U.K. student- want to join U.S. police force
 

Hi,

So I already know that you have to be a U.S. citizen to join, say, the NYPD. Honestly I'm just confused about how to go about it all.
I'm a student in the U.K. about to start my second year and have recently realised that I'd love to become a police officer, and love New York, so it would be an ideal job for me.

I don't have any family in the U.S. How would I go about getting a job there, applying for a green card and gaining relevant experience, I'm completely stumped. Also, if I managed to find a job out there, what line of work would be the most helpful in regards to getting involved in the NYPD if I managed to get citizenship down the line? Would it be better to move out there as soon as I finish my degree, or should I try to find work in the met police in London first for example?

​​​​​​​Thanks!!!

Re: U.K. student- want to join U.S. police force
 

Have a read of this: https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulas...ork_in_the_USA

To be blunt, without a path to a green card and citizenship, it's a non-starter. Without a family sponsor you will be looking at an employment visa which would require an employer to jump through all the necessary hoops to prove that no existing resident in the US is qualified to do the same job in order to be able to sponsor you. This will likely entail at least a bachelors degree and several years experience in a specialised field. If you are successful in going down this route and become a citizen I suspect you will not wish to change careers at the age of 30+ in order to become a beat officer in the NYPD. If you were born outside the UK or in Northern Ireland then the green card lottery could be an option but could easily take ten to twenty years if it isn't scrapped in the meantime.

I would focus on either the career or the destination as the two are not compatible for a British citizen.

Re: U.K. student- want to join U.S. police force
 

Ah gutted, I'll have a bachelors at 20 but it's nothing to do with policing. I know its a long shot, but if I was able to get an internship within a similar career that didn't require full citizenship, would that help at all a bit later on?

​​​​​​​thanks!

Re: U.K. student- want to join U.S. police force
 

An internship in the US? Only if it lead to a visa which then led to a green card for which you will have the same barriers.

If you really want to pursue this then hop on a dating website and find yourself an US citizen spouse. It may sound flippant but that's probably your only realistic route to citizenship.

Re: U.K. student- want to join U.S. police force
 

hahaha, not likely- I'll probably just focus on getting into the force here. Thanks for the info

Re: U.K. student- want to join U.S. police force
 

Good luck :) Joining the Met or NCA will give you opportunities to be seconded internationally to the US or to Interpol so bear that in mind.

Re: U.K. student- want to join U.S. police force
 

What does that mean? Sorry, i literally have no clue about any of this!

Re: U.K. student- want to join U.S. police force
 

As a serving member of the Met or the National Crime Agency you could have opportunities to be posted abroad in liaison roles with other police forces. For instance, a NCA officer may be posted to the Florida Keys to help coordinate with the FBI to tackle drug smuggling. Or you could be seconded from the Met to Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organisation, to work alongside other nation's police forces to tackle specific problems or to provide support or training. Interpol also has a office at the UN in New York.

National Crime Agency - Home

https://www.interpol.int/

Re: U.K. student- want to join U.S. police force
 

What you are proposing is pretty much impossible. Canada, however, is a different matter. If you have the 'golden trio' of a master's degree, being under 30 and fluency in English, you'll get permanent residency without a job offer.

Once you have PR, you can apply to most municipal police forces (but not the RCMP). Most require you to already be living in Canada to apply, but some don't.