Is it enough ?

Shiroki

Hey I applied to do Computer Applications in DCU next year, but I'm wondering if that will be enough for me to emigrate to the states and to eventually get a green card. My dream is to join the LAPD, which requires you to be a citizen. Do you think I will be able to find work in America with this degree ? Thanks for reading and any advice is appreciated. - Kev

randylonghorn

Um ... moving this to US forum, pretty sure no-one in LC will be in a position to give you an informed opinion!

Shiroki

Yeah i was a Little Confused avout where to put this thanks

lil_lisa

A 4 year degree is enough education to for the H1B requirements. What section in the LAPD are you interested in?

Shiroki

I want to join the SWAT but I know about the minimum service and all. I'd love to go into Homicide or Narcotics after the four years of patrol.

Wisco

Gaining US citizenship takes quite a few years of legal residency and getting a job there usually requires an employer to sponsor you, which as it's very expensive, can be difficult, which therefore makes residency difficult to gain.
Is there an age cutoff for LAPD applications?
Not trying to tell you not to pursue your dreams OP but just getting a job offer from anyone in the US is a huge challenge in and of itself.

Shiroki

Yeah I know it's difficult but I'll try my best As far as I know there isn't a cutoff, but if all goes to plan I'll be 25/26 by the time I can apply, which isnt too old... I think I really hope it works out. It's been my life long dream haha :pac: (Lame)

lil_lisa

I'm just wondering, if you want to be in the SWAT team why would you want to study Computer Applications? You might as well help yourself and study something that can be put towards your hopeful job.

Shiroki

Ill need something to do during the 5 or 6 year waiting period and im not sure if I could find a job using the criminal justice degree. Is that right ? Plus I love computer apps so im not just doing it for the sake if you get me

lonestargirl

Shiroki wrote: »

Yeah I know it's difficult but I'll try my best As far as I know there isn't a cutoff, but if all goes to plan I'll be 25/26 by the time I can apply, which isnt too old... I think I really hope it works out. It's been my life long dream haha :pac: (Lame)

You have to be a green card holder for 5 years (or 3 if you got your card through marriage) before you can naturalise and become a citizen. I think your timeframe is very much on the optimistic side unless you are lucky enough to win the lottery.

Conor108

The JoinLAPD site just says

You must be 21 years of age at entry into the academy. However, you may take the written test if you are 20 ½ on the written test date.

By the way, according to the US CIS site, green card holders are eligible for citizenship after one year of active-duty military service (you'll sign a contract for at least 4 though I think). As a non-citizen you'll have an extremey limited choice of jobs within whatever service you enlist but you can enlist if you're a permanent resident.

Getting the green card in the fist place is probably the hardest part.

US CIS Site

Good luck with whatever you do!

starky

Shiroki wrote: »

Hey I applied to do Computer Applications in DCU next year, but I'm wondering if that will be enough for me to emigrate to the states and to eventually get a green card. My dream is to join the LAPD, which requires you to be a citizen. Do you think I will be able to find work in America with this degree ? Thanks for reading and any advice is appreciated. - Kev

Hey there, Just saw your post. As it happens I also did CA in DCU and moved to the USA. I was lucky enough to get the DV lottery though. Out of interest I had a quick look at the LAPD salary structure [1], and can tell you from personal experience that you would make a hell of a lot more money working in IT over in the US then you would probably ever make in the LAPD :-) Of course working in the Software industry in the USA may not be quite as exciting as the LAPD, but your probably less likely to be shot working for an IT company then working in South Central LA!

If you are interested in moving to the US you should always put in an application for the DV lottery [2] each year. Normally you can apply around October each year and its free to enter so you have nothing to lose. Contrary to popular belief the odds of winning it are not as ridiculous as people make out. The year I won it, in my region (EU) there were about 1.2 million people, and roughly 30,000 people were picked out for further processing so roughly about 1 in 40, or the same odds as winning the lowest prize on the euro millions.

