CBP officer

[Camelbak]

I got my TO today, so far so good.

CBPO 19-1 GS-7

Applied- 10/30/18
Exam- 11/01/18
NoR- 11/05/18
TO- 11/09/18

[Tremellio]

Coming up on 3 months since my SI and still no news about my polygraph. Time is flying so I’m not worried. Feels like I just had my SI last month.

[vik2500]

i hear ya, time is flying. I feel like I just quit my job but it’s been 6 weeks already & im still not sure if I’m ready for the academy. I hope you get the call to schedule soon

[N.N.]

Haha I feel ya bro, I'm at 5+ months since my SI and still haven't heard a peep on my poly lol.

[MrAce]

My timeline is pretty much the same as yours bro, still waiting on my polly too, I’m in the North East.

[SimpleLifeCA]

Took my SI on 8/22/18, same here waiting...

[goknights]

Well everyone, it finally came! I got the call yesterday for the CBPO position!

I took the 24 hours to make a choice. I tried calling them twice earlier but I had to leave a voice message.

I was given two EOD options. One for December 4th or April 22. I am going to take the December EOD.

Heres the locations I was offered: they asked me if I was interested in going to a mission critical area in AZ, which I said I was really hoping to stick to the east coast.

I was offered Champlain, NY. Holton, ME. Derby Line and Norton, VT. Miami and Fort Lauderdale, FL and Dulles, VA.

Once they call me back today or I get a hold of them today, I will be choosing Fort Lauderdale as my location.

I’m hoping to hear from them really soon today!

Thank you to everyone on this forum. It was good to find a place where people are going through the same motions as me. That really helped me a lot.

[kli0211]

Congratulations! Thanks for the info. Good luck!

[AlexTejada23]

Congratulations!!!!! I'll see ya in Fletc in late February! I EOD 2/12 then Fletc 2/28; picked Dulles!

[goknights]

AlexTejada23 congratulations to you! I was debating between Fort Laduderdale and Dulles myself. If you want to know someone before you head to FLETC, feel free to message me. I’m trying to get know people before I head over there myself.

Good luck to you with your career

[D.Brown]

congrats man!! I see one of those locations that Ive been eyeing since I applied back in November of 2017. Miami-Ft Lauderdale. Im currently at the BI stage for both GS9 Border Patrol and CBPO but I think my deciding factor between them is if i get offered Miami or FT Lauderdale. Im from Miami but moved to ATL for LEO position. I travel back so much its like i still live there. So im definitely looking to get back to the beaches lol! Good luck and make the most of it! My process has been stalled for about 4 months when they requested additional info for medical. before that I was flying through the process (a little hope for those who get requested additional med info, mine took 4 months). After that I was schedule for poly withing two weeks. Had a bad *** examiner who reminded me of John Wick! he was very cool and respectful, and although I have not failed any poly before, he made the setting relaxed and comfortable (especially after all the stories I've read on the Poly). took that early October, lasted about 4 hours and he let me know i passed. Background Investigation began October 20ish. Last I heard from my background investigator was a text for good luck a week after he met all my LEO co workers. So hopefully I hear something real soon because we all know once they come to your job to interview the co workers, every one gets to staring at you for leaving, Cant get days off for vacation, etc.

Im just patiently waiting lol. But goknights, you were offered and picked a great location!and get ready to make some great money!

[goknights]

I appreciate everyone’s congratulations. I wish all
of you as much luck through your process as possible.

I guess they decided to give more than 24 hours to think more about my choice because I never got a call to confirm where I want to go. Trust me, I tried calling them at least 10 times today and nada.

Not going to lie, I’m irritated they didn’t call
me today but hey, it’s really not a bad problem
to have and I’m sure I will hear from them early next week.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

[jayeski3]

Congrats brother!

[Nycguy718]

Congrats! Are you class 465?

[Eme1357]

Hal, i dont remember the announcement number but my application's date was October 17. A little different as im already a fed employee.

[goknights]

Nycguy718 I wasn’t given a class number over the phone. I was just told I should get an email giving me more details two weeks before my EOD

[Foxx310]

Well, today I was sitting at a local agency awaiting my polygraph, when I got my my “unfavorable” email result for my BP polygraph, 10 minutes later walked in to take my poly and walked out with passing results. Don’t mean to be negative just because I failed BP poly...but the examiner who just did my poly today retired from BP as a poly examiner and spoke really negative on how BP polys are done...that’s the only reason why he retired from doing polygraphs with the agency... I will be reapplying in 2 years hopefully by then I’ll be eligible for G7. Goodluck to those still in the process and congrats to those who made it through this turtle walk.

