filing for citizenship after being illegally brought here as a baby

[chnst 6]

hey there,

I have a question regarding a friend who wants to help out a 19 year old girl. She was brought into the country illegally when she was 4 weeks old, and her parents stayed here with her siblings. According to my friend, the father eventually got his us citizenship, but the children are still here illegally. They don't even have birth certificates, some of her siblings were born here illegally and she was only a few weeks old when she left her homecountry so there is no official form of ID.

Her parents refuse to help her out, she has a few relatives in the US that are citizens but no one wants to help her. Is there any way that she can apply for permanent residence or citizenship?

She was brought here kind of involuntary as an infant, I am sure this is not a single case, I was hoping to find some info from people who went through a similar process.

They hired an imigration attorney who told them that she has a 60% chance of getting her citizenship, but it is very hard since there is no identification.

She is very scared of being deported since she has no family ties in her home country, doesn't speak the language etc.

Thanks for your help.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

I am not sure anyone can help you as this is some pretty tricky immigration law your friend is dealing with. It all has to do with when she arrived, the manner in which she arrived, aggrivating and mitigating factors. And how are you born somewhere illegally? Being born is not a legal or illegal offense.

Naturalization is not an option for her now, permenant residency maybe but you need to be a resident in order to apply for citizenship.

Since they have a lawyer, that is the best route to take. Obviously someone with more experience and insight should speak up and help if possible. This is an interesting case, keep us posted on the progress.

Good luck

PS - why is her family refusing to help her?

Edited August 28, 2009 by canadian_wife

[Minya's wife 24]

Isn't there a VJ member, who's husband was brought to the US without proper documentation as a minor, lived here for a while and upon marriage and the pursuing of the spousal visa he was subsequently denied said visa and further banned from entering the US?

It is my understanding that there is no place in current immigration law to consider those minors who have no choice in the mistakes their parents commit when bringing them to this country without visas, and they suffer the same terrible consequences when and if they try to adjust status upon reaching majority.

The involvement of a very competent immigration attorney is needed for this case.

Good luck.

[chnst 6]

thank you for your replies, I suggested contacting the congressman/ombudsman to them, it is a very tricky situation. I feel bad for her, she is only 19, can't get an education, it seems so hopeless.

[Dakine 26]

Doesn't matter if she entered illigally as a baby or a adult. She is illegal. Tough one as it would be difficult for her to return to her home country if she doesn't speak the language.

What country is she from?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

A minor point, but how can her siblings be "born here illegally"? If they were born here, aren't they US citizens? Granted that their being born in the US doesn't confer any status on her parents or her, but they should still have the right to claim citizenship nonetheless.

As far as I know, she doesn't necessarily have to return to her home country. She could probably go to any country that will allow her to stay legally, at least temporarily, while someone sponsors her to immigrate. This might at least give her the option of seeking temporary asylum in an English speaking country. She does face a ban, though, so she can't petition to stay even if she marries a USC. She's going to have to leave the US and then be sponsored to immigrate with a waiver for the illegal entry.

It's really surprising and disappointing that none of her family are willing to help her. Either they are all a'holes, or she is the 'black sheep' of the family.

[chnst 6]

It kind of came out wrong, by "born here illegally" I meant that her siblings were born in the US but never registered. They don't have birth certificates, ID's anything. I don't know why the parents didn't apply for that or why they don't want to help.

The problem is that she can't go to another country because she does not even have a birth certificate, let alone a passport/ ID/drivers license. Nothing.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

It kind of came out wrong, by "born here illegally" I meant that her siblings were born in the US but never registered. They don't have birth certificates, ID's anything. I don't know why the parents didn't apply for that or why they don't want to help.

The problem is that she can't go to another country because she does not even have a birth certificate, let alone a passport/ ID/drivers license. Nothing.

Did she go to school in the US? If so, how did she manage to do that without any documentation of any kind? Was her birth registered in her home country? Were her siblings born at home? How is that their births were not registered? I just can't fathom why a parent wouldn't register a birth in the US, even if they themselves were illegal. Establishing the child's birth in the US would grant their children US citizenship - something many immigrants struggle for years to obtain.

