Any accredited college or university will very probably post strict rules about immigration and visa status. University of Maryland’s information is probably quite typical: "Transfer Student Visa Verification: Before you can be admitted to UM, you must notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of your move from your current school to the University of Maryland.", and it also says: "English Language Requirements: If English is not your native language- regardless of your citizenship-you must provide the university with verification of your proficiency in English." University of Maryland's International Education Services page has more visa information. If you see ads for online colleges that offer degrees without such warnings, you would need to be VERY suspicious of their being accredited colleges.

But as far as getting an informal education (knowledge without an actual degree) there is no question that the Web has enormous educational, even college and university level, information. Web directories, such as Google’s, can lead you to a world of free education – something to really consider if you have free time while trying to get your papers in order and apply to a college. For example, you can click on Arts, Literature, Authors... to look for specific writers. Well known ones from the previous century (or earlier) will have many of their works full text online. Similarly, you can look into science, social science and many other fields. The Web is VERY uneven though. There will be many major gaps. It would take a good teacher to show you examples of the best sites – or to guide you to the best sources of free full text online.

For example, if you are less advanced in a particular subject, you might prefer to look under "Kids and Teens, School Time,..." for a review of many subjects. You can get access to the web at most public libraries, for limited time periods. Many colleges and universities allow the public to come in and use even their subscription databases and online journals, and of course read their print books on site. Some do not even require you to sign in, unless they are in big cities or in neighborhoods that may have problems with crime.

Only an immigration lawyer could tell you for SURE (as always, we librarians cannot give legal advice!), but we might safely guess there is no legal way for someone who is not a U.S. citizen to get into colleges that grant accredited degrees, without having a visa or other official immigration papers.