Can't you just become legal? (an answer from Quora)

I am an undocumented immigrant, so are some of my family.

It is not that complicated. For an undocumented immigrant there is no path to legalization. There are a very few, very rare options to do ANYTHING.

I crossed the border at five and got caught in Arizona. They were really nice to me even if they did put me behind bars. They feed me treats between the iron bars and talked to me.

I was born in Honduras and my parents were given temporary working visas due to Hurricane Mitch that devastated our country. We were already a third world country known for having a high murder rate. It is estimated the Hurricane set us back another 50 years. Effects of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras

I was in my mother's belly when my father left to learn English and try to raise some money in the US. My mother kept crying over him and when I was born decided to go help him. She left me with my grandparents who lived far away in a mountainous jungle area where they had a farm. I believed that they were my parents. My friends would talk about all the "expensive" presents I would get from mysterious relatives far away. I felt well to do, because I had pretty dresses.

One day the a group of men came by our home at night and shot my grandmother. My grandfather hid me in a corner. We didn't try to get the police because there were rumors in our area that the police were known to steal or kill. So we just placed her on the adjoining bed after they left and went to bed. The next morning we went from house to house telling everyone of her passing and my grandfather started digging her grave. That day changed my life. My grandfather feeling depressed decided to sell the land and move in with another relative, he gave me to one of my aunt (she had a phone in her house). She called my dad to tell him what happened. My parents decided it wasn't safe for me there and made plans to hire a coyote to sneak me over. Unbeknownst to me. They probably thought I was too young and would go along with it.

It started in the middle of the night. I woke to the motions of a car. My first thought was that I had been kidnapped. I looked up and saw my uncle so I went back to sleep. The next morning I woke up to a house I didn't recognize. I could sense my uncle had intentions of leaving, I begged him not to leave me and he promised me he wouldn't. But he lied. For the rest of journey I was surrounded, and dependent on strangers. They fed me and gave a place to stay and then I was passed to a different home. It felt like being in the underground railroad. I was passed from house to house and everyone was secretive. I realize now that not every house was a good place. And in some houses I was exploited. Some houses were part of the drug cartel and in one house the room adjacent to me was a brothel. I'm not sure when this part of the journey stopped but a transition was made. Where I met the group of people who were my coyote. From there we walked against desert like plains and sun and heat and plants that grabbed my legs and left scratches. I realize now that I was around the grand canyon area but I didn't get a nice view - just flatness.

One night we were walking and the area was still a plain but there were trees and a clearing. It was so strange and cool. The air was crisp and we ran behind this big boulder. A man in the room started talking but I didn't pay attention. I was looking at a beautiful light up ahead. It was huge, in the shape of circle and kept moving around. It was held up by a material I didn't recognize. I didn't know then that that light is designed to spotlight intruders. And then....we were caught.

The officers were really nice and one of them spoke Spanish. They asked me who the people were that I was with. And then I remembered that the man in the group had grabbed me when we were behind the rock and told me that if we did get caught I had to say that they were my parents. I was taught that lying was a sin so I told the truth. They were thrown in prison and I was sent to an orphanage where they keep children who cross the border. One day I got a mysterious call from a man who claimed to be my father. I didn't believe him so I asked for proof. He asked if there was anything I wanted he would buy it for me. I was overjoyed and listed all the animals I used to have on my farm. I wanted my farm and home back. Especially my horse, dogs, and pigs.

One day as the kids and I were playing tag this man was at the doorway and spotted me. His face lit up and he got down on his knees and opened his arms. Who is this man I thought as I walked toward his arms awkwardly. It wasn't until he opened his bag to reveal a pig, horse and dog that I gasped. It was my dad. I was so happy to see him and at the same time I was disappointed. My first impression of my dad was that he was an idiot. Did he not realize that I wanted REAL animals? I looked at these animals that were miniature, squishy and had small ball like material in them. And felt the biggest wave of disappointment and I realized we came from two very different world. After that I took a plane for the first time to Long Island. We had to go to court to decide my fate. By the way crossing the border is a misdemeanor (not a felony) so by all I am not a criminal. People say that I can just go back, return, and do it legally and the truth is I can't. What's done is done. If I leave I can't come back. Crossing the border a second time IS a felony and will not be tolerated by the government. That being said my parents tried to plead to let me stay trying to say that I came due to the hurricane. The USCIS double checks everything and they determined my parents were lying since I came a year too late for the program my parents were trying to put me in. In the end the judge ruled that since I was a minor and had no one to care for me I would be allowed to stay. But I was granted no status. I was an alien.

