1. Come here on an F-1 visa for undergrad, work while you go to school, in stem, you can contract 20 hrs a week while in school and then work full time during breaks. No 'need' has to be justified.
2. F-1 in STEM graduates, gets 3 year OPT STEM work permit. Employer and visa holder pays so social security tax, and there is no need to justify it, and you can pay them as little as you can get away with. During this period, work like mad to find an H-1B job.
If not?
3. Go to grad school - work while there, then get another OPT STEM for 3 years with no need, no SS tas, any pay level
4. The visa holder has been in the U.S. for 10-12 years, working feverishly to line up the H-1B gig and when they get it, it's for 3 years, with an automatic 3 year extension just by asking. Get married to a gal from back home, he/she gets and H-4 and with any luck gets a work permit for as long as the spouse has wone.
5. The end point in this process is to have a company sponsor your for a Green Card. You can get a 1 year extension on your 6 year H-1B if 18 years wasn't enough time.