Re: Ada?

[dennison@telepath.com (Ted Dennison)]

Dan Andreatta <andreatta@mail.chem.sc.edu.REMOVEME> wrote in message news:<Xns91D6AD7FA7588andreattamailchemsce@12.252.202.62>...
> Dunno in IT, but in chemistry/physics/others you have to be a citizen or a 
> foreign national to work in a national lab (like Livermore or Los Alamos). 
> A visa is not enough (B, J, whatever). Of course, you need clearance.

Well, I should be a bit more specific and say that being a US citizen
is *not* a requirement for getting a clearance. However, there are a
lot of classified jobs that are also "noforn" (no foriegn nationals).
I had one job where we had to stamp "noforn" on all documents,
printouts, and notes we made. Oddly, that was the one where I had 3
fellow developers who were born in communist countries though. :-)

As the above anecdote implies, one does not have to be US-born for
even the most classified of jobs. But becomming a citizen can take
many years (>10). However, this level of secrecy is not common, and
the lesser levels have little problem with foriegn workers. I've only
worked on 3 jobs that required clearances, and the one above was the
only one where I actually had to handle classified material. Perhaps
some government agencies have trouble with foriegn nationals (I
wouldn't know), but most of the action is with the contractors anyway.
:-)

The biggest worry I'd have for someone comming over here to work would
be the "green card servitude" issue. Getting your green card can take
quite a while (my lebaneese coworker was waiting for 14 years), and
you are only allowed to be here in the meantime if you are working for
someone. That makes for great leverage for your employer, since if the
mood strikes them they can fire you, then call INS and have you
deported (since you aren't working for anyone any more). Some
companies are moral and restrain themselves from abusing this power,
but not all of them. I've heard some real horror stories.

-- 
T.E.D.
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