N-400 expedite

[Hypnos 6,578]

I know I'm 15 months away from being able to file for naturalisation, but this has been on my mind a lot recently and I figured I'd ask smarter people than me here.

In a nutshell, I'm considering joining the local police academy in order to pursue a career in law enforcement. In Texas, as in most of the country, you need to be a US citizen to become a licenced peace officer or even just to enter the academy and train.

Unfortunately for me, the dates do not line up well. I would become eligible to file the N-400 in January 2018. Assuming it takes about six months to adjudicate the application, I wouldn't actually become a US citizen until let's say September/October, maybe even later. The police academy here has two courses per year, one beginning in January and then July. So I'd miss being able to enter the academy July 2018, and wouldn't be able to proceed until the January 2019 intake. Obviously, this is less than ideal.

I'm looking into perhaps trying to expedite my N-400 based on "severe financial loss", which would be true since any potential law enforcement salary would be quite a substantial increase over my current one. I might even be able to get someone at the agency to which I intend to apply write a letter stating that they would consider my application were it not for my lack of citizenship which prevents them from doing so.

Any thoughts? Great idea? Terrible idea?

Edited October 20, 2016 by Hypnos

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

It can't hurt... I could see it being approved, as we need more police officers, especially if you could already be partway into the application (say, having taken the fitness test etc).

[Hypnos 6,578]

I figure the worst that can happen is they say no, and the application proceeds as normal.

I know that the local police department is extremely understaffed right now. They're short several people from the number that they should have for a city this size.

It's somewhat aggravating that you have to be a US citizen even to go to the academy; that's not how it is for the military, so I'm not sure why that's how it is for the police in most states. A handful of states, such as Alaska, Hawaii, and North Dakota allow LPRs to become police officers.

I'll get off my soapbox now.