This is a linkpost for @Tyrone-Jay Barugh 's post for people outside of the US who are interested in careers doing good within the United States. In 2022, he recommended that people within that demographic (people without US residency or citizenship interested in careers doing good within the United States, e.g., with Global Development or AI Safety Technical or Policy work) take advantage of one of the easiest and simplest opportunities to immigrate to the United States: enter the green card lottery (edit: link to the official lottery entry page here; h/t @Vasco Grilo🔸 ).

You must submit an entry before November 5, 2024, in order to to win the lottery and immigrate between October 2025 and September 2026. The specific process does not change much from year to year. I suggest you read @Tyrone-Jay Barugh 's excellent post for more information on how to apply.

I have entered the US diversity visa lottery about 10 times, and won twice! Odds differ by your country of birth, and applicants from Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, etc)  like me have greater odds than other applicants.

However, simply entering the lottery is very easy and completely free, and takes just a few minutes. It is not a visa entry. For people in the US on F-1, J-1 etc visas, at least in my personal experience, it is not considered a demonstration of intent to immigrate to simply enter the lottery. If you win the lottery and are selected for further processing, that is when you would begin a formal process of applying for a visa.

The process for immigrating to the United States ranges from doable-but-tedious to practically impossible (depending on your skillset and circumstances), but if you enter the lottery and win it, the process to get permanent US residency will be much easier for you than for any other professional pathway to US residency.

This year, the entry date is November 5, 2024. The specific process does not change much from year to year. I suggest you read @Tyrone-Jay Barugh 's excellent post for more information.