Ted H. Kim Associate Director Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate
Experience and Achievements
Ted Kim was selected as the associate director of the Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate (RAIO). He will assume this role starting April 24, 2022. Previously, Kim served as the acting associate director of RAIO since Sept. 13, 2021.
Kim served as the deputy associate director of RAIO from September 2018 to September 2021. Before joining the RAIO front office, Kim was deputy chief of RAIO’s Asylum Division. As deputy chief, he oversaw eight asylum offices nationwide as well as the division's headquarters component, which is responsible for policy development, quality assurance, and overall management of the asylum program. During his 13 years with the Asylum Division, Kim served in multiple roles, including operations branch chief and asylum officer.
Kim has held a variety of other leadership roles at USCIS, both in the field and at headquarters. He was the Washington Field Office director from 2008 to 2011. Before that, he was the chief of the Growth Management Oversight Unit within the Office of the Director. He also served as acting field office director of the London Field Office and the acting deputy district director of the Europe, Middle East, and Africa District. For several years, he served as chair of the Asylum and Refugee Working Group at the Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum, and Refugees.
Education
Kim entered federal service in 1999 through the Presidential Management Fellowship program. He received his Master of Arts in law and diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.