How to become a surveyor in the USA from other countries

@Eric
The rules vary from state to state.

Your profile says you are in Chicago

Somebody here should be able to point you at the Illinois rules

As jimcox said, each state has its rules. All states will require you to pass the Fundamentals of Land Surveying Exam, and the Principals and Practice of Land Surveying exam. Qualifying to take each exam differs by state. Every state will require experience with increasing degrees of responsible charge, under the supervision of a licensed land surveyor. For example, working in construction staking supervised by unlicensed people will not count toward the experience requirement. Having a college degree may help to reduce the number of years experience required, however, most states require the college to be be ABET accredited.

Your best approach is to decide what state you first wish to acquire a license in, then research that state's requirements and application procedure. As you might have guessed by now, each state has it's own procedure. For example, Massachusetts requires examples of your work to review with your application. The package of examples you submit can not exceed one pound in weight. Also, Massachusetts requires an oral exam before being approved to sit for the Principles and Practices exam.

Good luck in your quest.

I'm just wondering, if Mass. requires you to submit examples of your work, what are they looking for? If you're not licensed, how can you show them a signed plan?

The "submit work" requirement is for when applying to take your PS Test. There is also an experience requirement for that application where you have to have been working under the direction of a licensed surveyor for a certain period of time. The work you perform during that time is what is to be submitted. I think NC has a similar requirement for submitting a work product for review.

While it is true that every state has its own set of rules I believe that every one requires that you have at least some experience working for a licensed surveyor before you can become licensed yourself. At this time, and presuming that you are properly credentialed to work in this country, a person with your education will have no trouble finding a job working for a licensed surveyor right there in Chicago. Good Luck!