A Cop Migrating to the USA?

[Upgraded]

I am in a bit of a dilema here, I am currently enrolled in Police Academy in Australia, saving up my $16 000 and getting my Police license.

I read that to be a Cop in the USA you must be a full fledged citizen, not a Green Card holder. Is this going to mean I cannot work in the USA for 5 - 10 years in the police force?

 

[Tazmania]

Candidates must be a United States citizen on or before the day of hire.

No chance for you.

 

[waitformeusa]

Eventhough you can not in Police force, you can work for some other security forces established by local administrations.
Also you can become volunteer to become a soldier in US and you can become citizen 1 year later. I heard volunteers are also rewarded with sponsorship for university programs.

 

[dragoman]

waitformeusa is right. But couple of US government agencies dont require citizenship for some positions in a condition employee will be approved by the Federal Gov.

You can check http://www.usajobs.gov/ in order to get detailed information about government jobs for LPRs in the US.

By the way, friend of mine who is retired army officer got a good job as an 'security and loss prevention manager' in one of the hotel chain in the US.

good luck..

LONG LIVE KOSOVA

 

[SFORAFF]

I am in a bit of a dilema here, I am currently enrolled in Police Academy in Australia, saving up my $16 000 and getting my Police license.

I read that to be a Cop in the USA you must be a full fledged citizen, not a Green Card holder. Is this going to mean I cannot work in the USA for 5 - 10 years in the police force?

Not true at all, it all depends on the department. Local Police and Sheriff's Office its ok to be a Permanent Resident Green Card holder however State police or California Highway Patrol and Federal Police you will need to be a Naturalized or Narural born citizen. You will have to obtain youe P.O.S.T. Certificatgion here int he USA, POST= Police Officers Standard Training aka The Academy. And if you have already obtained this in Australia you have a better chance of a local police department hiring you and sponsoring you to attend their academy while they pay for it. Another option is for you to just pay to attend a POST Academy here in the USA, send yourself and the cost is aprox USD$ 8,000.

I know all this since I worked for our County's Sherrif's Office and Im a Green Card Holder; well for another two weeks then I obtain my US Citizenship.

Good Luck! We need more Cops!

 

[plus07]

I am in a bit of a dilema here, I am currently enrolled in Police Academy in Australia, saving up my $16 000 and getting my Police license.

I read that to be a Cop in the USA you must be a full fledged citizen, not a Green Card holder. Is this going to mean I cannot work in the USA for 5 - 10 years in the police force?

I would say that almost all police departments require US citizenship. Many departments will allow you to start the process of becoming an officer before you actually acquire citizenship. The LAPD for example will consider applicants who are permanent residents, are eligible to apply for citizenship, and have submitted such an application.

Normally, you would become eligible to apply for citizenship 5 years after becoming a PR. As others have noted, this time is significantly shortened for those who served honorably in the US armed forces. On the bright side, once you are eligible to apply, there is healthy demand for police officers almost everywhere.

More importantly, have you actually won the lottery? If you haven't then learning all these details about police officer requirements in the states, naturalization requirements, etc, is really not a productive use of your time. You would be much better off focusing on your life in Australia, on moving forward and improving it. If and when you win the lottery, you can learn about all these things, and decide which way to go.