Aside from the lottery, if you are armed with a computer science degree you would have a fairly good chance of getting a H1B visa, I know tonnes of people who have them. The problem is that you could be stuck on one of them for 4/5 years then if you can get an employer to sponsor your green card you need to have that another 5 years and then you can apply for citizenship, so you could be looking at a 10 year turn around to become a US citizen, so best case 5/6 years (3 if your married to a USC) assuming your say 18 now would be 27ish, but if you were on a H for 5 years then on GC for 5 years you could be more like 32 before you become a USC. Its definitely not easy to become a USC, but its not impossible either, and computer science is one of the few things that would get you over, well with a bit of luck too. Of course there are no guarantees either. Personally CA has worked out extremely lucrative for me over in the USA, and I am glad I did it, although it was a tough course in parts, but worth it in the end.

[1]
http://www.joinlapd.com/career_ladder.html

[2]
www.dvlottery.state.gov

American Pie

Hi Shiroki,
Just reading through your post there and it's great to have a dream and I hope it all works out for you. I am in a similar position as I have always wanted to move to the US and have really wanted to join the US Air Force or Air National Guard if I ever did. I still do want to and will if I ever do get to move over there and I'm able to re age's and stuff.

I think its important to really sit down and realistically think about your situation and make sure you don't get your hopes up too much on the whole thing. Also you shouldn't let it get in the way of other opportunities that might come your way in the mean time. As stupid as it sounds I know the thought has come across my mind about how something might affect me going for a green card if I got selected in the lottery and I'm sure it has influenced some people in making decisions on jobs, houses e.t.c. In reality it is a stupid thing to do because if you do get a green card and want to move, you will make it work.

Another thing is that most people seem to really underestimate how hard it actually is to emigrate to the USA. A lot of people seem to think its an easy move to make and anybody can just get in but the reality is very different. I guess its possibly something to do with people failing to fully understand the difference between legally emigrating and illegally emigrating to the US, but the latter is definitely not an option for anybody wanting to ever work in a US government position or any employment for that matter. In fact I believe its really increases the difficulty for those of us who wholeheartedly and legally want to emigrate to America, but thats a different story.

I do worry that your hope of joining the LAPD by 25/26 is optimistic but is in no way impossible. The emigration process can take a couple years if you are lucky enough to go through it. I suspect from your post that you do not have any connections stateside and that you will have to apply through the DV lottery, which is as the names says, a lottery. As its only run once a year, you could be applying for years before getting selected, if you get selected. Even with connections it is not necessarily a given either as they need to be directly connected to you (parent,child,sibling,spouce e.t.c.)

In my case, I am an Aeronautical Engineer with a masters degree, working in a large multi-national Aerospace Company, and in my mid 20's. My grandfather was a US citizen, my father grew up in America and I have numerous Aunts, Uncles and cousins who are either citizens or green card holders permanently living in the US. Most people seem to think I am a perfect candidate for getting a visa or green card but unfortunately for me (and after a lot of research), my best chance of making the move is still probably through the DV lottery. I would definitely say for you to stick to your dream but just be aware that it may not move as fast as you would like it too. I have applied every year since finishing Uni and still waiting, but some day it might happen

One last thing I will say is that make sure you investigate the possibility of doing a placement in the USA through your course. You never know what connections you might make or employment opportunities might come out of it. The best of luck Shiroki and I really truly hope that it all works out for you.

Killer Wench

As someone else mentioned, if your dream is to work for the LAPD, then you should really consider joining the US military. Any police department will look more favorably, and in truth - heavily recruit, on military experience than they would a computer background. You may think it is something to do in the meantime, but if you are able to show that you made specific college choices because you wanted this particular job, you have a stronger case to make with your application and interview process.

And, each branch of the military has its own police force so you could seek to get your MOS to be Security Forces.

lonestargirl

Problem is he'll need a green card to join the military. Keep entering the visa lottery OP, it'll make your dream a lot easier if you win.