Jobs for non- US citizens

[Tony1989]

Hey everyone,

I know this a fairly common wish for people so I apologise if my questions have already been answered a number of times, I just can't seem to find anything too specific to what I'm looking for.

I'm seriously considering a move to the United States once I have graduated from university, but I still wish to go into law enforcement. I've done as much research as I can and have found the states that do not require US citizenship to be hired, but I was wondering what my chances are of actually gaining employment, in what is already a very competitive field, as a non-US citizen. I have no family ties to the US either so appreciate the difficulty of even being granted permanent residency.

Also, do any federal agencies or state police accept applications for sworn positions from non US citizens? Do any of you know of any foreign nationals who have been appointed?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Tony.

[JI603]

Gonna be a tough one. Permanent residency is your first hurdle, and once you have that, only a very few departments will accept applicants who are not US citizens.

Federal agencies will not accept apps from non-us citizens. That's a given. States are the same. The departments that will are likely non-accredited and very small.

You'll have to get a green card (exceptional skill worker or lottery) and then apply for citizenship five years later.

I'm a naturalized US citizen who came to the USA from the UK 20 years ago. It'd be like a US citizen interested in working for MI6...

[eyildiz]

Tony, everyone will tell you that its tough this and that.

i've been living in US since '96 and been going to school since a little kid.... JUST recently I got my work permit, and I will be moving to Colorado from FL because they are one of the few states that will allow non citizens (a work permit is sufficient) to get a job. some depts require citizenship, but over half just say 'legally work in US' i've called and asked to few to confirm.

so, if you want to do this and do LEO, (like me) Colorado is place to go. your other options are Chicago PD, and Alaska I believe (or and Hawaii) Colorado made most sense to me, so that is where I'm going.

[eyildiz]

Gonna be a tough one. Permanent residency is your first hurdle, and once you have that, only a very few departments will accept applicants who are not US citizens.

Federal agencies will not accept apps from non-us citizens. That's a given. States are the same. The departments that will are likely non-accredited and very small.

You'll have to get a green card (exceptional skill worker or lottery) and then apply for citizenship five years later.

I'm a naturalized US citizen who came to the USA from the UK 20 years ago. It'd be like a US citizen interested in working for MI6...

not entirely true. like I said in my previous post, colorado is one place you can do this without even a green card. CO is accredited, and is not small (take Colorado state police for example)

[eyildiz]

Gonna be a tough one. Permanent residency is your first hurdle, and once you have that, only a very few departments will accept applicants who are not US citizens.

Federal agencies will not accept apps from non-us citizens. That's a given. States are the same. The departments that will are likely non-accredited and very small.

You'll have to get a green card (exceptional skill worker or lottery) and then apply for citizenship five years later.

I'm a naturalized US citizen who came to the USA from the UK 20 years ago. It'd be like a US citizen interested in working for MI6...

not entirely true. like I said in my previous post, colorado is one place you can do this without even a green card. CO is accredited, and is not small (take Colorado state police for example)

here is CSP

http://csp.state.co.us/SEL_MQ_DQ.html

Applicants do not have to be US Citizens to apply, however, an applicant must have documentation that allows them to live and work in the United States according to the Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Documentation is specified by the Form I-9 issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

look at my threads, and go through them.... i've been doing my research on this topic

[Tony1989]

Thanks for the answers guys they're much appreciated.
I've found some older posts in the forums with say that there are 14 states which don't require US citizenship to be appointed- of these Colorado looks like a great bet for me too!
Eyildiz and JI603 it's a great advantage to be able to speak to people who have been there and done exactly what im considering -can I ask you how you got the whole process of moving out there started? Im only in my first year of university so if there is anything i can do now that would be great.

Tony

[maybeFBIatfDEA]

Do you speak any foreign languages?

[SHU]

If you want to stay here and be a cop why don't you try to become a citizen? College takes yrs to finish. By the time you are out you will be well on your way to becoming a USC.

[thomas26]

If you want to stay here and be a cop why don't you try to become a citizen?
??
Because u need to be permanent resident for 5 years to be eligible to apply for u.s. citizenship. (2 exeptions: marry a u.s. citizen or join the u.s. army; the time to be eligible to will be foreshortened to 3 years)


The hardest part will be getting a greencard. (I'm trying for years...)

[JI603]

not entirely true. like I said in my previous post, colorado is one place you can do this without even a green card. CO is accredited, and is not small (take Colorado state police for example)

here is CSP

http://csp.state.co.us/SEL_MQ_DQ.html



look at my threads, and go through them.... i've been doing my research on this topic

No point in arguing with you if you're sure of your research, but I stand by my earlier post.