[vik2500]

Best of luck on this new adventure! In two years you should be eligible for the gs-7!

[Bam9911]

Message Deleted.

[CBPO.BPJ]

Today was my Polygraph exam and it took 5 hours.. I was told verbally that I passed..

18-6

Applied-03/30/18
Exam-4/3/2018
NOR-4/12/18
Tentative Selection Letter-4/20/18
Eqip Rejected-5/2/18
Medical-5/3/18
PFFT-5/3/18
Eqip NOR to OPR-5/4/18
PFFT Passed- 5/5/18
Medical Passed- 5/19/18
SI-6/14/2018
SI Passed-6/15/2018
Polygraph scheduled for-11/9/18
Polygraph Verbally PASSED- 11/9/18

CASS APP-50%

Poly-Pending
BI-In Progress
Drug-In Progress
Final Offer-Pending

[CBPO.BPJ]

Thank you! I don't think it is as bad as people picture it here, it is long and mentally tiring as there is nothing fun of one person just asking you questions for hours.... but as long as you stick to telling the truth, I'm sure you will be fine and specially if as you stated you've never done anything wrong but again stick to the truth. I took mine in Palm Gardens which is about an hour and a half from home (Miami).

[logan94]

Congrats man!

18-4 from Miami. 6 months after SI and I’ve heard nothing on poly scheduling. Are you applying for BP, OFO, or both?

[CBPO.BPJ]

I'm sorry to hear that, just hang in there, and I applied for OFO only..

[Bam9911]

Message deleted

[RJ_Jersey]

18-3 and still no Poly appointment haha. Going on almost a year with this overall process, unreal.

[txm44]

Yup I’m same, right there with you.

[jayeski3]

18-3 here........ almost a year myself. Lucky enough to get poly done but been a slow crawl since meeting with the BI. Hang in there bro

[raudy06]

RJ_Jersey man i have been wondering were you were. did you clear medical? i finally was contacted by my BI 2 months after my poly, im meeting with him today 11/12/18. wish me luck. oh and 18-3 here too.

[raptor170]

Does anyone have any personal knowledge of the work/family life on the SWB? I’m starting to gain interest in that 33% incentive they are offering but don’t want to sacrifice my family for it. Whoever has some knowledge, please share with me.

[N.N.]

I’m DH so I’ll be going to the SWB no matter what, I’m still going to try and get a larger city like El Paso over one of the places with a big incentive though. The issue is, the incentive is only for 3 years, but I’ve heard transferring out of some of the super remote border regions can take 5-10 years. I just can’t imagine being trapped in the middle of nowhere for a decade. Even with the extra cash. Having access to good medical care/schools/arts and entertainment etc. is probably better in the long run.

[Tluv123]

I would also like some advice about the swb im planning to go to calexico ca if anything. Hopefully can transfer out sooner than later i already have time with the feds. Also what is the incentive exactly?

[raptor170]

N.N. If that hold true I will not go down there. I couldn’t do 5-10 years down there.

[Hal29]

Arizona has good education depending on where you go. Tucson is over by Nogales. There is education, medical, a rich social and night life, restaraunts, bars and so much more. Look at Rio Rico. There is a lot that Arizona offers. El Paso is nice as well. But getting that area is a far cry as it is not offered. Yes Arizona offers a 3 year incentive but that is also 3 years pulling in the ranks as well. El Paso has no incentives, cost of living pay is also low. My choices personally is Nogales, then el Paso. I just feel az offers so much more. If you want night life you got it. You want outdoor life you got it. Just my personal opinion. It is all research and you don't have to live in the port you work.

[N.N.]

Just curious, has anyone ever reached out to the “IACADScheduling” email address for poly questions and ever actually gotten a response? It’s the go-to recommendation from recruiters and MHC to get in touch with the poly division regarding questions, but it seems like it may be an un-monitored email. I’ve sent them several specific questions over the past few months and not once have I gotten a reply.

[Nycguy718]

I sent them a email about when I can get called for the poly. Idk if it was coincidence but a few days later I got the call to schedule it. They never emailed me back. I only received a call.

[MrAce]

Does anyone know on average what vacation time is like starting off and what kind of shifts they run?

[N.N.]

Staffing off, officers earn 0.5 days of vacation and 0.5 days of sick leave per pay period. 0.5 x 26 pay periods = 13 days for vacation and 13 sick days per year. I believe after 3 years of service, that bumps up to 0.75 days per period. Then after 15 years, it’s 1 day per period. So officers who have been around a decade and a half literally get 5 weeks of vacation. As far as shifts, it completely depends on location.

