Advice on moving to the US (Posted in wrong forum earlier) (green card, marriage)

[dw1236]

So, I'm at that point in my life where I choose a career for myself and a place to settle down and for some reason, my heart's all set on the US despite the fact that it'll be a lot easier/simpler for me to move to Canada or Australia, two countries that arguably offer a fairly higher standard of living(or so I've been told) but the heart wants what it wants. Now, as a lot of people tend to ask, what are my reasons for moving? Simple, because the only other option is going back to Pakistan(I'm a college student in the UK) and as patriotic as I am, the stagnant economy there simply aren't enough opportunities there, especially considering that I've dropped nearly $200'000 on a college degree in the UK and it'll take me 20 years to make that back if I save every single penny I make and then some. Another reason would be that there's some demons from my past that would inevitably keep coming up over and over again and I just don't have the heart to face them any more, 10 years is long enough, no more.

Here's a little about me(in case it's any help when answering the questions I'm about to ask): I'm a Pakistani citizen, born and raised there, moved to the UK in 2008 to attend college, about to graduate with a Bachelor's degree this June in Electrical Engineering(undergrad honors degrees take 3 years to complete in the UK) from a very well reputed university(within the UK, probably unheard of in the US) albeit with fairly mediocre grades(a lot of mistakes were made on my part but I was only 19 then), might even have a Master's in engineering or operational research(Management science-ish) by the time I get around to moving or I might consider applying to grad school in the US but I'm not pinning my hopes on that because the '2/3 letters of recommendation' bit would cause problems. I speak/understand English at a level comparable(or even higher than) to native speakers, don't have any accent issues(perks of growing up in Islamabad) and I've integrated fairly well into western society(in the UK) so that shouldn't be an issue either.

Now, getting to the business end of the topic(most of you would've gotten bored and given up by now), what I want to know is how to enter the US long term(around 18 months) without a formal job offer from an American employer? The H1B is ruled out due to the lack of a formal offer of employment or any prior work experience and I don't have any relatives in the US either so that rules out any kind of immigrant visa. What I do have is a western education to a reasonably high standard(Engineering degree from a UK top 30 university and possibly a Master's too if I stick around for another year), experience of living in a western country for 3(possibly 4) years without any issues whatsoever, no previous criminal convictions(not even a parking ticket) and a desire to get in and make something of myself. So, simply put, how exactly do I go about getting in(what kind of visa to apply for, when to apply, how to apply, the whole works)? Who do I speak to?

PS. I know it'll take ages to read but I'd really appreciate any help/tips/guidance/whatever else anyone can offer.

[Penguin_ie]

There is no visa that does exactly what you want. I can see you having two options:
- Find an employer to sponsor you (difficult due to the current economy).
- Continue your education (F1 student visas are not that difficult to get, but you can only work limited numbers of hours on campus)

[dw1236]

Originally Posted by Penguin_ie

There is no visa that does exactly what you want. I can see you having two options:
- Find an employer to sponsor you (difficult due to the current economy).
- Continue your education (F1 student visas are not that difficult to get, but you can only work limited numbers of hours on campus)

Getting into grad school is the main issue. The main obstacle for me, as far as getting into grad school is concerned, is that most schools in the US require multiple letters of recommendation and at this point, 6 months from graduation, its going to be nigh enough impossible to get one. Education here isn't as interactive as it is in the UK and student-lecturer contact time is limited pretty much to lectures and large ones at that. Even schools like UHouston that has an 70 odd percent acceptance rate requires 3 letters of recommendation.

[sponger42]

Sorry, what Penguin said is spot-on. You simply can't get in without an employer sponsorship or a student visa. (Or family sponsorship.)

One option not mentioned is to go to work for a firm with offices in the US, work there for a few years, then apply for a transfer to a US branch. You would then be able to enter the US on your employer's L-visa and eventually convert to a Green Card.

Other than that, there's an investor visa, if you have a quarter of a million dollars laying around to invest in a US business. Also, there's the O-visa if you're an international sports/film/music star or Nobel-level scientist.

Oh, and last but not least, marriage. But that requires you finding, falling in love with, and marrying an expat and convincing her (can't be a him if you're a guy) to move back to the US.

[STT Resident]

If you go to the USCIS website which is linked in the first "sticky" on his forum page you'll find all the information you need.