I am nearing the end of my Employment Authorization. What options do I have for staying in the US?

I'm a student from India. I finished my degree here in the US. My visa stamp has expired but I am currently working under the OPT program with Employment Authorization. It is coming to an end soon. Should I go to Canada and get a renewed visa? Is there any other way to be able to extend my stay in the US (besides going back to school for a Master's program)? Is there a way to leave the US and be able to get a visa to come back again for work? What are my options at this time?

I am nearing the end of my Employment Authorization. What options do I have for staying in the US?
Your question has a complicated answer, too much to go into here. You should be able to find the information you need at this site:





http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/extends...
Reply:Assuming you're not in a long-term relationship with someone in the US and have no direct family members who are citizens or green card holders, your best bet is to continue along the employment route.





There is a visa for skilled foreign workers called the H1B. It requires sponsorship by the employer. You should check with your current employer to see if their company policy allows for the sponsorship of H1Bs (not all companies do this). Since you have a college degree from the US, your chances of fulfiling the requirements for the visa should be decent. Bear in mind though that only 65,000 new H1Bs are made available each "year", and they're often snapped up in the first couple months (the H1B "year" begins around the last quarter of the calendar year).





You can also try applying for jobs elsewhere and surfacing your needs during interviews. A good strategy would be to look for jobs with multinational corporations (MNCs) because they usually have a more open hiring policy.





Another advantage of working for MNCs with offices in the US is that even if, say, they only have an opening in India and you have to go home to work for a bit, you can eventually secure a transfer back to a US office on what I believe is called a L1 visa.





Finally, there is also a diversity lottery that awards 55,000 green cards each year. However, several countries that are over-represented in immigrant numbers to the US are not eligible. Unfortunately, at this time (and perhaps for the foreseeable future), India is one of them. Anyway, this process takes a few years to complete from the time you file your application.





Stick with the job market and the skills you acquired from college. Check out the links below for more information. Good luck!
Reply:BY BYE