Immigration and education level

[Personherebb9]

So off topic, but does anyone have advice in regards to immigration. As mentioned in previous threads, I live in South Africa (18 currently), I'm wanting to finish my degree through TESU as listed in my signature. After completing my degree (hopefully doesn't take me longer than 2 years), I would like to move to South Korea for a year or two as an English teacher, I don't plan on staying there for the rest of my life, but I've always wanted to explore Asia and my heritage (Mixed baby), while I'm still young.

While in Korea I would most likely work part-time towards a masters through UNISA or any other source really. (Probably in CS or related field.)

After that, I would love to begin my job search for immigration. I'm currently looking at the following countries: Canada, USA, New-Zealand, Netherlands. (I'm open to any country economically better than SA though.)

Do you all have any advice for immigration, I know I'm still a few years away, but proper preparation can never be a bad thing.
1) Will my online degrees have any influence over my immigration?
2) Are there any alterior routes for immigration that might be easier than just blankly applying for visa-sponsorship jobs.
3) Is CS a good field to go into in regards to Visa sponsorship?
4) What country listed above should be the "easiest" to move to?

To be honest, if I really struggle to find work. I'll probably even consider applying to become an Au pair in America and then once I'm actually in the country try my luck with job applications then. I'm assuming many employers would prefer this option when considering the latter, since then all that's needed is relocation and a change in visa (/visa- sponsorship). I would imagine that's much easier than trying to coordinate an immigration move from scratch.

I'll literally do anything to get out of this country at this point xD.

[rachel83az]

1) Will my online degrees have any influence over my immigration?

Depends on the country, but probably not. Depends, though. See below for example.

2) Are there any alterior routes for immigration that might be easier than just blankly applying for visa-sponsorship jobs.

Actually, yes. If you can save up the money to get an in-person Master's degree in Canada, Canadian university graduates have some sort of fast-track to immigration in Canada. Does not apply to degrees obtained via distance or from other countries.

3) Is CS a good field to go into in regards to Visa sponsorship?

Yes. Comp Sci is usually on the list of "needed" or "highly qualified" professions for immigration purposes. It'll be easier to get a job in CS for immigration.

4) What country listed above should be the "easiest" to move to?

Almost certainly not US or New Zealand. I believe that Canada would be easiest, possibly followed by the Netherlands. But I'm not sure about that. I know it's pretty easy for an American to move to the Netherlands, but I'm not sure about someone from South Africa. If one of your parents was from the Netherlands, you should qualify for Dutch citizenship. https://harveylawcorporation.com/dutch-c...y-descent/

[Personherebb9]

1) Will my online degrees have any influence over my immigration?

Depends on the country, but probably not. Depends, though. See below for example.

2) Are there any alterior routes for immigration that might be easier than just blankly applying for visa-sponsorship jobs.

Actually, yes. If you can save up the money to get an in-person Master's degree in Canada, Canadian university graduates have some sort of fast-track to immigration in Canada. Does not apply to degrees obtained via distance or from other countries.

3) Is CS a good field to go into in regards to Visa sponsorship?

Yes. Comp Sci is usually on the list of "needed" or "highly qualified" professions for immigration purposes. It'll be easier to get a job in CS for immigration.

4) What country listed above should be the "easiest" to move to?

Almost certainly not US or New Zealand. I believe that Canada would be easiest, possibly followed by the Netherlands. But I'm not sure about that. I know it's pretty easy for an American to move to the Netherlands, but I'm not sure about someone from South Africa. If one of your parents was from the Netherlands, you should qualify for Dutch citizenship. https://harveylawcorporation.com/dutch-c...y-descent/

I've heard that the USA tends to not be very.... ummm... open in regards to foreigners. I don't think I'd be able to "save up" for a masters in Canada. Depending obviously on tuition, but I can hardly afford South African tuition, I doubt I'll be able to afford Canada.

Netherlands is kind of a bummer. My dad is not Dutch, but my grandpa is (hence why I can speak dutch)... Unfortunately no options for grandchildren of Dutch citizens, he's also no longer alive so yeah, that doesn't really help. 

My mom is ethnically fully Chinese (Chinese grandparents), however she was born in South Africa, making her technically South African so I can't use that either. On top of that my dads mom (grandma) is German, but was born in Wales..- Also dead. All this mixed ancestry and I get NOTHING for it xD.

Any other options for immigration?

[Sparklette]

If you complete a degree at a US school, you can find programs that are OPT Visa eligible. There are *some* but not many programs that can be completed online that qualify. The OPT visa allows basically 2 years of work experience in the US after a degree is completed. It does require an employer willing to work with the additional paperwork required.
When I worked at a large healthcare system in Seattle, I had an assistant that was on an OPT visa after getting his BS degree in biology. After the visa and extension ran out, he entered a masters program (MPH and registered dietitian) at Johns Hopkins. Got another OPT visa upon graduation from there. And very recently got permanent resident status based on his expertise in maternal/fetal nutrition that he was able to demonstrate during the second OPT visa. Overall, it was a 10 year process for him.

You may want to look into what programs are available to you that qualify for an OPT visa, as it is often *easier* than qualifying on external factors for US. I emphasize easier because it wasn't easy for him and it's not a guaranteed path.

ETA: there appears to be some component of butt-in-seat at the awarding institution for the degree program to qualify for the visa, even if it can otherwise be completed online

[rachel83az]

I was assuming that you'd save up while in South Korea. If you teach for 2-3 years, and live frugally, you could probably save up enough for a Master's like this one: https://www.lakeheadu.ca/programs/gradua...ience#fees International students pay about $9000/term. They have a 1-year option, so I think that'd make it about $20k CAD? Assuming it's all in-person and qualifies you for the Canadian immigration track, $20k is actually not bad. Probably one of the cheapest ways to move to another country, outside of getting married.

[ss20ts]

Any other options for immigration?

Get a job at a corporation that has an office in South Africa and in one of the countries you are interested in immigrating to.

[MNomadic]

I can't speak for all of the countries but I know majoring in CS/IT or related fields would be highly desirable for US immigration. Getting a master's of course helps your chances further for landing an H1B visa. Online shouldn't matter as long as it's properly accredited obviously, and being that your undergrad is planned for a US, RA school I think you'd be off to a good start.

As far as US "openness" to foreigners are talking about legally or culturally? If you're getting CS degrees and planning to go into a CS field, you'd have a "relatively" high chance of getting in vs some other fields. As far a culturally, you'd likely be perfectly fine as well, especially if you move to an urban tech-hub type place(where a lot of CS jobs would be), since they're generally more diverse, open, liberal, etc.

[bjcheung77]

@Personherebb9, you can work on three things I usually recommend, Certs, Degree, Experience while you "figure" out which countries you're attracted to for immigration. I suggest the usual 5, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, US, and you could throw in some other European nations if you wanted to... You should "know" what the requirements are for each travel destination if you want to live there for a longer term.