Smiffy24

I was curious if a UKC once granted residence in the US could be employed as a police officer or work in law enforcement?

Thank you in advance

Noorah101

Just so others know (because the first question will be which visa are you getting), the OP is going to do an Immigrant Visa process based on marriage to a USC.

Smiffy, it depends what the job is. Check with the police department in the city you'll be living in, in the USA, and ask what their requirements are.

Rene

civilservant

Since you are allowed to work, the answer is yes - if you can get a job.

However in reality many Police Departments require US Citizenship for sworn officers.

Pulaski

Anecdotally, I hear that sheriffs' departments can be more accommodating of non-citizens, and in many rural areas the sheriff's deputies are the de facto police force.

powersmurf

Do you know what specific departments would consider non US citizens?

I have several years service as a British Police Officer and can't find any type of employment within various Police departments. I have applied for all sorts of civilian positions and can't even get an interview! I would be grateful for any advice.

Cheers

penguinsix

First, to be a bit pedantic but also relevant to the discussion, there is no "US police service". Policing is a local matter, under the control of local governments and with legal requirements set forth at the state level. Cities hire policemen that have to meet (at a minimum) state requirements for being a police officer. As such, not only are their 50 different requirements to be a police officer, but there are also 10,000+ different policies on hiring followed by individual cities.

A few states allow permanent residents to be police officers, but again it will be up to individual cities within those states to make their own decisions.

This is a somewhat dated list of the state-by-state requirements.

http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~haralds...itizenship.htm

Now, the other bits:

Many police departments try to hire veterans back from service in Iraq or Afghanistan first. In my county, of the dozen or so new hires in the last couple years, every single one was ex-military. I think many cities, push comes to shove between hiring a veteran vs. a "foreigner" are going to opt with the vet most of the time.

Second, and maybe some cops can come and chat about this, policing in the US is a bit different than the style you may have been trained in the UK. I believe in some jurisdictions your years of service will mean nothing and you'll be sent back to the academy as a rookie to start working your way up the system again. This even applies, in some places, to cops who move from state-to-state. For example the Chief of Police in a city in Maryland who was the main person on the "Washington DC Sniper" case (a major FBI/ATF/State/Local police operation) moved to Hawaii and had to start all over as a foot patrol officer despite decades of experience.

If you have several years of experience in law enforcement, you might consider private security work in the US as a better utilization of your skills than restarting the clock and going out on the beat.

Good luck.

lansbury

Apply to be a Reserve Officer either in your County Sheriffs, or local police departments. I am involved in the recruiting process for our city police department, and Reserve Officers always get granted an interview. They are either our Reserves who we know, or Reserves in other local departments who can vouch for their expertise and suitability.

Of our last five hires, three came from our Reserve program.