of applicants.

This announcement is issued under the Direct Hire Authority to recruit for positions for which the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has a critical hiring need.

All applicants must meet the following basic requirements: (Must be supported in Transcripts from an accredited institution, Resume and/or Applicable Certificate)

• Undergraduate and Graduate level education:
  Major study—the appropriate foreign language from an English speaking college or university, English from a college or university in the other country, or translating or interpreting where English and the foreign language were prerequisites. OR
• Experience in translating, interpreting, or other work requiring the use of English and the other language; or a combination of work (that required English and the other language) and training at the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Service Institute, or comparable training. (Examples of work in the required language that may have provided the required abilities: translator; interpreter; librarian or information specialist required to make abstracts, screen, index, and scan material;
  
  intelligence; writer or editor; international organizational work, such as the Peace Corps, World Bank, United Nations, business, or other organizations; or professor, teacher, or instructor work at the high school or college level that required use of the foreign language).

You must have demonstrated advanced specialized experience in providing complex and consecutive interpretations in English from Arabic, Vietnamese, Russian, Spanish, or Korean and vice‑versa. This experience must be documented in your resume. You must possess a certification in interpretation and/or translation issued by a professional organization or government entity (i.e., educational institution, American Translators Association, U.S. Federal or State Courts, etc.),

or testing equivalent to an Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) score of at least 3 in interpretation or translation.

You qualify at the GS-09 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the following duties:

• Interpreting in legal settings in at least one foreign language.
• Researching and analyzing terminology to interpret accurately and fluently.
• Rendering sight translation of basic documents. OR
• You may substitute a Master's degree or two (2) full years of graduate education leading to such a degree in any field, or a J.D. or L.L.B. degree for experience required at the GS-09 grade level. Such education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.
  
  Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise two years of graduate education. If that information is not available, use 36 semester or 54 quarter hours.

You qualify at the GS-11 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. You must have experience performing the following duties:

• Interpreting and translating legal and technical…