Paralegal Specialist

Summary

Organizational Location: Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Baltimore Field Office, Port of Washington, DC, Fines, Penalties & Forfeiture. Available locations: Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dulles Airport, Virginia.

About the Role

This is a Recent Graduate appointment in the Pathways Program. Selected individuals are placed in a dynamic one year development program in the excepted service designed to lead to a competitive civil service career in the Federal government. At the successful conclusion of this program, the agency may non-competitively convert individuals to a term (position lasting 1-4 years with an extension up to 120 days) or permanent position within the competitive service. Conversion is at the discretion of the agency and is neither guaranteed nor implied.

In this Paralegal Specialist position, you will become a key member of a team of Homeland Security professionals providing key legal support for the law enforcement duties at the port level.

Responsibilities

• Reviewing and processing cases within the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeiture Officer's authority through to solution.
• Assuring that all due process considerations are met and that the elements necessary to establish violation are present and supported by appropriate documentation.
• Reviewing investigative reports and case records, requesting additional information from appropriate officers and special agents within DHS.
• Reviewing all evidence, facts, and circumstances relating to cases and making recommendations as appropriate within the requirements of the mitigation guidelines, laws, and regulations.
• Receiving and examining petitions filed by individuals, corporations, or attorneys seeking relief from seizures, penalties, fines, or liquidated damages and reviewing acceptability of evidence.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service.
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (see Residency details below).
• All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English.
• You may be required to pass a background investigation.
• CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures.
• Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. These rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity.
• Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions - NTEU.
• DHS uses E-Verify to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States.

Residency Requirement

Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

• Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military.
• A dependent authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military working for the U.S. government.
• Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university.
• Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government.

Qualifications

GS-07 Level: You qualify if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Assisting in reviewing legal documents to extract selected data and information relating to specified items.
• Assisting in reviewing and summarizing legal information in prescribed format on case precedents and decisions.
• Searching for and extracting legal references in libraries and computer data banks.
• Communicating effectively orally and in writing.

GS-09 Level: You qualify if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Assisting in reviewing and processing cases through to solution.
• Assisting in assuring that all due process considerations are met and that the elements necessary to establish a violation are present and supported by appropriate documentation.
• Receiving and examining petitions filed by individuals, corporations, or attorneys seeking relief from seizures, penalties, fines, or liquidated damages.
• Reviewing acceptability of evidence in some seizure, fines, and penalty cases and all liquidated damages.

Education Substitution

GS-07: Successful completion of one year of full-time graduate education from an accredited college or university may substitute for the experience required. This education must demonstrate the skills necessary to do this job. A bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) may also substitute. SAA is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average (GPA 3.0 or higher of a possible 4.0, excluding pass/fail credits which cannot exceed 10% of total credits), or (3) honor society membership.

GS-09: Successful completion of a Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in any field, or a L.L.B. or J.D. from an accredited college or university may substitute for the experience required.

Combining Experience and Education: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements by determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required and the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required, then adding the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used for GS-9.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 08/14/2026.

Eligibility & Program Details

You are eligible for this appointing authority if you are an individual who completed, within the previous two years by 08/14/2026, a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or completed a qualifying career or technical education program (which may include Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Job Corps, AmeriCorps, and Peace Corps). If you are a veteran who was unable to apply within two years of receiving your degree due to military service obligation, you have as long as six years after degree completion to apply. You must submit a copy of your transcripts showing type of degree received and date degree was received. If you are a veteran applying under this provision, please provide a copy of your DD-214 or a written statement from the armed forces certifying your dates of service and your rank, expected type of discharge and anticipated date of separation.

To be eligible for conversion, Recent Graduates must:

• Successfully complete at least one year of continuous service in addition to all requirements of the program.
• Meet the qualification standards for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted.
• Meet agency-specific requirements and expectations as specified in the Participant's Agreement.
• Perform their job successfully.

Expected training and development includes:

• Orientation program for Recent Graduates.
• Mentorship throughout the program.
• Individual Development Plan to create and track career planning, professional development, and training activities.
• At least 40 hours of formal, interactive training each year of the program.
• Positions offer opportunity for career advancement.

Pay

This position starts at a salary of $50,460.00 (GS-07, Step 1) to $80,243.00 (GS-09, Step 10) with promotion potential to $133,142.00 (GS-12 Step 10). Salary listed reflects the rest of U.S. scale and will be adjusted to meet the locality pay or cost of living expenses of the duty location upon selection.

This response is AI-generated, for reference only.