Announcement for FinCEN's Unpaid Student Volunteer Program

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is now accepting applications for the Unpaid Student Volunteer Program in Washington, D.C. and Vienna, VA. The opportunity seeks to provide valuable work experience, knowledge, and other benefits for those seeking college credit(s) in government or the various fields we offer below. Please note that college credit(s) varies for each college/university. Please see your schools program for additional information.

The following information provides a brief introduction to five of our program areas, basic qualification information, instructions on how to apply, application deadlines, what to expect next, and who to contact for more information.

Internship Opportunities: Selected student interns will work in an office within one of the following program areas:

Enforcement Division (ED) - FinCEN’s Enforcement Division serves as the primary action arm of FinCEN. The division employs an intelligence-driven approach to target examination efforts in high-risk areas; investigates referrals from examining authorities and uses effective, proportionate, and dissuasive measures to enforce compliance with the BSA; and proactively investigates and exercises the full range of FinCEN authorities to disrupt the illicit use of the financial system by priority targets.

The Enforcement Division is structured into three offices: Compliance and Enforcement, Special Measures, and Special Investigations. The Office of Compliance and Enforcement handles a caseload of BSA compliance matters that can involve actions ranging from intelligence-driven targeting to examination, reviewing examination referrals, compliance advice and guidance, investigation, injunctions, and civil monetary penalties. The Office of Compliance and Enforcement is further sub-divided into three teams, each focusing on different types of financial institutions: the Depository Institutions Team; the Money Services Businesses Team; and the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Team.

The Office of Special Measures is responsible for implementing a variety of unique statutory authorities provided to FinCEN, including Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act (31 U.S.C. § 5318A) and Geographic Targeting Orders (31 U.S.C. § 5326(a)), which are both designed to limit the U.S. financial system’s exposure to foreign jurisdictions, financial institutions, and classes of transactions/accounts of primary money laundering concern, and to collect targeted financial intelligence.

The Office of Special Investigations is responsible for investigating unauthorized BSA disclosures and providing criminal investigatory expertise and support to the rest of the division. The Office is staffed by FinCEN’s special agents.

Intelligence Division (ID) - FinCEN’s Intelligence Division carries out FinCEN’s statutory responsibility to collect, analyze, and disseminate financial intelligence. The division serves all FinCEN internal and external customers, including law enforcement, regulators, foreign financial intelligence units, industry, and the public; produces proactive, cutting edge, multi-source financial intelligence analysis; and serves as global experts on illicit finance, providing data-driven tactical and strategic perspectives.

The Intelligence Division is structured into two offices, one focusing on the United States and its neighbors, the other focusing globally on illicit financial activity that affects the U.S. financial system. Within each of these offices, the individual sections, organized geographically, have principal responsibility for maintaining awareness and expertise on the operations of active illicit financial networks associated with FinCEN priorities in their regions. Additionally, the Illicit Finance Methodologies Section provides overarching views of payments systems and their vulnerability to methods and schemes of misuse. A second team – the Data Analytics Team – uses statistical and advanced analytics to identify relevant patterns and outliers in the BSA data, producing products that present industry data profiles, as well as federal, state, local, and international data profiles.

Liaison Division (LD) – FinCEN’s Liaison Division manages the needs of FinCEN’s stakeholders through strong and informed relationships and serves as a nerve center for information flow in and out of FinCEN, as well as throughout the organization itself. The division manages essential relationships to advance FinCEN’s mission and priorities; acts as a natural entryway for all stakeholders to make best use of FinCEN tools and resources; serves as a bridge between a diverse set of stakeholders, enabling them to network, and share perspectives and information with one another; and coordinates throughout FinCEN to ensure efficient communication across divisions, including the coordination of the FinCEN targeting process.

The Liaison Division is structured into two offices – Domestic Liaison and Global Liaison – as well as the FinCEN Resource Center. Domestic Liaison is responsible for managing relationships with law enforcement, the intelligence community, regulators, and industry, ensuring that they have appropriate levels of access to BSA data and FinCEN support and services. Global Liaison is responsible for managing relationships with more than 130 financial intelligence units around the world. The FinCEN Resource Center serves as the call center for FinCEN, its stakeholders, and the public, handling a wide variety of intake requests, information exchange mechanisms, and requests for information.

Management Division (MD) - FinCEN’s Management Division is responsible for providing the support services necessary to achieve the mission. The division ensures FinCEN attracts and retains the best personnel for its mission; helps FinCEN employees develop and reach their full potential; protects FinCEN employees, information, and facilities; and provides the logistical and budgetary backbone to best accomplish FinCEN’s mission.

Policy Division (PD) - FinCEN’s Policy Division designs the framework that protects the U.S. financial system from money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit finance. In developing policy solutions, the Policy Division considers the needs and equities of all FinCEN stakeholders, including law enforcement, regulators, foreign financial intelligence units, industry, and the public. The division conceives, develops, and drafts the BSA rules, clarifying guidance, and regulatory rulings that protect our financial system; oversees AML/CFT compliance policy to ensure the BSA framework -- “the defense” -- is implemented effectively; and serves as the think tank for policy responses to AML/CFT vulnerabilities in the U.S. and international financial systems.

The Policy Division is structured into two offices, one focusing on drafting BSA rules, clarifying guidance, and regulatory rulings, the other focusing on broader strategic policy issues, including AML/CFT compliance and the drafting of advisories for financial institutions.

Technology Division (TD) - FinCEN’s Technology Division is responsible for the full systems development lifecycle for products and support for FinCEN and its stakeholders. Amongst its many responsibilities, the division supports the technology systems for data collection, storage, and dissemination, including collection of BSA records through BSA E-Filing, their storage in the FinCEN System of Record, and their dissemination to law enforcement and regulatory users via FinCEN Query; supports internal analytical customers with systems for advanced analytics; and supports information sharing between more than 130 financial intelligence units through the Egmont Secure Web.

The Technology Division is structured into five offices: Data Analysis Systems; Data Management Systems; International and Business Systems; Information Security; and Infrastructure. The FinCEN System of Records, consisting primarily of BSA reports, contains over 190 million records. Approximately 55,000 BSA reports are submitted by financial institutions and other users through E-filing each day. Federal, state, and local law enforcement and regulatory users of FinCEN Query make approximately 16,000 to 18,000 queries of the BSA records each day, with each query often resulting in the return of multiple responsive BSA records.

Required Basic Qualifications:
All applicants applying to participate in the Unpaid Volunteer Student Program must meet the following requirements:

  • Must be a United States citizen.
  • Must be enrolled, at least half-time, as a degree-seeking student in an accredited educational program.
  • Males must be registered with the Selective Service.

In addition to meeting the basic qualifications, applicants must also:

  • Work well in a team environment.
  • Have very strong communication skills and be detailed oriented.
  • Have a working knowledge of computer applications such as Microsoft Office.
  • Have excellent writing, reading and interpersonal skills.
  • Be able to organize a variety of assignments simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.
  • International experience (e.g. studying, travel, and working) strongly desired, but not required.
  • Ability to speak a foreign language desired, but not required.

How to apply:
A complete application will consist of the following three documents submitted to UnpaidStudentInternship@fincen.gov.

  • A cover letter.
  • A resume.
  • Your most recent transcript.

What to Expect Next:
We will confirm receipt of your complete application. Your application package will be submitted to hiring officials for review. If interviews are required, you will be contacted. If selected, you will receive a tentative offer and will be required to submit additional forms.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Email:UnpaidStudentInternship@fincen.gov