What are my Options??

Hello,
not sure if anyone can help me but i'd appreciate any advice you can give.

I am here on a B1/B2 Visa. I want to know how I can either:

a) gain a work permit to enable me to work here in the USA legally

or

b) gain permanent residency so that I am able to live and work here

I do not want to marry for this reason and I don't have a lot of money. Can anyone suggest to me how I go about staying here more permanently. I am college educated in my country of origin and have no problem proving it if this can help me in any way.

I need to know the process of paperwork etc with INS, approximate legal costs, waiting periods etc.

I hope someone can help me. I am urgently seeking advice.
Thank you in advance.
=)

Hello,
not sure if anyone can help me but i'd appreciate any advice you can give.

I am here on a B1/B2 Visa. I want to know how I can either:

a) gain a work permit to enable me to work here in the USA legally

or

b) gain permanent residency so that I am able to live and work here

I do not want to marry for this reason and I don't have a lot of money. Can anyone suggest to me how I go about staying here more permanently. I am college educated in my country of origin and have no problem proving it if this can help me in any way.

I need to know the process of paperwork etc with INS, approximate legal costs, waiting periods etc.

I hope someone can help me. I am urgently seeking advice.
Thank you in advance.
=)

Why aren't you living up to the terms of the tourist visa? You indicated either in writing or at the interview that you were going to return to your a)job or b) school or c)you lied. In any case, why should anyone help a scam artist?

Since the nature of your NON-IMMIGRANT visa requires that you CANNOT work, the only way to go around it is to find an employer who will be willing to sponsor you and file for a H1B visa for you, that is if you do not fall out of status by that time. I understand that these days the authorized stay on a visitors visa is quite short...

There are basically three options for a person to be here legally (other than as a tourist). One is marriage or family, the next is work, and the third way is as a student. (ok technically refugee status is also available to some people)

You have ruled out marriage and have not indicated other family members here, so we will assume that is not a possibility.

(we will assume the same about being a refugee)

Therefore you have two options (and neither one involves permanent residency): find a job that will offer you not only the job but also the work visa (this may be difficult unless you are a teacher, a nurse, or a doctor... or a couple other fields).

You other option which is much easier is that of being a student, which is the easiest, but often the most expensive. However, you do not need to completely rule this out as you have already indicated that you have a college education.

This provides you with two possibilities within the education realm. One is to apply to a graduate program here in the USA. Assuming you are accepted, many programs offer financial support or as I understand it you are allowed to work on campus while you study.

Next option is shorter term but may (or may not)be more affordable, look into an english language institute (or as your English appears to be fairly good - another type of short term course of some type) that may be less expensive and may provide you with some sort of housing or board that is reduced in price. I know english institutes often offer opportunities of this nature, unfortunately I am not sure of other areas that might be able to help. - This unfortunately would not allow you to work legally in any capacity.

Good luck finding a job or finding an affordable educational opportunity.

costs and waiting times and forms etc vary depending on your possibilites (which I am sorry to say are very limited).

thank you for your advice. i will look into the suggestions you have made.

in response to "Concerned"... i'm sorry that you feel the need to be so negative and to assume the worst concerning my situation. i have not lied as you have insinuated, but have simply changed my intentions and would like to remain here a little more permanently. your negativity and lack of support is NOT appreciated, nor needed. take your attitude somewhere else.

Finding a job and changing your status to H-1B (if eligible) will give you a chance to become a permanent resident (LPR) through employer's sponsorship. May take several years though.

Marrying a US citizen (bona fide, of course) is by far the fastest way to become a LPR.

Changing your status to F-1 (student) is NOT a straight shot to LPR. It will still require you to change to H-1B and so on as above. But it may buy you some time to find a sponsoring employer (or a spouse) while maintaining lawful status in the US.

You may seriously consider consultation with the immigration attorney. It will cost $150-250 but it is worth it.

changing intentions = not telling the truth. After all, if you really had a job or school to go back to, as you indicated to the embassy from whatever country you came from, then you should be compelled to return to there. But, if your 'job' no longer exists (because you either didn't have one or quit shortly after getting the visa) then your intentions were not what they appeared to be when you applied.
Your reasons for going back cannot be (nor were) that strong as you implied or stated, or else you would be going back, hence, you did not tell the truth.
I note that you did not really address my concerns, but then, what did I expect?

Ignore concerned and don't worry about it. S/he is obviously bored or bitter in his/her own life, so let him/her wallow in own problems and ignorant judgements.

I personally am proud of you for looking for the legal route, even when the illegal route is truly the easiest of all (but not the best)!!!

Good luck to you and let us know what you finally decide.

thank you soooo much to all of you who have given me constructive and informative advice. i will be going to consult an attorney asap.

your assitance has been invaluable. thanks again.

You might have thought that once you come in the US, Americans will be welcoming you everywhere and you will be able to live American dreams quite soon. Many people of your country who came here before might not have told the hardship you have to go thorugh to succeed in the US.

My suggestion is the following:
a. to get college, scholarship/assistanceship/work are not easy thing. takes months of time. Go back home and try from there. Come in F1 status and then complete education successfully with hard work and then look for job. If you do PhD in almost any area, you can have good chance to get job. If not, it will be too hard.

b. If you can apply for DV Lottery, keep applying with almost no hope. The easiest way but too improbable.

c.Marry American woman. Prove that it is really serious relationship. It is not easy to find American woman who will accept you for the longer term. You may have to suffer too many hardship in your relationship. You will be suspicious of your woman all the time when she is out. And you will be living in hell. I do not mean American ladies are not good. But there are too many uneliable relationships in America than anywhere. Moreover, cultural differences may make you suffer too many problems in relationship. So, marriage may not prove that easy solution either.

d. Stay illegal going somewhere in a ghetto and work in places of people of an Indian or Chinese or others. They are the ones who hire illegal wokeres the most. But beware, they will make you work more than a donkey for $4.00 an hour.

So, the best alternative is : go your home. Live there and find something there to live with. If you really dream America, then be ready to suffer the hardship of America. Many times, it looks Americans are the most hardworking people themselves too. So, for immigrants it should be more than that.

Plan well. Prepare well. Come if the consular trusts you. Then do what you have to do with all effort and diligence. YOu may succeed. ONce you succeed in America, then everything is possible here.

As has been stated here, you are here on a short term status, and to stay beyond your limit is 1) illegal and 2) not a right thing to do. Your original intentions were as you originally stated, unless you were deceitful in what you stated.

The same two problems exist if you try for a job. You will be working illegally, and at sometime in the future if you want to adjust and be eligible 1) to work, 2) to stay for a longer term or even as an eventual LPR, 3) to avoid any other illegal actions, you will not have an easy time. You will have to "lie" again when asked by the INS any number of questions.

Your best bet is not to overstay or to look for a job (be considerate when you think of an employer who would be fined if caught) but to return to your homeland and reapply for an appropriate visa.

To those who would tell you to "find a wife" that is not mature advice either. One does not go out for the purpose of finding a wife in order to fit into the immigration system. That intention is precisely what the INS villifies and will absolutely expect you to prove a genuine relationship, including exactly how and why it came to be. You will be expected to give clear and rational answers, and to be truthful about what your contemplations were before your relationship existed.