Living in the U.S.

happymomof1
Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:54:30 +0000

You don’t say whether or not you have ever been in the US, or how you got the notion that you’d rather be here than where you are. Think about that. How well informed is your understanding of the US? Do you get it mostly from the movies or TV? If you like what you think you know about the US, chances are you would like Canada and Australia just about as well. In recent years those two countries have been much more immigrant-friendly than the US. You should investigate them as well.

If you are determined to come to the US, you need to find out more about your options. Would you come as a student? If so, you should start by reading through everything at [EducationUSA | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](http://www.educationusa.info/) Then you should make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to where you live. If you can pay for your own studies, there will be a college or university here that will admit you, and you will get a student visa. If you can’t pay for your education, it will be much harder for you to find a college or university that will give you enough financial aid to make an education in the US possible.

If you want to come here to work, you would need an employer who can get you an H1 work visa. Read up on the rules for that at [USCIS Home Page](Home | USCIS) I teach English to adults. One of my students is a visiting scientist with a PhD in a biomedical field, multiple patents in his home country, extensive research experience both in the US and in his home country, and a potential employer that would like to hire him when his visiting scientist (J1 visa) status expires this spring. He is on a waiting list for an H1 visa. This is the kind of person that you would be competing against for one of the limited number of H1 visas issued each year. Don’t think for one minute that it will be easy. Your best bet for working in the US would be to get a job with a firm based in your own country that does business here and that sends employees here to work in the US offices.