Studying Law in the USA or Canada as an International Student
Studying law in the United States is very difficult for international students, and I do not recommend it if you need funding. Unlike many countries where you study law after high school, in the USA, law is at the graduate school level. This means that you must first complete a four-year bachelor's degree, then take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test), then attend three years of law school. That's 7 years minimum. Now very few U.S. law schools offer financial aid to international students, and tuition runs $60,000 to $70,000 per year. Most schools that do are very hard to get into like Harvard University and Stanford University. But the bigger problems come after you graduate. When you graduate in the U.S. on a student visa, you get temporary work permission called OPT (Optional Practical Training). STEM graduates get 3 years of OPT, but law is not STEMβso you only get 1 year. That single year is not enough time to realistically find a job and convince a firm to sponsor your work visa. Some states don't even allow non-citizens to sit for the bar exam. And even if you pass the bar, finding firms willing to sponsor work visas is extremely competitive. On top of all this, a U.S. law degree teaches American law so if you return home, it may have limited value since legal systems differ by country. My honest recommendation is that if you want to work in law, then study in your home country where it's more affordable and practical for your career. If you're set on the U.S. long-term, pursue your undergraduate degree here with full funding first, then find out how to gain residency, and then attend law school as a domestic student with access to financial aid.