Can green card holders work in government jobs

In order to work in the USA for the federal government, an individual usually must be an American citizen or a US national (for example, a resident of American Samoa).

A key reason that Green Card holders and temporary legal residents of the United States are generally not permitted to work in the USA for the federal government is that an individual must be an American citizen or a US national to apply for US jobs in the civil service (i.e., government jobs) according to Executive Order 11935.

There are exceptions, however, to this general rule.

In certain rare situations, a United States government agency may hire someone who is not an American citizen or US national for employment with a Senior Executive Service or an excepted service if it is permitted by the:

• Federal agency’s internal policies;
• Annual Appropriations Act; and
• US immigration law.

Senior Executive Service is the group of executives chosen for their leadership abilities and given the mission of transforming the federal government.

Excepted service jobs in the US government are civil service or federal jobs that are not in the Senior Executive Service or the competitive service and, therefore, the excepted service government agencies are allowed to establish their own eligibility criteria that are not subject to appointment, classification and pay regulations found in Title 5 of the US Code, but they must give preference to American veterans.

Green Card holders are allowed to serve in the US military, which has many different occupations available, and after serving only one year in the US military and meeting other criteria, a Green Card holder can apply to become an American citizen.

If all of this sounds complicated, just remember to review the part of a US government job posting that you are interested in where it says, “This job is open to…” and it will tell you if only American citizens and/or US nationals can apply for the federal position or if it is also open to Lawful Permanent Resident Green Card holders.

Keep in mind that once a US permanent resident becomes an American citizen through the naturalization process, they are permitted to:

• apply for federal jobs in the USA;
• they can be appointed to US government positions; and
• they can run in elections for government office (except US President).

While the US federal government is more restrictive in regards to hiring people who are not American citizens or US nationals, Green Card holders can work in state and local governments for a range of positions.

So, if you are a Green Card holder looking for jobs in your occupation with the federal government, but keep reading that applicants must be American citizens or US nationals, you might consider searching instead for jobs with the 50 state governments or the thousands of local governments (such as counties, cities and towns) across the United States.

Of course, as a US Permanent Resident Green Card holder, you are legally permitted to work in the USA in almost any job and for practically any private sector employer if you satisfy the requirements for the position.

An exception to this rule is that some private sector jobs, such as with defense contractors, require employees to be American citizens or US nationals (because the federal government requires this).