How does a kid from a South American slum become a FBI Agent?

February 8, 2009 10:54 AM

I am writing a fictional story about someone who lives in the slums of some small South American country. When he was ten, during a fever, an angel appeared to him and told him that he would become an FBI Agent. He may have seen a movie with FBI agents, so he has some sense of what that means. Step by step, what does he have to do to fulfill that prophecy in a real way?

I recognize that there are many challenges my character faces - reaching the age of majority, immigration, citizenship, money and resources, background checks, that sort of thing. But I am a little unsure as to the exact steps to follow for someone to completely transform their life in this way. Can anyone help? Any sort of feedback regarding any step in this process would be appreciated.

posted by Sully to work & money (11 comments total)

Part of writing is doing research, which can take time and hard work. Don't outsource it to the internet.

To qualify, if you had a brief question about an aspect of slum life, or had an outline of your character's arc that you wanted feedback on, that would be different. But as it stands you are basically asking MetaFilter to write his whole story.

Writing is fun, sure, but it's not easy. Put some elbow grease into it.
posted by Darth Fedor at 11:25 AM on February 8 [3 favorites has favorites]

I'm sure you've already seen this, which means it's fairly necessary for the character to attend college in the US. If he speaks multiple languages, it may help him get through the door by way of foreign language proficiency. ROTC in college might help with the physical fitness training as well as giving the character a military background.

Do you intend to write mostly about the character's path to becoming an FBI agent, or to focus on his work once he's reached that point? You can probably dance around some of the obstacles -- other than how he gets to the US -- if you set the stage with him already in the position.

A good memoir to read for research purposes, by the way, is Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is a Somalian-born woman who followed a very difficult path to becoming a member of the Dutch parliament.
posted by brina at 11:28 AM on February 8

I just googled FBI requirements and got the FBI's own info on their requirements. Easy.

Here it is.
posted by Knicke at 11:29 AM on February 8

I would recommend you focus less on the procedural nuts-and-bolts and more on what the accomplishment will require from your character personally - living in a slum, and climbing one's way out, must put a person in a least a few morally gray areas; I'd rather read a story about a young, burdened man's struggle to stay decent than a story about a young man's successful application for immigration or the nitty-gritty of attending law school or entering a city's police academy.

If your story calls for this young man to get out of the slum and into the FBI, then you simply need to write it happening, you don't need to force the reader to acknowledge it as possible. You've already got an angel in your story, so your readers are going to suspend some disbelief to enjoy your tale anyhow.

If you truly envision your story as about the specific procedural obstacles to immigration, education, etc, then you should really do some specific research, maybe by contacting the FBI and/or Immigration authorities.
posted by chudmonkey at 11:38 AM on February 8

Darth Fedor - I like the research aspect of writing, and intend to do a lot of it. This was just my first shot in the dark. It is my (possibly) naive hope that someone out there reading this has actually made this journey, or knows of someone who has. Or, like one of the responses, knows of someone who made a similar journey. Thanks everyone for the responses so far!
posted by Sully at 11:46 AM on February 8

The Superpowers episode of This American Life has a segment on a woman who basically tried to become Batman. Not quite an FBI agent, but it was interesting to hear about the training she went through, and then to hear what happens when she applies to the CIA.
posted by niles at 12:09 PM on February 8

By some fluke one parent had ties to the US? What came to mind reading this is that the development most methods of getting into the US (talent/knowledge/marriage) might add a whole secondary plot to/take away from your original story. That immigration thing is going to be a huge hurdle that leaves many people who kind of understands the process caught up on the "unlikely" factor.

You may have seen this (What part of legal immigration don't you understand?) but looking at this chart might be a good way to focus a brainstorming session
posted by nzydarkxj at 3:29 PM on February 8

The only tthing I didn't see on that chart was becoming a citizen through service in the armed forces.
posted by Rubbstone at 5:19 PM on February 8

A cousin of mine always wanted to join the FBI. He spent a couple years in the local police force, then got a law degree. Now he's a happy Fed.
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:32 PM on February 8

Though I can't directly help beyond the link from Knicke, You might want to see "City Of God" for inspiration on the slum itself and the people who live there.

Good luck on your writing!!
posted by starscream at 7:32 PM on February 8

This is definitely a multi-part question:

a) how does my protagonist get out of the slums, generally?
b) how does my protagonist emigrate to the US?
c) once in the US, how does my protagonist make it into Los Federales?


All of these particular challenges will be, uh, challenging, but aren't too tricky to envision. At first I thought Darth Feder's comment above was a bit harsh, but he sort of has a point. Best of luck with your project.
posted by cmyr at 3:31 AM on February 9