[merlin436]

Sick leave never increases. It collects at a pace of 4 hours every pay period regardless of time in service.

[N.N.]

merlin436 thank you for clarifying. Odd though, you would anticipate as one gets older they would need more sick leave. Do you happen to know if it carries over? That would be nice.

[merlin436]

Unused sick leave bank continues to build throughout a career. Annual leave typically has a 240 hour cap...within any additional leave being "use or lose" during the course of a year. There are some atypical circumstances that may happen to some people that can increase their 240 hour annual leave limit over the course of a career...but for most, it's a 240 AL cap.

[Tluv123]

Question i was offered swb , but i really wanted jfk so im wondering if i applied to another announcement could i just get my info transfered over? I did everything already

[vik2500]

mobyfish can give you insight, they recently reapplied and are going through that process. You might have to retake the entrance exam and if everything else was done within this year , it should transfer over

[V_AntCBP]

Yes, your info will transfer. Now if you took entrance exam prior August 5th, you will have to retake though... Tluv123

[mobyfish]

If thats what you want then definitely reapply. I was not aware of the differences between direct hires and regular announcements when i originally applied. I went through the process (DH 18-7) and thought if i asked for JFK when they called I could get it. I had to turn it down and reapply for the regular 19-1 announcement. I had to retake the exam which I did on Oct 12th got NOR and TSL about two weeks later and after i got my applicant ID, the CASS app started updating. Currently at 63% waiting on Poly and background to transfer over.

I'm going to assume that they both will update before the week is out because everything else updated throughout last week. If I don't see anything by wednesday I'll probably reach out to them to ask what's the hold up since i already completed everything previously.

[Tluv123]

I actually applied to the gs9 dh but now applying to gs9 other than southern borders so just hoping everything can transfer over without doing all the steps again

[Tluv123]

Ook yea i mean i have 5 yrs of fed service under dhs already so idk if thats why i qualified

[douglasgene1]

the key to getting gs9 is how you detail you're resume. The first time applied i was eligible for GS7, I re did my resume detailed it out with way more detail and got to the GS9.

[KeepingFaith83]

From what I understand, the GS 9 is open to you if you have a graduate degree and/or one year of law enforcement experience

[douglasgene1]

keepingfaith83- Yes that is correct, however the job details have to be very detailed. The government doesnt want a summary, they want line by line on what you did. literally my detail the 2nd time was almost a page long lol

[Lemons29]

Can anyone say what the work life is like? hours? do you enjoy being a cbpo?

[TFS]

merlin436 How do sea ports work, and how do temporary assignments work. Like after awhile can I volunteer for mission critical locations for a few months? I haven't seen announcements for sea ports either or is that apart of marine and air?

[merlin436]

Hal,
I have not seen or done it all. Not even close to it.

[merlin436]

TFS,

I have never worked a sea port. I imagine that a cargo seaport runs quite differently than a seaport the pushes passenger traffic.

Temporary assignments vary somewhat, but yeah, after awhile you can volunteer for various assignments of different skill types and lengths of stay. Some opportunities are more local, some go national. Seaports belong to OFO. Why you haven't seen any offered recently, I don't know. Lately, the agency has gone to offering more limited ports.

[TFS]

@merlin436
Thank you for your response.

[rachrose77]

Quick question. I got in as a gs7 but is there a way to negotiate which “step” you start at?

[N.N.]

Everybody starts at step 1. You are promoted to grade 9 after 1 year, then grade 11, then 12.

[Hal29]

I was told you can negotiate to some degree. As in you can match your current pay. Not sure how true it is.

[merlin436]

They often negotiate step increases for current federal employees. Good luck to the person coming in from outside the federal government looking to negotiate pay...he will need it.

[Alexr3496]

Hi, does anyone know what it's like working northeast? What's happens with major snow? Do ports shut down? (I'm thinking of going to Maine)

[Alexr3496]

What about ground ports?

[merlin436]

It is almost unheard of for a port to shut down. Highways may close, airports may cancel flights but ports will be manned unless it's completely unreasonable or excessively dangerous to do so.

If there is a major snow storm, one goes to work, if he can. If needed, the agency will force out those CBPOs already on duty to cover for the shifts of CBPOs who can't make it through the snowstorm.

[ES90]

Business as usual. It won't stop the Canadians from coming down to Target and Walmart... Within reason you're expected to be at the Port on time regardless of weather. So snow tires, 4wd, and planning ahead are a must. My Port operated when much of the region was without power during an ice storm a few years ago.

[Alexr3496]

Thanks guys