text: is it hard for an italian to get a greencard so that he can live in usa? im an italian but i live in england. im 19 and next january i plan to move to new york. i have a friend who lives there in a big home so i don't have to worry about renting an apartament or whatever. i want to go to work in new york but i still don't have any kind of documents. because i live with my grandparents i don't have anyone to ask who knows about this. my questions are this.. from here to january there are about 6 months is that enough time to get all i need to legally live there? where should i start for a greencard, what web is good to get this? is a greencard all i need to legally work in usa? thanks a lot! ok... let's see all your options. to work in the usa you either need a work visa or a green card. work visa will give you the right to work for a limited amount of time, while with a green card you can live and work in the usa basically for ever. for a work visa, you need a company to sponsor you. for a green card, you can get one with a company's sponsorship, with the 'green card lottery' aka diversity visa, serving in the military or marrying an american. usually, it's hard to get sponsorship for a green card by an american company. it's expensive and takes a lot of time (1-5 years). usually, you come on a work visa, and while you're on a work visa, you do the green card at the same time. there are several types of work visas. the easiest to get is the j1, which is for an 'internship' or 'stage'. it costs around $500 to do and can be obtained in a couple of weeks. it is valid for up to 18 months. h1b is harder to obtain, but it can last for up to 6 years. usually you need a degree or a specialization to obtain one.  you can do the visa papers yourself, but there are agencies and lawyers that can do the paperwork for you (if you pay them, of course).