Immigrant illegal mother....American child

[nmsmith 4]

Hello,

Here is the predicament....

There is an illegal immigrant woman.... from Italy..... entered on a Tourist Visa...and overstayed the visa. It has been over 10 years since the visa expired. She has an 11 year old son and no other family.

A couple years back her passport was stolen and she now has NO form of Identification.

She needs citizenship obviously but most importantly documentation. She cannot work to provide for her child otherwise.

Is there ANY possible way outside of marrying an American she can get documents to at the very least allow her to work in this Country? She is able bodied and more than ready to do so but cannot be employed illegally in most positions.

Most important: There is NO OTHER FAMILY in the country and no one to take care of her son. That being said, going back to Italy to receive I.D and risking possible denial of re-entry here in the U.S is out of the question- the boy would be swept up into foster care and government child care that no child should be subject to when a mother is willing and ready to provide for him.

SHE HAS ALREADY BEGUN THE PROPER PROCESS TO BECOME A CITIZEN but it has been a over 5 years. She is in fact in the "system" and is playing the waiting game all the while her boy is growing and so too are his needs.

I thank you so very much for your replies.

Edited August 28, 2012 by nmsmith

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

No. On what grounds has she applied for citizenship?

She can go home. Italy is nice.

[nmsmith 4]

No. On what grounds has she applied for citizenship?

She can go home. Italy is nice.

Except she really can't. I thought this board was for posting immigration questions and receiving some kind of answers not a place for peoples life stories to be ridiculed and met with gelid replies.

Her sister, who is a citizen, applied for her but has since left the country.

"she can go home. italy is nice".... Thank you for that.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. But there is no path for anything for her. Even if her sister had not left the US, her overstay makes her ineligible to adjust status. She made her decision and it was not a good one. Italy, where she has the ability to work, is much better. It IS a nice place.

Edited August 28, 2012 by Harpa Timsah

[Darnell 8,478]

hi - can explain this, step by step, what she's done so far, and what her expectations are?

SHE HAS ALREADY BEGUN THE PROPER PROCESS TO BECOME A CITIZEN

[aleful 1,905]

Hello,

Here is the predicament....

There is an illegal immigrant woman.... from Italy..... entered on a Tourist Visa...and overstayed the visa. It has been over 10 years since the visa expired. She has an 11 year old son and no other family.

A couple years back her passport was stolen and she now has NO form of Identification.

She needs citizenship obviously but most importantly documentation. She cannot work to provide for her child otherwise.

Is there ANY possible way outside of marrying an American she can get documents to at the very least allow her to work in this Country? She is able bodied and more than ready to do so but cannot be employed illegally in most positions.

Most important: There is NO OTHER FAMILY in the country and no one to take care of her son. That being said, going back to Italy to receive I.D and risking possible denial of re-entry here in the U.S is out of the question- the boy would be swept up into foster care and government child care that no child should be subject to when a mother is willing and ready to provide for him.

SHE HAS ALREADY BEGUN THE PROPER PROCESS TO BECOME A CITIZEN but it has been a over 5 years. She is in fact in the "system" and is playing the waiting game all the while her boy is growing and so too are his needs.

I thank you so very much for your replies.

for now nothing. it is not citizenship, it is residency. the closest thing is to wait until her son turns 21 or fall in love and marry a USC,

the petition from her sibling will do nothing since she cannot adjust in country and if she leaves she will have a ten year ban. there is no waiver for siblings, plus, if her sister doesn't live here, then there is no petition to begin with, her sister has to be in the US, and she out of the country, so forget about that petition.

now, why would she have to leave the child behind? what about the father? if the father is not in the picture, she can probably take the child with her.

[epsonderby 85]

The best solution for her is to go back to Italy.

[ceadsearc 515]

Nothing until her son becomes 21 or she falls in love with and marries an American. Even when her petition from her sister becomes current she will be ineligible because she overstayed. Surely her son should be eligible for Italian citizenship though.

[Xanax 349]

Nothing until her son becomes 21 or she falls in love with and marries an American. Even when her petition from her sister becomes current she will be ineligible because she overstayed. Surely her son should be eligible for Italian citizenship though.

I agree with this. I am sorry. I really think the best thing is to return to Italy where the child will have citizenship and the mother can work.

I do not know of any path to citizenship or permanent residency that are available to your friend.

[Dakine10 5,452]

I really think the best thing is to return to Italy where the child will have citizenship and the mother can work.

The best solution for her is to go back to Italy.

The question was what can be done to remain in the US legally. Returning to Italy may be the "best" thing to do, but it doesn't really answer the question that was asked.

Is there ANY possible way outside of marrying an American she can get documents to at the very least allow her to work in this Country? She is able bodied and more than ready to do so but cannot be employed illegally in most positions.

If marriage is not a consideration, she will have to wait until her son turns 21. Assuming her son is a USC, He can file an immediate relative petition at that time. You said her son is 11 and she has been here over 10 years. I can't tell from that if her son was born in Italy or the USA. Obviously a lot depends on if her son is a USC or not.

Due to the overstay, she has already accrued enough illegal presence to receive a 10 year bar on returning to the US if she leaves. The illegal presence also makes her inelligible to adjust status except as an immediate relative of a USC, which is why the only options are a petition filed by a USC spouse or her USC son. She cannot work in the USA legally until that time.

Edited August 28, 2012 by Dakine10

[Xanax 349]

The question was what can be done to remain in the US legally. Returning to Italy may be the "best" thing to do, but it doesn't really answer the question that was asked.

If marriage is not a consideration, she will have to wait until her son turns 21. Assuming her son is a USC, He can file an immediate relative petition at that time. You said her son is 11 and she has been here over 10 years. I can't tell from that if her son was born in Italy or the USA. Obviously a lot depends on if her son is a USC or not.

Due to the overstay, she has already accrued enough illegal presence to receive a 10 year bar on returning to the US if she leaves. The illegal presence also makes her inelligible to adjust status except as an immediate relative of a USC, which is why the only options are a petition filed by a USC spouse or her USC son. She cannot work in the USA legally until that time.

As I said there is no path to citizenship at this point. You didn't quote that AND I also gave my advice of what is best. Yes I answered more than just the question but it was not irrelevant.

Good luck

Edited August 28, 2012 by Xanax

[Dakine10 5,452]

As I said there is no path to citizenship at this point. You didn't quote that AND I also gave my advice of what is best. Yes I answered more than just the question but it was not irrelevant.

Good luck

I understand that. It just happened that 2 of the 3 posts prior to mine suggested returning to Italy when the OP already stated it's not an option. The upper forums are for answering questions asked, not for giving advice. When a thread starts trending to unsolicited advice, it usually ends up with moderators reminders, then deleting posts, warnings etc. No offense was intended.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

How is the child an American if she's been here ten years and the child is 11?

[Xanax 349]

How is the child an American if she's been here ten years and the child is 11?

Maybe by birth? Maybe the child had an American Expat father or something similar ?

[Mike B. 231]

How is the child an American if she's been here ten years and the child is 11?

She didn't say that she had been here for ten years. She said that it had been more than ten years since the visa expired.