Joining the LAPD or NYPD

Hally_89

Hi

I have always considered moving to the US and working there for a few years. Considering the Ireland's economy is the way it is at the moment I have been looking into emigrating a lot more. I tend to b very fussy about jobs for some reason but have always had an interest in the Gardai/Police and have been a member of the Garda Reserve with 2 years in the hope of joining full time but with all the cuts i might as well kiss that goodbye for another few years.

But anyway back on topic I have considered moving to Los Angeles or New York (My 2 favourite states) and joining the Police. I emailed the LAPD today and they replied within an hour and explained some of the steps I would need to take when joining from another country. Obviously one of the requirements was I would need to be a US Citizen. On the website though it is worded as follows:

.......................................................................................
Citizenship

The City of Los Angeles requires that a Police Officer candidate be a United States citizen, or that a non-citizen be a permanent resident alien who, in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is eligible and has applied for citizenship.
During the selection process, each non-citizen is required to prove that USCIS accepted his/her application for citizenship prior to the date the Police Officer written test was taken.
California State law requires that citizenship be granted within three years after the employment application date. For information regarding citizenship requirements, contact the USCIS.
Residency

You do not have to be a resident of Los Angeles to apply for or work as an LAPD Officer.

.......................................................................................

Now my question is if i applied for a Green Card to go out and work there and was granted that Green Card could i join the LAPD if I have also applied for neutralization/citizenship? From what I understand from the section above regarding citizenship that it is possible to do this but I may be completely wrong. I hope someone can shed some light on this, especially someone who may be currently living/working in either locations.

Thanks in advance

silja

If you get a greencard, it takes 5 years before you can apply for citizenship. So the answer to your question is yes, but you'll have to have another job for 5 years...

cena

I too would love to join the nypd. have done since I was kid. Wouldn't mind the fdny either.

Let me know how you get on

Palmy

You have to be a U.S Citizen to be a sworn in officer.I have been on a greencard here for over a year and wanted to apply for the Sherriffs department (police).I rang the Sherriffs H.R department and to become a police officer you need to be a citizen.Most require you to at least have an assoiciates degree too.I have to wait to do my citizenship first before i can apply.There is know way round it,and the will not sponsor you.Having a Gardi back ground, even as a reserve would look good though.:)

Hally_89

Palmy wrote: »

You have to be a U.S Citizen to be a sworn in officer.I have been on a greencard here for over a year and wanted to apply for the Sherriffs department (police).I rang the Sherriffs H.R department and to become a police officer you need to be a citizen.Most require you to at least have an assoiciates degree too.I have to wait to do my citizenship first before i can apply.There is know way round it,and the will not sponsor you.Having a Gardi back ground, even as a reserve would look good though.:)

Thanks for your reply. It helps hearing from someone who is in pretty much the same situation as myself. Do you have to wait 5 years for citizenship?

I read something last night that said if your on a green card as an immigrant that it's a 3 year wait and you can apply for citizenship 90 days before the end of the 3rd year.

cena

Hally_89 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. It helps hearing from someone who is in pretty much the same situation as myself. Do you have to wait 5 years for citizenship?

I read something last night that said if your on a green card as an immigrant that it's a 3 year wait and you can apply for citizenship 90 days before the end of the 3rd year.

I heard somthing like that too.

Hally_89

cena wrote: »

I heard somthing like that too.

Like 3/3.5 years is still a long time to wait and at that stage the Gardai might be recruiting here again but its not as bad as 5 years.

Only thing id have to work out is what kind of job i could do/find over there for the next 3 years

Palmy

Its three years if you marry an American,but if you get a greencard (like i did in the dv lottery)its five years.You can apply for citizenship three month or 90days before your five years is up.So basically when five years passes you will become a citizen if you pass the selection process.I have heard of people not being passed for citizenship when they apply.You can still live the rest of your life in the United States on a greencard,but you just can't vote or join the police etc.
You pretty much have to put yourself through the police academy which is six months long and cost about $5000.Once you have passed or during your police course at the academy you can apply for police jobs with differant police departments.If you get accepted they usually pay you back the money you payed for the academy.Most cities have a criminal justice program (police academy)and its like going and doing it at UCD or DCU.

Palmy

The hardest part is getting the greencard, you just can't apply for one like a visa. You either have to marry an American or enter the DV lottery and take your chances of winning. 22million people apply every year.They randomly select 100,000 and they give out 55,000 a year.Some people wont qualify,you need quite alot in savings etc as well as, doing medicals,Police reports from any country you have lived in for more than six months,fees etc.Trust me it's not as easy as just winning.You better start applying for the DV lottery as it's really your only chance.

alphanine

silja wrote: »

If you get a greencard, it takes 5 years before you can apply for citizenship. So the answer to your question is yes, but you'll have to have another job for 5 years...

Is it not 3 years? I'm pretty sure it is.

Palmy

Yes if you marry an American it's three years.Any other greencard it's five years.

Hally_89

Palmy wrote: »

The hardest part is getting the greencard, you just can't apply for one like a visa. You either have to marry an American or enter the DV lottery and take your chances of winning. 22million people apply every year.They randomly select 100,000 and they give out 55,000 a year.Some people wont qualify,you need quite alot in savings etc as well as, doing medicals,Police reports from any country you have lived in for more than six months,fees etc.Trust me it's not as easy as just winning.You better start applying for the DV lottery as it's really your only chance.

Thats for your reply this is helpful.

Ive heard about the DV lottery alright and head its pretty tough. Do you mind if i ask do you live in the US? Also is there 2 types Greencard? An immigrant one and a Non-immigrant one and can you apply for them before you go over or do you go over on a visa to start with? Also do you have to remain in the US for the 5 years or can you come home for christmas etc?

