The Immigration and Naturalization Service, a component of the Department of Justice, has two very distinct missions. One is to manage and facilitate immigration to our country, and provide services and benefits to those seeking legal entry to the U.S. The other is to control U.S. borders, deter illegal immigration, ward off drug smugglers, and arrest, detain and remove non-citizens found to be deportable.

The INS touches the lives of millions of people every year. INS employees can be found in every state of our nation and throughout the world. In a typical year, INS employees greet millions of visitors and legal immigrants to U.S. soil at our land, air and sea ports-of-entry. They enforce the laws that regulate the admission of foreign-born persons to the U.S., and assist legal immigrants in becoming U.S. citizens. Additionally, INS employees protect 8,000 miles of international borders; dismantle smuggling organizations and conduct investigations into criminal activities originating overseas; seize contraband from drug smugglers attempting to cross our borders; protect people seeking asylum; track down people to be deported and return illegal immigrants to their home country.

In support of our diverse mission, we are looking for individuals with a variety of educational backgrounds. We are interested in students who are majoring in such fields as criminal justice, finance, law, information technology, computer science, business, contracting, and more. There is hardly an academic discipline that we cannot use at the INS.

Student employment opportunities exist across the United States in our 33 districts, 21 border patrol sectors, three regional offices, 4 service centers, 8 asylum offices and at the headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The INS employs students under the Federal Student Educational Employment Program (SEEP). If you are a student employed under the Student Career Experience component of SEEP you will enter into a formal agreement with your school and the INS and engage in alternating periods of work and study. Upon successful completion of all degree and work requirements, you may be eligible for a non-competitive appointment to a permanent position with the INS, the Department of Justice or any other agency in the Federal Government.

Many other students are interested in jobs under the Student Temporary Employment component of SEEP. These jobs may or may not be related to your academic major, and there is no requirement to enter into an official work study agreement with your school or the INS. These temporary employment opportunities include summer jobs or appointments to positions that you hold throughout the school year on an alternating part-time/full-time basis depending on your school schedule.

In addition to paid work experience, a number of students are interested in gaining professional experience under the Federal Volunteer Service Program. As a student volunteer, you will have the opportunity to explore different career options, learn about INS missions and responsibilities, and develop your interpersonal and professional skills. As a student volunteer, you may also earn academic credit. This is something you would work out with your school prior to seeking and accepting a volunteer arrangement. Even if you do not receive academic credit for your volunteer service, and your purpose for volunteering is simply to gain experience, it is recommended that you have an official work agreement in place between you, your school and our agency. This agreement should stipulate the type(s) of assignments with which you will be tasked, and the conditions under which you will work.

For information about specific student job opportunities, contact the INS regional office that oversees the geographical area in which you are interested in working or the district or sector office most convenient to you. Locations of INS offices can be found on the INS web site at www.ins.usdoj.gov. From the menu on the INS Home page, click on Field Offices and then click on List of Field Offices or U.S. Field Offices State map. These sites will lead you to an alphabetical index of our locations by state. Additionally, INS student jobs can be found using the Search for Jobs function on Studentjobs.gov at www.studentjobs.gov. From the Job Result List you receive after submitting your search, scan the listings for INS opportunities.

AS OF: 08-30-01

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