Interesting topic and most of people from third world countries often wonder how to get to the blessed land and, what's more important, how to stay. There are so many different ways but the most important to analyze how devoted you are and how much you want it. I've never imagined myself going to an American high school and become an American, but I did dream of a nice family of my own, good conditions of life... natural, right? Who hasn't? Well, I'm a dreamer and if some people think dreamers are lazy that is not completely true, not all of us are. We, dreamers, spend time focusing on things we want to get and accomplish. It takes not only a thought but an action.
But how will you act before you decide what is it exactly that you want? So, anyway we'll come back to this topic some other time. So if you have already decided, let's see what can be done.
Write on a piece of paper:
-your age;
-your occupation;
-who would you move with;
-who could you move to;
-relatives and friends in the area you are moving;
-research, research, research
-how much money would you need for the first few months (rent, food, transportation)
- how much money do you have?
There is a long list of questions and worries. And most likely a lot of times you will think you won't make it. Let's be honest, if you had the money you needed to move to the US you wouldn't really be desperate to move in the first place. So think why you want to move again. If you have a good job and all the family in your own country and you have strong relationships with the family members, maybe you shouldn't move... Trust me, it's not easy here. No one will wait for you at JFK airport with a ton of money. SO think one more time!
You still here?
Ok, so if you have somebody to help you out then go to school (student visa). Americanize your field of study, this way you can be a Pro in your major and get a job after graduation (work visa). If you are a doctor or an engineer, well, people need you guys everywhere, so you will probably get a job without schooling again. You could apply for a job from your hometown and this way you could get a work visa through the employer.
If you are not an engineer and can't stand looking at blood etc., if you also don't have a sponsor who could help you pay for school and you don't have such money either then there is also programs like AU-Pair and Work&Travel. In first case you would probably be a female who is not afraid to change pampers and take care of somebody else s kids. In the second one these programs usually offer seasonal jobs like working at lagoons, 7 peaks or cleaning fish in Alaska.
Definitely, let's not forget about dating websites where American guys have to pay for the membership. And I know there are cases where both sided really like each other, but since in this case it depends on emotions it's hard to plan this one. It is also mostly for women so I'd wish those good luck (we may discuss this topic some other time). So yes, if you don't have money, try to come on a work visa and earn some here. While working you could look at the universities you could afford. There are schools (colleges and universities) where one semester costs from 2K-5K for non-residents and international students. If you are smart then do the research before you come to the US and keep looking for the updates about schools you are interested in. Check if they have scholarships and if the tuition is the same. To get a scholarship most of the time you should be good at sports or science, it's hard to get scholarship if you are in humanities unless you've won a bunch of national or international competitions. It also depends on a school you are interested in. So now you are working, let's say, somewhere in Texas making sure that nobody falls of a roller coaster and you are thinking what school to go to. Here are a few schools that are pretty good and not too expensive:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/11/09/cheapest-colleges-13-standup-schools-that-cost-less-than-5-000/
Found your school? Great, now what you do you apply and if you have already a diploma from your country I know you were smarter than I was and you translated your grades and let a layer put a stamp on it. This way it saves you time and money. By transferring your grades you will have less classes to take which means less money to pay. While you are still in the USA and let's imagine you got accepted to the school you will have to face to choices: go home and change your visa there (there is a possibility you could be denied) or stay in the US and start studying. Your status as a student would be fine but your visa would not allow you to go on trips to Canada or Mexico, or any other country except your own. So there will come time when you'd have to go back home to change that visa and hope you get a nice lady/gentleman at the Embassy who would approve you. Otherwise your education is unfinished and your money is wasted.
So you have made a decision... good.. let's move on. Next step would be work. As an international student you can not work first semester, but you will be able to work on-campus for 20h/week, and when you take a semester off (once a year) you can work on-campus for 40h/week. Later if you are in a right school they will allow you to work off-campus 40h/week if a job is related to your major. But when you attend classes during those semesters the only thing you can do is work 20h/week. I will warn you, most of the time you'd get minimum wage so good luck living on that.
What can be done? Remember, you came as an employee and was working hard during summer? Well, that's the time you should have opened an account. Checking account first then credit card. When you have a job your chances to get a card are higher. So most likely they'd offer you a card with a high interest. But what you do, you say you want to build your credit. You leave security deposit of $300 that you don't use and on top of that a bank lands you money. When you have a job you should make sure you don't use this card, or you use it once or twice just to show the bank you are using it but never going into minus.
And now let's go back to the hard days, when school is tough and plus on top of it you work at dinning on campus. Yes, I know, it sucks, but you can do it!
This is the time when you use that credit card. Still, try not to go in dept. You never know what's waiting for you tomorrow... Well, I have a gazillian stories for you and a bucket of advice. Keep checking on me, write your questions and I will answer any of them ;)
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