Hacker News Reader

Why can't you ask if someone is a US citizen? I thought certain jobs (e.g., DoD contractor needing security clearance) required citizenship? Or are you only allowed to ask about that in specific circumstances?

View on HN

Where citizenship is a condition of employment by statute, that condition is usually exempted under anti-discrimination legislation. For example, my little brother is an aerospace engineer designing for the JSF project - "Are you a citizen?" was pretty much the first interview question.

From what I've read, you're apparently supposed to ask "do you have a security clearance" and "are you eligible to get a security clearance" -- i.e., ask the specific question you need answered rather than asking a more general question from which you can infer what you want to know.

A 5 second Google search will show you that there are plenty of jobs that overtly require US Citizenship. For example, all TSA screeners must be US Citizens.

This is kind of a diversion from the real discussion. It's unlikely that anyone reading this board can legally ask interviewees about their citizenship.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com