graduate student question

im currently an undergrad in New York, if I apply as an international student to one of the state schools and get in can I readjust my status to a visa holder?

Are you undocumented or do you have a valid non-immigrant visa such as B-1, F-1, etc?

If you are undocumented then you cannot change your status to any type of visa holder. Even if you go through the whole process of applying for an I-20 and everything, the law states that you have to reside outside the country to apply for any non-immigrant visa. In most cases, you cannot file an application for a non-immigrant visa while inside the United States. It has to be done from a U.S. consulate in your home country. Additionally, your temporary, non immigrant visa would most likely be denied given that you have resided illegally in the United States and have roots in the U.S.

The exceptions are that if you're changing your current visa status, say from a B-1 to F-1, then you are allowed to do so provided that your original visa is still valid for six months. You need to talk to a lawyer about his as I'm not sure how the process works.

If you have an F-1 visa (student visa) then why do you want to change your visa status?? Legally, international students are only allowed to study at U.S. universities under an F-1 visa and not any other visa category.

RahmanIV said it better.

thanks for answering, do u know what if i apply as international student to canada?

As long you get accepted it's not too hard to get a Canadian student Visa. The problem is paying for school. You don't really qualify for financial aid and pay non-resident fees. If you are in NY you get in-state if you went to high school in NY for at least 3 years, stick with that.

yea but im going for masters and i'd like the chance to make use of my degree once i get out. which i cant do in usa

Its best if you get your Masters here and then apply for a job in another country. The Skilled Employment migration is very popular in other Western nations.

You should also consider Europe. Europe is facing a shortage of skilled workers in technical fields and many economic officials are worried that this shortage will impair growth of the technology sector. Consequently, immigration officials in these countries are revamping their immigration systems to attract and facilitate more technical labor. Some countries are also waiving the requirements for employers to search for local labor before hiring foreign labor.

If you studied in the physical sciences/engineering/medicine, and you can obtain a job offer from any of the continental European countries, you're highly guaranteed a skilled worker visa. Additionally, some nations will count a Master's degree as equivalent to work experience.