Sorry for all the questions but its something that im am really considering doing so id like to get as much info as possible from as many different people as i can.

silja

Palmy is correct- 3 years if married to a US citizen for the whole three years, 5 years otherwise. You can visit abroad, but have to spend more time inside the USA than outside to maintain your greencard. Once you have (dual) citizenship, you can live whereever you want.

There is only one greencard (though if you get one via marriage, and are married less then two years, it is a conditional one- otherwise, ten year one). You need a visa to enter the USA; this visa may then get you a greencard, either immediately (spousal visa, DV lottery) or after a number of years. Not all visas lead to greencards.

Hally_89

silja wrote: »

Palmy is correct- 3 years if married to a US citizen for the whole three years, 5 years otherwise. You can visit abroad, but have to spend more time inside the USA than outside to maintain your greencard. Once you have (dual) citizenship, you can live whereever you want.

There is only one greencard (though if you get one via marriage, and are married less then two years, it is a conditional one- otherwise, ten year one). You need a visa to enter the USA; this visa may then get you a greencard, either immediately (spousal visa, DV lottery) or after a number of years. Not all visas lead to greencards.

Thanks. What kind of visa would I be applying for if I was going to live there? Also you mention the spousal visa. Does that only apply to close family members? I think we may have cousins in New York. They would be second cousins to me so could I get one on that basis and would it still have the 5 year waiting term?

silja

Spousal visas is for heterosexual, legally married partners only. There are family visas for parents, siblings, spouses, fiancees and kids, not for cousins sorry.

There isn't a "going to live there" visa; as mentioned previously, it is quite difficult to get a visa. DV lottery is probably your best bet unless you have special skills which might get you a H1B work visa (you usually need at least a Masters for that). Another option a few of my friends have taken is get a job with a multi-national in Ireland such as Google or HP, then after a few years they may allow you to transfer on a L visa (intra-company transfer).

Hally_89

So basically no matter which way i go about it (unless i get married) its nearly always a 5 year waiting term.

Do you mind me asking what kind of work you do over there? Im not exactly sure what kind of job id be happy doing for the next 5 years..

silja

Me? I raise three kids
I came here on a spousal visa as my husband is from Arkansas. He came over to get married to me (so much quicker to immigrate to Ireland!), then after a few years we moved back.

Darren1o1

silja wrote: »

a H1B work visa (you usually need at least a Masters for that).

Not true, you need to be qualified in specialty occupation with a minimum of a bachelors or equivalent in experience. I have a H1b with a bachelors.

Palmy

The hard part to all of this is getting the greencard in the first place..

rockonollie

Of course you don't need to be a citizen to join the military.......but you can't get promoted much higher than pvt

silja

rockonollie wrote: »

Of course you don't need to be a citizen to join the military.......but you can't get promoted much higher than pvt

That is true, and you can even get expedited citizenship while you are enlisted! Still need to get a greencard first though.

Hally_89

rockonollie wrote: »

Of course you don't need to be a citizen to join the military.......but you can't get promoted much higher than pvt

If you join the military your signed up for a 4 year term right? I would love to join the US military but not sure would I like the idea of going to war tbh.

What other jobs could a non US citizen do in NY or LA?

rockonollie

If you have a greencard or work visa......you can do almost any job......with the exception of some public service/government jobs, very few employers require citizenship

cerebus

rockonollie wrote: »

If you have a greencard or work visa......you can do almost any job......with the exception of some public service/government jobs, very few employers require citizenship

I think that there might also be restrictions on work involving defense contractors/security concerns - I ran into this recently, couldn't work on a particular project that involved a contract with the DoD due to not being a citizen. Seems to happen occasionally in tech.

Hally_89

If i apply for a work visa for the US now and it gets approved does anyone know how long it stays approved for? As in if i got it now would it still be valid in September?

rockonollie

If you apply for a visa now, you'd be fortunate to have it approved by September. Depending on the type of visa, the processing time can be anything from 4 months up to a couple of years

Hally_89

rockonollie wrote: »

If you apply for a visa now, you'd be fortunate to have it approved by September. Depending on the type of visa, the processing time can be anything from 4 months up to a couple of years

Didint realise it took that long at all. And how long is it valid for then? Like how long do i have to go to the US before it expires. I was told you could have the visa sorted and dont actually have to leave for a certain amount of time and then when you do go your year or 2 years kicks in

rockonollie

I don't know the exact figures for all the visas, but for my CR-1 I had 6 months from the time it was issued to enter the US

Hally_89

rockonollie wrote: »

I don't know the exact figures for all the visas, but for my CR-1 I had 6 months from the time it was issued to enter the US

Cool that pretty much answers my question.

Back to jobs over there. Do you think i could be a helicopter pilot without citizenship? I have 20 hours flying time but i could finish that in the flying school in Florida.

silja

Yes, most visas are valid for 6 months. However, as stated previously there are lots of different work visas and they all have different restrictions and rules. There isn't a general "work visa" you can apply for and then go over and find a job. Most work visas must be applied for by the employer.

Helicopter pilot should be fine, no very high security clearance needed. Not sure if it meets the criteria for a work visa though (ie, I don't know how many out of work US citizen helicopter pilots there are).

Palmy

Alot of flight training schools rules are changing regarding foreign students.You could certainly finish your training in the United states but as to getting a job after i very much doubt it.Afew years back you could finish your instructors rating and with the time left on your visa teach until the visa expires.This would of been from doing a full ppl-cpl to intructors rating course.Being a pilot is not high enough on the list to get sponsered by a company for a long term visa.:rolleyes: