[0x12]

That goes for lots of countries.

They want you to apply from the outside.

In Canada for instance that can get really funny, where applying from within Canada for a European is only possible by applying in the United States (Buffalo, for instance).

Within Canada there is no office that can deal with your application.

[rdtsc]

It is not an inside vs outside, it is that they have no legal way to simply apply and get accepted, just because you want to live here. And that is fascinating in light of this being a nation of immigrants.

You'd have to fit into one of the categories -- gifted, company wants to hire you, married a citizen, have lots of money & investing in US, ...