Citizenship for Pre-Doctoral Internships

[LaLuna123]

I've been looking at internships sites, and have noticed that some state that U.S. citizenship is required. Does anyone know whether a permanent resident/green card status would be acceptable in these types of places, or are they strictly limited to citizens? Is this because of funding issues? (e.g. federal funding for a site)

I hope someone has some insider info on this!

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[nononora]

I've been looking at internships sites, and have noticed that some state that U.S. citizenship is required. Does anyone know whether a permanent resident/green card status would be acceptable in these types of places, or are they strictly limited to citizens? Is this because of funding issues? (e.g. federal funding for a site)

I hope someone has some insider info on this!

I believe only federal sites require citizenship (VAs, prisons) and as far as I know, PR or a green card is not acceptable. I think it's more because of national security issues but I'm not sure.

 

[LaLuna123]

I believe only federal sites require citizenship (VAs, prisons) and as far as I know, PR or a green card is not acceptable. I think it's more because of national security issues but I'm not sure.

There's a bunch of sites that require citizenship. If you look at the APPIC directory, for example in the NYC area there are 16 sites that require citizenship. Only 6 of these are VA sites. The others are a mixed bunch, community mental health clinics, hospitals, schools, etc.

 

[SingingCow]

If the funding source is the federal government, you may not be eligible.

You have to be very careful about this because a few consortium sites will say that citizenship is NOT a requirement. For example, San Diego VA, New Mexico VA, South Carolina VA, and I think Mississippi VA have positions that are half-VA and half non-VA (an affiliated university, for instance). Of the positions within the consortium, you may apply to those that are not 100% VA. Unfortunately, sometimes that means you cannot apply to a position that is within your specialty area.

In other CMHC and university hospitals, the same thing may happen. If a position is funded by a federal/national grant, you may not be considered. So, even when the APPIC directory states that citizenship is not required, you may still be deemed "ineligible" eventually.

The Canadian sites have similar issues. When they tell you Canadian citizenship is not required, it can mean a number of things. In general, there is a law that says they must hire citizens first. Also, helping you get a work visa can be a hassle and many sites will be reluctant to do so.

 

[robinsena]

This is a good question to ask. I have heard for people who were matched to non-govt positions but then couldn't take them because of the citizenship issue. Usually when they say a citizenship is required, they mean it. If I were you and I was really interested in a site that states they require citizenship in their brochures, I would email/call just to double-check.