Listening to the guest speaker last Wednesday made me understand why people might try to get into the US illegally. The system is set up so that if an immigrant is in the States, it can take years for the rest of their family to join them. I can't imagine being separated from family for so long.
When I set about looking up information on my own, the first thing I wanted to look into was the lottery program, because I've met people trying to get into the US that way. This is a program to obtain a Green Card through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which makes 50,000 visas available each year to immigrants. People are selected randomly from countries with low immigration rates to the US. There's no cost to enter the program, and applicants who are accepted go through a multi-step process which includes a Visa application and interview. There's only a limited period of time each year that applications are accepted. This program is a good option for people who are not able to get a Green Card through family, job, or through refugee or asylum status.
This made me curious about how an unmarried college student like myself would go about trying to move to the US. I've done similar searches in trying to find out how to move to the UK and work legally (which is apparently almost impossible unless I find a job there that will sponsor me, and that employer would have to hire me before I move there. Getting married to a UK citizen or becoming a grad student would be my only other options. Is it just as hard to get into the States, I wonder?) So this was the next thing I looked up. A person moving here would have to have a sponsor through either family or employment to obtain a visa. The number of visas available each year is limited for some countries, and if your application is one of those over the limit, you're put on a waiting list. Also, someone wanting just a temporary working visa would still need their prospective employer to file a petition for their visa. Basically, if someone was wanting to move here and they didn't have immediate family in the US (grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, and cousins can't sponsor relatives) or they aren't seeking asylum, they would need to be sponsored by an employer. Knowing how tough it is to find a job here even as a citizen, I can see why the lottery would be appealing.
What about someone who comes to the US on a student visa? Can they stay and work afterward? These students are permitted to work during the school year, as long as it's on campus. Off-campus jobs are allowed after the first year, but only in certain fields. After graduation, a person with a student visa has 60 days to either enroll in another college program or enroll in the Optical Practical Training (OPT) program, which would allow them to extend the student visa for a year to gain practical training in their field. Employment must be related to their field of study. After the year is up, the person can try to extend their stay by up to three years, and it seems the easiest way to do this is if you're in a STEM field (science, technology, engineering, and math. I found that this was similar in the UK. These fields are always in demand).
All in all, trying to move to another country and work there legally is a long and difficult process. This is especially true for people coming to the US. You would have to be very patient and motivated.
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