The biggest stumbling
block to getting work is the visa. Like a lot of countries, the attitude of US Imigration is there’s no reason for a company to be hiring a non-US citizen when they can hire a citizen. Thus a company that really wants you needs to justify why you are needed and why a US citizen is less qualified. When you have no education or particular skill set, that’s a hard sell. Possibly lower paid interneships are easier to get, the hiring company would know better, especially if they’ve done this prior.
What I see typically at my college is students getting either a Bachelor or Masters degree, for which they can get a student visa to stay in the US for 3 or 4 years, then attempting to move to a full time paid position, where the company was able to justify their hiring. I know of one Korean MFA graduate who was able to do that (she’s now a
stage manager for a well know dance company) but another MFA student was unable and had to
return to Korea. Others have gotten married while here, having met a US citizen and stayed through that method. Note that typically and as student, there are restrictions placed on the student in terms of how much work they can take on. Thus it can be hard to make a living while going to school.