How to get work permit

First it must be determined whether you are subject to the two year home residency requirement based on your previous J-1 status.  It does not sound like the two year home residency requirement applies if you changed from J-1 to B-2 from within the U.S., but that issue should be reviewed. In most cases, unless you wish to purchase an existing business or invest and start a new business (you could qualify for an E-2 visa if you are from an E-2 eligible country), you will need a job offer for a U.S. entity in order to obtain non-immigrant employment status.  In many cases, the applicable non-immigrant option is the H-1B.  See: http://srwlawyers.com/h-1b-visa/ H-1B Cap One important feature of the H-1B category is that CIS is only allowed to approve a certain number of new initial H-1B filings each fiscal year.  This number is generally known as the H-1B cap. The word "Cap" refers to annual numerical limitations set by Congress on the numbers of H-1B workers authorized to be approved.  The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000. (It is technically closer to 58,000 based on H-1B numbers that are set aside for Chile and Singapore based on free trade agreements.) H-1B numbers have been used up for this fiscal year. Unless the proposed employer is H-1B cap exempt, an initial H-1B filing for someone could not be filed until April 1, 2012 request a start date of October 1, 2012.  See: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=4b7cdd1d5fd37210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=73566811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD Regards, Andrew M. Wilson, Esq. Serotte Reich Wilson, LLP www.srwlawyers.com awilson@srwlawyers.com