Work visa

[barberjane 0]

I would like to go to America for a year, and maybe do some work while I'm there. I'm a hairdresser. I'd like to know how hard this is to get, and if I'd need an employer before I go. And if I can't get this, could I go for a holiday on my ESTA for 3 months, and if I go over to Canada then back into the States, will I be able to use my ESTA for another 3 months? I know I wouldn't be able to work on my ESTA.

[Harsh_77 718]

You cannot work while you are in US on ESTA, to work in US you need work visa.

Normally an employer has to sponsor you for the work visa and it is an expensive process.

Going back to Canada and returning back does not reset your 3 month period.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Unfortunately, your plan is completely undoable.

A hairdresser would never get a work visa. A work visa requires an employer to pay around $5000 for a verification process. The employer must document that there is no US person who can do the job and that is why the employer needs to bring a foreign worker to the US. In practical terms even if you had an emplyer who is willing to go through the process, it would be impossible for the employer to show he can't find a US person qualified to be a hairdresser.

The US does not allow the 90 days on the VWP/ESTA to reset with a trip to Canada or Mexico. It's a well known scheme that is explicitly not allowed.