You do not need a LL.M., to take the New York Bar, if you a law degree from a common law country. You have to be enrolled in the bar of your home country to be eligible to take the Califiornia bar. These 2 jurisdictions are most popular with foreign lawyers, because the eligiblity conditions are pretty straight forward.

You can write the bar exam in Missouri, Texas,Colorado,Virginia,Connecticut,Arizona,North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, Kentucky, however there are lot of conditions to be met. You can also register yourself as a "Foreign Legal Consultant" in lot of jurisdictions, however you can practise exclusively, laws of your home country.

Doing a LL.M. from US, is definitely a plus, if you want to take a bar exam in the US, but it is a very expensive program.

Hi there,
I have a question for you.
I need to complete the 20 credit requirement at a US Law School, as a LLM. Do I have to make the three day residency requirement as a part-time student or the four day residency requirement as a full-time student?
Thanks a lot!