How did her father manage to get US citizenship? For that matter, how did he manage to get legal permanent resident status so that he could eventually apply for US citizenship? Did he get in on an amnesty program? If so, which one? I ask because it may be possible that she can get legal status as a derivative, even without her father's help. We need more info before this can be answered.

Not having any documentation at all makes it very difficult. For most purposes, she doesn't exist. However, as far as ICE is concerned, without any documentation she is a warm body that has no legal right to be here. The problem is that it would be difficult for them to deport her to her home country because, without documentation, her home country may not accept her. She is, essentially, stateless.

[David&Marissa 0]

She does face a ban, though, so she can't petition to stay even if she marries a USC. She's going to have to leave the US and then be sponsored to immigrate with a waiver for the illegal entry.

Unless I'm mistaken, the ban applied to ENTRY into the US. If you marry a USC, you can adjust status, but if you leave the US, you cannot get back in, even if you are married to USC. If she has her heart set on staying in the US in the long run, any decision to step out of US territory should be made very carefully as this can trigger the ban.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

She does face a ban, though, so she can't petition to stay even if she marries a USC. She's going to have to leave the US and then be sponsored to immigrate with a waiver for the illegal entry.

Unless I'm mistaken, the ban applied to ENTRY into the US. If you marry a USC, you can adjust status, but if you leave the US, you cannot get back in, even if you are married to USC. If she has her heart set on staying in the US in the long run, any decision to step out of US territory should be made very carefully as this can trigger the ban.

That would be true if she entered legally and overstayed her visa, but not in this case. She entered without inspection. She can't marry a USC and adjust status without returning to her home country. The only exception would be if she married a USC and filed to adjust status before April 30, 2001. I'm afraid it's a little late for that, now.

There's also the problem of getting married without any form of identification...

[maliciant 7]

chnst: After reading this thread I have to wonder, how well do you know this girl? How certain are you that any of what she has told you is true? I've known a pathological liar or two in my time and honestly this just sounds like that. If her situation is truly as described, then she needs to be on these forums and providing direct answers to the questions, you just don't know enough of the details to get her the information she needs to have.

[RS232 0]

I heard about some children who their parents crossed the border of mexico illegally and stays in a house as maid or workers. The children was born or brought to US illegally also. they've never studied in school or any college and don't have any ID. their parents born those children with hope of being legal but then they forgot about their destiny. It's so sad but truth. unfortunately the only action that immigration office do is returning them back to their origin country.

[youtube 0]

hey there,

I have a question regarding a friend who wants to help out a 19 year old girl. She was brought into the country illegally when she was 4 weeks old, and her parents stayed here with her siblings. According to my friend, the father eventually got his us citizenship, but the children are still here illegally. They don't even have birth certificates, some of her siblings were born here illegally and she was only a few weeks old when she left her homecountry so there is no official form of ID.

Her parents refuse to help her out, she has a few relatives in the US that are citizens but no one wants to help her. Is there any way that she can apply for permanent residence or citizenship?

She was brought here kind of involuntary as an infant, I am sure this is not a single case, I was hoping to find some info from people who went through a similar process.

They hired an imigration attorney who told them that she has a 60% chance of getting her citizenship, but it is very hard since there is no identification.

She is very scared of being deported since she has no family ties in her home country, doesn't speak the language etc.

Thanks for your help.

find a competent attorney period.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Chnst:

I have an idea only a mad genius can come up with. PLEASE try to find out as much as possible and answer Jim's questions

[chnst 6]

Chnst:

I have an idea only a mad genius can come up with. PLEASE try to find out as much as possible and answer Jim's questions

wow, smartypants!

To be honest, I don't know her very well. I do know my friend who wants to help her, and I kind of trust his judgement. I don't think she is a liar, I mean, why lie about that? It can't get much worse. I can't answer the questions yet, because I haven't talked to him the past few days. They are talking to an immigration lawyer, and asked me if I know anything since I have just dealt with the whole imigration circus myself. I figured that there must be more cases like her and tried to see if someone here might know what to do in such a case. if there is no way for her to get some sort of legal status, then getting an imigration lawyer is a waste of time and money in my opinion.

I suggested to contact her embassy to get some form of ID/birth certificate to start with. Will keep you posted. Thanks for all the input!