Also called: IJ
Decides whether immigrants can stay in the U.S. or must be deported.
Immigration judges work for the Justice Department and hear asylum claims, deportation cases, and bond hearings, often through interpreters. Caseloads are enormous, with millions of cases backlogged nationwide. Each decision can change a family's life.
Federal IJ pay scale.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Professional degree (MD, JD, DVM…), about 14 years after high school. JD, bar license, and at least 7 years of legal experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, Professional school. Training cost: Over $150k.
Majors to look at: International Relations, Political Science, Spanish, Latin American Studies.
Growing about average. Hiring has expanded to address a huge case backlog.
Low risk for 10 years. AI may help with translation and case files; huge backlogs and life-changing asylum decisions keep human judges in demand.
Classes: Spanish or another world language, AP U.S. Government, AP World History, Speech and debate.
Official data: O*NET occupation 23-1021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.