Phyllis Coven Bio
Phyllis A. Covenofficially entered on duty as District Director for the New York District Office on March 24, 2014 following two
years of service as the District Director of the Los Angeles District Office (March 2012-2014).
Background Experience and Educational Information
Ms. Coven has two decades of experience working for both the federal government and international organizations leading a wide range of immigration and refugee initiatives. She has worked on numerous migration emergencies and is one of the few members of the Department who has worked for USCIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as the United High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Ms. Coven began her federal service as a Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice where she was responsible for the immigration portfolio (1993-95). She later served as the Director of the INS Office of International Affairs (1995-98), where she was the key policy and operational official responsible for implementing the reform of the United States Asylum System, and managing numerous, multifaceted immigration service and enforcement programs and initiatives. She served as the primary point of contact with the National Security Council for the Department of Justice and INS in handling the Haitian and Cuban boat emergencies in the mid-90s. She played a pivotal role in the Cuban Migration Talks, in creating the first Regional Consultative Process on Migration, and in establishing unprecedented cooperation with Mexico and Central American governments on returns.
Ms. Coven has extensive experience working overseas in the migration arena. She served as Officer in
Charge of the INS Office in Johannesburg, South Africa (1998-2001) and as Field Office Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Amman, Jordan (2008-09). She was recruited by UNHCR to serve on a special secondment from the Department (Geneva, 2002-2004). As a Senior Advisor on Resettlement her role was to institutionalize and enhance the use of as Resettlement as a Durable Solution. She is credited with having created a Group Methodology for Resettlement which now accounts for more than one half of the referrals UNHCR makes to resettlement partners. She also served as a Technical Migration Specialist to the International Organization for Migration in Geneva and Africa (2005-09), teaching and establishing capacity building initiatives throughout Africa and the Middle East. Ms. Coven returned to the Federal Government in 2009 to head up the Office of Detention Policy and Planning for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the office established to design and oversee implementation of detention reform.
John Carrington, Chief of Staff
District 3
John Carrington began his career in federal service with legacy INS-Immigration and Naturalization Service in June of 1996 as an Applications Clerk. In November of 1996 he was promoted to District Adjudications Officer (DAO) adjudicating applications in the Naturalization Unit for citizenship. In October of 2001 through January of 2005, John was assigned to the Congressional Unit responding to inquiries for the District office. In January of 2005 John was moved into the Adjustment of Status Unit where he adjudicated applications for lawful permanent residency. In August of 2005, John was selected as a Supervisory District Adjudications Officer for the Newark Adjustment of Status Unit. His responsibilities included but were not limited to ensuring decisions and recommendations were made accurately, timely, and in compliance with policy, procedures, and the Immigration and Nationality Act-INA. During this time John oversaw the implementation of the Interim Case Management System-ICMS; ensuring that it was successfully achieved and maintained by the District Office.
In January of 2008, John was promoted to Section Manager in the Newark Field Office where he initially managed Information, Special Projects, Records, the Congressional Unit, the Contract and Clerical Staff. It was also during this time that the service began the Workforce Restructuring Initiative-WRI. John successfully developed an in-house training and job rotation program for the Newark Field Office as a result of WRI. John has worked on detailed assignments in the Office of Field Operations-HQ and Acting Field Office Director in Salt Lake City, Utah. In September of 2010 John was reassigned to the Naturalization Unit of the Newark Field Office where he successfully oversaw the completion of naturalization applications, same day naturalization process, community outreach, national security cases, and he handled special naturalization ceremonies.
John’s most recent accomplishment was a promotion to Chief of Staff of the New York District Office where his responsibilities include Mission Support; Fraud Detection and National Security; Operational Planning; Analysis and Statistics; Records; and Language Services.
John is a graduate of the Federal Government’s GraduateSchool’s Executive Potential Program-EPP (2010). He holds a bachelors degree from Montclair State University (1979), and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University (2004).
Timothy Houghton, Field Office Director
District 3
(New York Field Office)
Timothy Houghton entered on duty as the Field Office Director for the New YorkField Office in May of 2014.
Background Experience and Educational Information
Mr. Houghton hasover 16 years of government service which began with legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in 1998.
He began his career in the New York District as a District Adjudications Officer at the Garden City Office.In 2004, Mr. Houghton became a Supervisory District Adjudication Officer in the Naturalization Unit. In 2007, he was assigned to the Adjustment of Status Unit where he served as a supervisor until May 2009. In 2008, Mr. Houghton received the Federal Executive Board Award as Supervisor of the year for his work in the Naturalization Unit by organizing a more efficient manner to receive documents from customers. In May 2009, he became a supervisor for the Newark, New Jersey District Office in the Adjustment of Status Unit where he served in that position until March 2010. In March 2010, Mr. Houghton was selected by New York District to serve as Section Manager for Adjudications 2. The Adjudication 2 Unit was responsible for multiple immigration petitions/applications and adhered to the Stokes Agreement. In January of 2011, he was assigned as Section Manager for the Naturalization Unit in New York. Mr. Houghton received the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; Distinguished Government Service Award on May 11, 2012. Also in May 2012, Mr. Houghton was selected as the Field Office Director for the Queens Field Office located in Long Island City, New York. He remained in that position until May 2014, when he was assigned to lead the New York Field Office as the Field Office Director.
BRYAN P. CHRISTIAN - QUEENS FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR
Bryan P. Christian began his career with legacy INS in March 2000 as an Asylum Officer in the Chicago Asylum Office. In October of 2003, he became a Program Manager at Asylum Division Headquarters and managed each of the principal asylum portfolios in the Operations Branch. In March of 2007, Mr. Christian became the Deputy Director of the Asylum Office. In March 2009, Mr. Christian became the Branch Chief for Adjustment and Naturalization in the Service Center Operations Directorate (SCOPS). From July 2012 until March 2014, he represented SCOPS in USCIS Transformation and served as Product Owner for USCIS ELIS. Since March 2014, Mr. Christian has been the Branch Chief for Law Enforcement Support Operations (LESO) in the Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) Directorate.
WILL F. BIERMAN – NEW YORK DEPUTY FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS
Will F. Bierman joined USCIS in November 2006 as an Asylum Officer with the Houston Asylum Office. He was promoted to Supervisory Asylum Officer in May 2007, and in early 2009, he became a Supervisory Refugee Officer in Washington, DC. Prior to his selection as Deputy Field Office Director for the New York Field Office, Will was the District 25 FDNS Supervisor in Phoenix, Az. Prior to joining USCIS, Will worked as an attorney for a variety of diverse governmental organizations, including the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on the island of Saipan, the State of Wyoming’s Public Defender’s Office, and the US Army JAG corps with the 1st infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas.
MARIA GUERRA – NEW YORK DEPUTY FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR FOR NATURALIZATION & CUSTOMER SERVICE
Prior to her selection as Deputy Field Office Director for the New York Field Office, Maria Guerra was the Section Chief of the New York Naturalization Unit and also previously served as the Section Chief of the Adjustment of Status and Naturalization units at the Newark Field Office, and was a first-line supervisor and officer in the New York Field Office. Prior to joining USCIS, Ms. Guerra practiced immigration law and corporate law in New York City. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Harvard University and her Juris Doctorate from NYU School of Law.