hi, every one in the house its quite long time let me start by saying this to ikechukwu you realy need ur ssce at the embassy as your work does not qualify you for those who can use job experience you can check the america labor site i think job category 4 only qualify for the visa which your fashion designer is not part of since you have the ssce it does not matter how many years all you need to do is just go and know some little introduction to maths and English and the subject class you belong then you need to give explanation on the gap of your school cert as in why u did not further ur education which i think should be simply that u went to learn handy work then prepare to answer question on what u learn so far about the fashion designer it all depend on the consular officer
secondly, on the issue that america is rosily as we used to think, let me tell every body in the house america is only meet for those who are not lazy if u are a had working person u will surely make it here but put it in ur mind that when you come is going to be had at least for the fist 2-3 months it also depend on the person you want to stay with how connected is the person as job here also sometime also base on referals you can can join a church and be active there or their are some organisation that gives aid and we have community centers that we help you get government grant to do some classes or can get you shelter or food majority of people does not know all this even the person that i stay with who has been here for almost 4 years does not know pls information is very inportant as for job although america sufers from melt down some years back its because of this that make the economy some how but the economy is really coming up now compare to last years employment is coming up again most especially in the manufacturing companies and where hoses i presently worked in a warehouse where we deals with importation of various food items all over the world my advise to you all is that immediately you get your social security num go for your state ID which i think you can get within 2-3 weeks dont need to wait for your green card before searching for job then always start with any job you find yourself then gradually try to improve urself so you can get a second job if you work part time pls put this in mind thet the first 1-2 months may seem thins are not working dont give up is normal if there is anyone who is coming to Chicago can let me know so i can advise on where to go and the community centers to call i wish you all good luck