Don't forget that you don't have to have citizenship to enter either. The work visa will let you in, and permit you to work for a number of years, with a much smaller wait time.
The smart man will get that, and work (proving he is capable of supporting himself too) while waiting for citizenship.
I'm not sure about the US but here in Canada (where I am doing this exact thing too) I can apply for Permanent Residency, which is even quicker than Citizenship ... but doesn't give me voting rights (and probably other things too).
If you're interested these are the waiting times too :-
Work Visa = 45 days
Permanent Residency = ~1 year
Citizenship = ~2-3 years
Now I could have come over here and stayed illegally while apply for citizenship ... but I chose the LEGAL router of Work Visa to get me in, and I am now waiting for Permanent Residency (after 3 years making sure I REALLY DO want to stay).
It might be a different country, but the principle is the same. If you can't do it 'RIGHT' don't do it at all. By not doing it 'RIGHT' we end up with the previously mentioned underground economy. I've seen many expose's on this within Europe on TV, and it's pretty harsh. The guys working get terrible pay, usually bad conditions, and nothing is guaranteed. The 'organizers' of these pick-me-up-to-work outfits are usually hardened criminals too, which can lead to all manner of things ... especially large debts to bad loan sharks.... at least according to TV (TV doesn't lie?!?!?!).
