<p>Hi everyone, I am currently a junior at a California public high school.
I have a problem that has been plaguing me for these past two years.</p>
<p>I am looking for research opportunities, especially in the chemistry field.
I am a legal resident of US right now, but I do not have a green card yet.
This is a problem because many top-notch programs require that applicants be permanent residents, which I am not.
And to top it off, I am not allowed to work because of the status of my visa.
The government's definition of work includes any form of paid work, so that means I cannot participate in internships, which many research programs are.</p>
<p>What should I do?
Would it be possible to talk to some of the program directors to go around this?
I know some programs have government funding so it would be impossible.
Then are there good programs that are not paid/require applicants to be permanent residents?</p>
<p>Please give me some advice. I feel that it's very important to show that I am passionate about science by doing research and I also want to know if I do in fact like laboratory work by experiencing it myself. </p>
<p>Thank you very much.</p>