i went to the states with a student visa and a one way ticket augest 08 emigration never asked a question.
its a good idea to get a one way ticket due to the fact you can never predict how long your going to be there with god knows what could go wrong from my experience it never goes to plan, then to change a return ticket costs a bomb !!
get great deals with all the american carriers with
www.cheaptickets.com this is the crowd i use all the time, dublin to orlando think was something like 350 euro with continental.