2 thoughts on “He’s Lived His Life in the U.S., But He Can’t Get a Green Card

  1. I understand the problem of your friend as I am an immigrant (legal) myself. Lets see some options, ‘tho the main problem here is the possible 10 year ban that will be imposed on him. If he can get theis waived, there will be possible options.

    If he is planning to go to college, is it possible for him to apply for an F-1 visa? A university can issue the paperworks if he gain admission. However it is very likely that he will have to return to his home country for consular processing. Problem perhaps will be the 10-year ban imposed on violators. But I think there were some who were able to waived the ban. Perhaps if he is serious to pursue college legally, he can ask letters from his congressman, senators, etc for such a waiver and present it at consular processing. This is of course risky but its better to face the problem upfront.

    Employment-based visa is also possible but having no advanced degree will not help.

    Joining the military, I believe will help.

    Marriage to a U.S. citizen will help ‘tho personally I will not recommend this since marriage is a sacred vow and should not be used as a tool to gain legal status.

    A difficult, almost impossible option of course is a private bill on his behalf from his legislator.

    Finally, I am personally against illegal immigration and I am for the implementation of existing immigration laws. However, I would want to see the illegal immigrants being educated first of the possible options they may have and I applaud what you are doing.

  2. Let’s hope the Dream Act becomes a reality, for the mean time you can do volunteer work and unpaid internships. This will look great not only on your resume, but it will count toward your record here in the U.S. You cannot join the military, unless you are a resident, conditional resident or us citizen.
    Take at least a class a semester if money is short; that way you will be doing something productive and not feel like an outcast. You can also marry a U.S. Citizen, but you would have to go back to your country because you do not have a petition, even if you did, it had to be filed before April 30, 2001. People who have a petition before this date do not have to go back to their country and do all the process here in the U.S. according to section 245(i) of immigration law.

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