General Requirements

• Applicants for the border patrol must be United States citizens for at least three years before qualifying for the program. They cannot have any domestic violence convictions and must be younger than 40 years of age or currently serving as federal civilian law enforcement officers. Applicants must speak Spanish or pass a foreign language aptitude test. Prior to acceptance into the program, applicants must meet with a panel to demonstrate judgment, interpersonal skills and character.
  
  

Vision and Hearing

• Applicants must pass a vision exam that shows uncorrected vision to be no less than 20/100 on the standard eye test. Vision must be correctable to 20/20 with glasses or contact lenses. Applicants' depth perception must be better than 70 seconds of arc, and they cannot suffer from color blindness. Applicants will not qualify for the border patrol if they currently have any diseases or conditions that affect vision or if there are any in their medical history. Applicants cannot use hearing aids.
  
  

Respiratory and Cardiovascular

• Applicants cannot have any diseases or conditions -- such as asthma -- that interfere with speech or breathing. Diseases that interfere with heart function will disqualify applicants from border patrol positions. Applicants cannot have a history of heart attacks, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease or high blood pressure.
  
  

Psychiatric

• Applicants cannot have a history of any psychiatric diseases such as depression, schizophrenia, panic attacks or personality disorders. The use of medications for psychiatric disorders can prevent applicants from qualifying for a position with the border patrol.
  
  

Musculoskeletal

• Applicants must not have any diseases or conditions that interfere with movement or with their ability to perform job duties. These diseases and conditions include arthritis, missing fingers or limbs and degenerative disk diseases.
  
  

Conditions of Employment

• Applicants are subject to intensive background checks. Accepted applicants will be assigned a place of duty and work long hours and holidays. Border patrol agents work in all kinds of weather and must remain physically fit. Employees must pay for their uniforms up front, but they receive a $500 uniform allowance after they begin work.
  
  

Education

• Job experience demonstrating leadership ability such as decision-making skills, taking charge and maintaining composure can be substituted for education. Applicants without work experience require a four-year degree -- in any major -- or a combination of experience and college courses. Acceptance into the border patrol requires passing the Border Patrol test, which covers applicants' reasoning ability, personal assessment and their ability to speak or learn Spanish.