Originally Posted by xyzzy

You need to be able to show some evidence to the ICE person that you will return to your home country. I'm not sure about the details of what they want to see with regard the VWP. The VWP countries are ones that have had a historically low rate of overstayers. I do know that if you apply for a regular visa to the US and you aren't in school, don't have a job, don't own a house, and don't have an SO back home, you will almost certainly be rejected. That's not to say you need all of those, just that those are some of the top things you could use to prove you intend to return home.