Flash forward to my senior year. I was a top student and had been accepted into Mount Holyoke (an all girl Ivy League school ) Too bad I couldn't go. I didn't qualify for financial aid even though my family was poor and we were going bankrupt. Financial aid requires legal status, so do most scholarships. In fact when I did a search of scholarships I could only find about 15 I was able to apply for. Not having legal status really narrowed down my options. I managed to win two 1k dollar scholarships but seeing as the tuition was 42 grand a year it wouldn't even make a dent. I found out I couldn't get government loans and grants. Since I didn't have legal status I also couldn't drive or work. I felt like everything I worked for was falling apart. There is a bit of good news, that same year 2012 Obama passed a Deferred Action (DACA). I qualified but it's all temporary. In fact right now I'm not working because I had to get my temporary permission renewed. I've been two months now for it to come and still nothing. My aunt just got her permission. As you can imagine something this temporary is really bad for employment, most don't want to hire someone who is only allowed to work for a certain amount of time. This however grants me NO LEGAL STATUS AT ALL. It does however "put me on the grid" so to speak. They know where I live now and have my fingerprints on record. What I have is an "alien number". Interesting right? In the back of my license I am referred to as a "temporary visitor" So again, no legal status. :/ Also I should mention the dream act that was passed in my state of New York. The dream act that was passed allows immigrants who live in the state to use in - state tuition (before we had to pay out of state). The entire dream act was not passed so we still don't qualify for financial aid although some states allow this, but the immigrant needs to have gone to high school in that state, and have lived there a certain amount of time. (california is an example of a state that does this). So this is the life an immigrant a lot buts, and nos.

I tried applying for the military in the hopes I could get into the MAVNI program. Nope. This month the GOP strongly voted against having us being allowed to join the military. So I can't do that anymore. Because apparently even that was too much.

The most annoying thing about being an undocumented immigrant is the amount of ignorance on the subject. A lot of people confuse "illegal" with "legal" which are two totally different things. A legal immigrant CAN get married to citizen and become a citizen, they can also apply for an Adjustment of Status. I can't do any of these things. When I was 18 my family and I went to multiple lawyers and I told the same thing. THERE IS NO WAY FOR AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TO BECOME A CITIZEN. THERE SIMPLY ISN'T A PATH YET. It's really annoying when the majority of people think "immigrants have it easy". We don't. We have to pay taxes and we not allowed to receive any benefits from the taxes we pay. In other words we don't qualify for food stamps, welfare, social security benefits, and retirement. We don't get any of these even though we have to pay for them. People believe that I can just get married to a citizen....NO. They also believe that I can just go back and come back legally. NO. If someone were to leave the US after coming illegal there is a 10 year bar. and if they attempt to reenter it becomes a felony. There's no way to come back after you crossed the border. It's just too hard.

Theses were my options from my immigration lawyers gave me:

• I could have a job sponsor me. But most jobs don't sponsor undocumented immigrants and the ones that do usually want someone who is highly skilled and has a degree. Not to mention it takes a long time.
• I could start a business (it has to make I forgot I think it was between 500,000 to a million - a big number) I would also have to employ at least 10 Americans.
• I could marry a Cuban and get a green card. I was so confused by this option. But one lawyer explained that the law came about due to the US fear of communism. They believed that by having someone who loved this country and wanted to live marry a Cuban, they could somehow convert Cuban into capitalism. Or something like that. I don't much about Cuba, and really don't want to go on a marriage hunt for one.
• Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers
• I could do above - but it sounds like a trap. And the lawyers said it was nearly impossible and or a trap. I would have to leave and essentially I would need to have a US citizen prove that they are unable to live without me. "How do I prove that?" I asked the lawyers. They all either laughed or shrugged. Usually they just throw the case out and don't let you back in .
• I could experience trauma (sexual violence, abuse, battery, etc) here and sue. I have a cousin who was sexually harassed at work. She and her coworkers sued and she was granted a green card.
• Amnesty was another option but it's too later for me to do that now. An immigrant can ask for amnesty but it has to be between I believe within the year they arrived. This is something two of cousins received. They crossed the border and were taken by the border control. They pleaded not to be taken back. They cried that their parents have been murdered and they had nowhere else to go. The USCIS confirmed everything and now they are doing really well. They have citizenship, foster parents, and the government gave them tutors, and paid for their college education. For more information on Amnesty check out the video below:
• Watch Video | Well-Founded Fear: Feature Films | POV | PBS
• I could wait until my sisters (who are US citizens - they were born here, reach of age) they could petition for me. This however would take 13 years to get the green card.

I just can't win.

Every single visa has a list of requirements and I would have to prove every single thing. I got deferred action and while this grants me no legal status I had to prove a lot of things just to get it. I had to prove that I came here at a young age and I couldn't be above a certain age. I had to prove that I attended high school and graduated. I had to prove that I never left the US since arriving. I had to prove that I was of "good character". I have to continue studying because it is one of the requirements. Every single thing that immigrants have to apply for requires paperwork, money, and time. It's not easy, and for me right now it's impossible for me to get anything more.

The diagram below probably explains it best

* Good News! Today 5/29 I got my permission to work renewed!