You should be pretty clear on what you want to do. The mentor tells you how they did it.
They could be wrong. Find someone who is right. I once asked someone more junior to mentor me. He was like "bro you got it the wrong way around" He gave good advice nonetheless and we're still good friends. It's not a perfect process, but like dating, it's a two way market and the disadvantaged side has to move first.
The mentor usually need someone a little more junior doing the same thing or they're connected to someone who asks them if they "know someone".
- Demonstrate the skills by building a prototype product and keeping all the code in Github
- A web portfolio showing projects-- i.e. demonstrating skills-- such as prototype projects, or coursework from relevant classes (e.g. a database design, a statistics script, etc.)
- Have your resume on at least 5 different resume sites
- Consider making 2 or 3+ different resumes, each for a slightly different job (e.g. Software Engineer, Sales Engineer, Backend-focued, Frontend-focused, Full Stack, etc.)
One concern, it's not super easy to move to the US to get started in the first place.
The idea is basically: Move to the place which has the highest ratio of IT jobs to people. So, that might be your nation's capital city, or perhaps a different city with a history of technology or business innovation.
Or, if you're interested in a different field or occupation-- seek out the city in your region or nation which has a reputation for a competitive advantage in that field or occupation.
Silicon Valley is successful in IT, in part, because the semi-conductor industry began there. "In 1956, Shockley left Bell and founded his own company — Shockley Semiconductor Labs. It was the first company to make transistors out of silicon and not germanium. The company was founded in Mountain View, California"
Upwork and Fiver are very saturated...
I get a lot more out of approaching small business owners, or promoting my skills at networking events.
I'd say... Visit a restaurant or cafe near you. Ask if they have a website and even if they do, offer to make an improved version.