Taking on Challenges, Learning and Leading
Ted serves as the Unit Chief of the newly created Growth Management Oversight Unit at USCIS. In this role, he coordinates, tracks, and monitors the Agency’s new activities and initiatives as they relate to the enhancement of service delivery, infrastructure, and security. He joined USCIS in 1999 as a Presidential Management Fellow.
Since starting at USCIS, Ted has worked as an Asylum Officer and a manager in the field and at headquarters. He adjudicated asylum cases while on detail or rotation to the San Francisco Asylum Office, Boston District Office, and the Miami Asylum Office; and served for several months as Acting Deputy Director of the Arlington Asylum Office. He also spent several weeks in Istanbul, Turkey interviewing and processing Iranian refugee applicants.
Duties and Responsibilities
At headquarters, Ted managed an array of asylum-related projects and operational issues, including performance management, biometric verification, security checks, development of procedures, and implementation of new systems. Through these efforts, Ted has had the opportunity to represent USCIS on asylum issues in several different international working groups that have convened in Geneva, Brussels, and Hong Kong.
Benefits of Working at USCIS
In his words, “The opportunities to work in different field offices, manage a diverse range of projects at headquarters, and travel internationally have exposed me to different perspectives, provided me with a deeper understanding of how USCIS functions, and helped me understand how other nations tackle similar immigration and asylum issues. My career at USCIS has also given me the unique opportunity to interact directly with hundreds of asylum and refugee applicants and their families on a case-by-case basis while also working on policies and procedures at the headquarters level - a combination of on-the-ground experience and policy work that I was seeking in my government career.”
Training and Development through USCIS
Ted feels that through his career at USCIS he has continually been given the opportunity for personal growth and advancement. He claims that “USCIS has always offered an abundance of training and the freedom to pursue developmental opportunities. Over the years, I have taken relevant and enriching courses and seminars on national security leadership and decision-making, supervisory and leadership, regulation writing and development, and program management.”