The only way one can come to the USA and work is with an H1B Visa (special skills, like I posted) or by winning the green card lottery. Sure you can marry a US citizen or come for the seasonal work, but those are the two ways.

If you come on an H1B working for, say, Sun microsystems and then decide you want to become a cop, you'd lose your employer visa-sponsor, and have no right to work here...

The other way is to convert your visa to Green Card/Permanent Residency, and then apply for citizenship -

Your sig line says you're in the process for a Colorado agency, so good luck to you.

I do find it strange that COSP would hire someone who doesn't have a green card, and so their time in the USA is temporary and limited by an H1B Visa to 5 or 6 years... more time requires a green card and permanent resident status.

[SHU]

What is your current immigration status tony1989?

[Tony1989]

No i don't speak any foreign languages to a high enough level to really be able to note them- though i do speak french well enough to get by if need be!

SHU I'm a British citizen and I havn't started down the road of getting my green card or anything else just yet.

How does just getting a work permit and getting a green card/permanent residence differ then?

I can see already how complicated this would all be!

Tony.

[JI603]

No i don't speak any foreign languages to a high enough level to really be able to note them- though i do speak french well enough to get by if need be!

SHU I'm a British citizen and I havn't started down the road of getting my green card or anything else just yet.

How does just getting a work permit and getting a green card/permanent residence differ then?

I can see already how complicated this would all be!

Tony.


Consider the many classes of people in the US:

Holiday visitors w/visa, or from countries with visa waiver status.
H1B worker (5 or 6 year validity, to perform a job that can't be done by a US citizen)
H2 Visa - agricultural/temporary seasonal laborer.... short time visa
Student
Permanent Resident w/right to work.
Naturalized US citizen

You get a green card by first getting an H1B Visa, working for a company who then sponsors your green card application. After you've had your green card for 5 years you can apply for citizenship.

If it were easy, half of eastern europe and all of mexico would be here.

[thomas26]

If it were easy, half of eastern europe and all of mexico would be here.
But Tony n me r from western europe and we don't speak any spanish...
So give us a Greencard, please... :D

[Tony1989]

thanks for the response again JI603.

will any police departments sponsor a green card application?

I agree with you thomas on this one!

[JI603]

Well - before the green card you'd need to be sponsored for an H1B Visa, which if you got, you could convert to a green card after a few years.

Easiest thing to do would be get over here on a visa somehow working for any company, then once you're living here, apply for a cop job with one of those departments who apparently don't require citizenship.

You could always come on holiday and stop by a department's recruiting office (bigger is better when it comes to this, because a small town place won't have any idea about immigration requirements - they're used to local applicants) to get some answers. I suppose you could ask them if they'd sponsor you for a visa. Maybe they need jocke interpreters :)

Here's how it went for me:

1989 emigrated
1994 green card
2000 US citizen

[Tony1989]

Thats a great help JI603 thanks again.

Tony.

[thomas26]

Tony,
in September I'll take part in a exchange program for Police Officers.
I'll visit the Chicago PD which is the largest PD only requiring legal permanent resident status.
If I find out anything, I'll tell you.
Pls contact me, if you find any other PD sponsoring a H1B Visa.

[Tony1989]

That sounds great Thomas any help you can give me would be great- and of course if I find any other info I will let you know.

Tony.

[SWAT1]

Tony1989

The guys are spot on, the whole visa deal is a minefield, JI603 you are totally correct in what you say. However, UK Residents are not eligible for the Green Card Lottery. Years ago I was desperate to get over here and find a job in LE, the hardest part was actually getting over here. Eventually I retired from the Met on injury after 20 years, I emigrated in 2000 on a Green Card and became a Citizen last year. I'm now 51 and have a good job in the private security sector but have just applied for FHP Auxilary in an effort to put something back into the community.

I sincerely hope all goes well, but be in for a rocky ride and disappointment.

Be Safe,
Steve

[Tony1989]

So did you get your green card before you moved out there steve? How did you go about it?

All the very best with your application.

Tony.

[SWAT1]

Tony,

Yes, I got it before I came out by way of 'Alien of Extraordinary Ability'. I was lucky that during my Police career I'd done a lot i.e Protection Officer for the Duke and Duchess of York and Team Leader with one of the Mets SO19 SFO Teams. When I left I wrote a couple of top-ten bestsellers and did work for TV news stations on Counter Terrorism etc. As I said, I was lucky it's not the normal route to go down but everything combined slotted me into that criteria.

Good Luck.
Steve

[Tony1989]

Very impressive Steve thanks for your responses.

Best wishes,

Tony.