Does anybody know if, in order to apply for a Government job, you must have the US citizenship or it's necessary only to have the permanent resident card (green card).
Can anybody let me know maybe from any personal exeprience too? Just curious!!!!!!

Thanks alot.

I'm not 100%, but I think you have to be a USC to get a US government job. The job announcement should list the citizenship/immigration status necessary to apply for the position. All government jobs are listed at http://www.usajobs.gov/

After you get your serach results, select a job you're interested in, make sure you're looking at the "overview" scan down the page to the "who may be considered section" this section lists the citizenship/immigration requirements. It may also be listed under "key requirements."

Just so you know its not uncommon for the applicaton process for a government job to be very lengthy; 6-9 months between application and interview.

Most of the US Government jobs require the US citizenship. But there are also jobs known like NAF positions (non appropriate funds) that do not require the US citizenship, having a SSN is enough. Good luck to you

WOW.....guys you are wonderful thanks so much for your info, link & advise.
I will look at it.

Thanks again At least I will try, otherwise I guess I have to wait just for few years before asking for the US citizenship.

Some do yes, others do not. If the job requires any sort of security clearence, you can bet that it will be limited to USC's.

If you're interested in working for the fed'l gov't and are not yet a USC you might also look into contractors that provide employees to the government. In some of those positions you don't need to be a citizen, but like getting fed'l employment it's usually helpful to have an *in.*

Makes sense that this would happen at the federal level. What about jobs with state governments? Does anyone know or have experience on this one?
Excellent and relevant thread by the way!!!
L.

Security clearance isn't the issue in many cases, for example my job requires security clearance and I still have it. The trouble is that most Federal Agencies are not allowed to employ non-US citizens (we have Reagan to thank for that). They get around this by hiring foreigners as contractors (so they're not *actually* hiring them), through companies often set up purely as a loophole around this rule, or in cases where people are doing research often through Universities. I know guys who work at NASA who officially work for a University that they've barely set foot in for example.

State government jobs don't pay much. If you want to make good money - work for the city government The city normally gets federal funding, state funding and makes its own money too, so they do well

I'm not a US citizen, I work for the state of California. Well, I work for a state university, and it's considered a state government employer. I started working for them when I was on a student visa, so obviously they don't care if I'm a citizen of another country as long as you're employment authorized.


I never liked Reagan.

Yes, I too was an employee of the State of California (through the University of California), the rules that govern Federal Jobs don't apply to State Government jobs. Ironically even though I was employed by UC, I was still paid out of Federal funds, so essentially I was what I describe in my post above (and I still am).

The U.S. Postal Service requires a 10-year green card. Not exactly a federal agency, but it has the benefits.

http://www.usps.com/employment/employrequirements.htm

Yes, I had a friend on a Green Card who worked for USPS. Its shockingly competitive because their benefits are so great and its a hard job to lose.