Will this candidate have a chance at a legal status?

[Little_My 464]

OK, let's try to get all the ducks in a row here first. This person X..

1) entered this country illegally and without inspection? Or entered originally with a valid visa which has then expired?

2) Has been living in the US for X years, working and studying and claiming to be a US citizen on various forms, such as state ID application, college application, driver's license application (btw, don't they check some kind of an ID for these applications to verify the person's identity and thus citizenship..?)

3) This person has now gotten married to a USC, or a family member of his/hers has become a USC, and this person wants to apply for a green card

I guess I am actually more asking from curiosity - because, honestly, I don't think any of these issues matter. If I remember correctly, one of the forms asks "have you ever claimed to be a US citizen". This person either answers "Yes", which leads to immediate denial and deportation, or this persons answers "no", which is a lie, which will come out, and he will be denied and deported.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

So what happens if he proceeds to properly file through a family based petition?

Deported & Banned from reentry for life.

Basically any contact with ICE is going to put them out of the US with a lifetime ban.

[VJ User 0]

Umm, how about live where you can legally work without lying?

If the situation was so desperate then why were they applying for Credit Cards?

What if the child was brought to the USA at a very young age?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

So what happens if he proceeds to properly file through a family based petition?

Russian roulette. If they determine that he's ever claimed to be a US citizen then his petition will be denied, and he'll be placed in removal proceedings for deportation.

If he had lied on one obscure form for one non-governmental institution then I'd say his chances of getting caught were minimal. However, he lied all over the place, including on documents submitted to the government. There is no way they won't find out about it.

[VJ User 0]

HE entered USA legally through a tourist Visa. Visa expired. Has a social security card and number.

Some states do not check for residency when applying for DL/ID.

This person is Single, never married.

His mother who is a USC wants to sponsor him.

OK, let's try to get all the ducks in a row here first. This person X..

1) entered this country illegally and without inspection? Or entered originally with a valid visa which has then expired?

2) Has been living in the US for X years, working and studying and claiming to be a US citizen on various forms, such as state ID application, college application, driver's license application (btw, don't they check some kind of an ID for these applications to verify the person's identity and thus citizenship..?)

3) This person has now gotten married to a USC, or a family member of his/hers has become a USC, and this person wants to apply for a green card

I guess I am actually more asking from curiosity - because, honestly, I don't think any of these issues matter. If I remember correctly, one of the forms asks "have you ever claimed to be a US citizen". This person either answers "Yes", which leads to immediate denial and deportation, or this persons answers "no", which is a lie, which will come out, and he will be denied and deported.

[Inky 1,111]

What if the child was brought to the USA at a very young age?

Why not just tell the whole story instead of bits and parts of it? Would be a lot easier.

[VJ User 0]

Russian roulette. If they determine that he's ever claimed to be a US citizen then his petition will be denied, and he'll be placed in removal proceedings for deportation.

If he had lied on one obscure form for one non-governmental institution then I'd say his chances of getting caught were minimal. However, he lied all over the place, including on documents submitted to the government. There is no way they won't find out about it.

I have listed all the forms he has put USC.

Which documents submitted to the gov't? The filing for GC has not been done yet.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

So if he lived prior to age 16 in the USA and still was on Overstay then what happens? Both parents had to be US Citizen when the child lived in USA before 16 also?

Yes, both parents would have had to be US citizens, and the alien must have had a reasonable belief that they were also a US citizen.

(II) EXCEPTION- In the case of an alien making a representation described in subclause (I),

if each natural parent of the alien

(or, in the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive parent of the alien)

is or was a citizen

(whether by birth or naturalization), the alien permanently resided in the United States prior to attaining the age of 16,

and the alien reasonably believed at the time of making such representation that he or she was a citizen

, the alien shall not be considered to be inadmissible under any provision of this subsection based on such representation.

Note that a minor child is NOT subject to these provisions. A minor child does not accumulate unlawful presence. A minor child is not inadmissible if they claim to be a US citizen. Once that child is 18 years old then they begin to accumulate unlawful presence, and they are responsible for any actions they take, including claims of US citizenship.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

If he puts as a GC holder then they should show the card and if you put Visa then you have to show proper papers.

There isn't any other option. Is this person suppose to starve to death and not work?

The person isn't supposed to live illegally in the US.. that's kinda the whole point. They're supposed to return to THEIR country and live there.

There was a post recently (about a week ago) where a girl is applying for USC and ACCIDENTALLY (not purposely like this person did) ticked a box on a form saying they would like to register to vote and above that was a note saying "US Citizens only". She has to fight to get them to realise it was an accident and hopefully because she never voted they will accept it but she's facing a lifetime ban.

Sorry, your friend has absolutely no chance to become a USC and should endeavour to start to get his things together and organise his return to his home country. Otherwise he will continue living as he is until the day he is discovered (and he will be) and then he will be locked up in immigration jail and deported without a chance to get his effects in order.

---

**Edit - just saw that you said the OP's mother is a USC. Unless HE is a USC then he's still not a USC and still in trouble. It's obvious he never thought he was a USC (as Jim posted if he thought he was) so the "he thought he was" wouldn't fly. If he thought he was he wouldn't have entered on a visitor visa and his mother wouldn't be petitioning him.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[VJ User 0]

Yes, both parents would have had to be US citizens, and the alien must have had a reasonable belief that they were also a US citizen.

(II) EXCEPTION- In the case of an alien making a representation described in subclause (I),

if each natural parent of the alien

(or, in the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive parent of the alien)

is or was a citizen

(whether by birth or naturalization), the alien permanently resided in the United States prior to attaining the age of 16,

and the alien reasonably believed at the time of making such representation that he or she was a citizen

, the alien shall not be considered to be inadmissible under any provision of this subsection based on such representation.

Note that a minor child is NOT subject to these provisions. A minor child does not accumulate unlawful presence. A minor child is not inadmissible if they claim to be a US citizen. Once that child is 18 years old then they begin to accumulate unlawful presence, and they are responsible for any actions they take, including claims of US citizenship.

Both parents USC now or back when the child was age 16 or earlier?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Why not just tell the whole story instead of bits and parts of it? Would be a lot easier.

Agreed. This game is getting old.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I have listed all the forms he has put USC.

Which documents submitted to the gov't? The filing for GC has not been done yet.

The drivers licence for one, they check that (a post about that recently as I said). He honestly stands not a hope in hell in my opinion.

[BSquared 9]

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Since "false claim of US citizenship" is one of my personal pet peeves, let me respond as well.

I understand that person X entered the US with a visa. At some point he was able to obtain a SSN, a state-issued driver's license, credit cards, went to school, and so on. I believe that, because that's what I did, all of it. Back in the early 1990s, that was not a problem, at least not in California. I actually graduated from UCLA, but at no time did I have to claim to be a US citizen, just a California resident. Ah . . . the Golden State!

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of September 30, 1996 was the big game changer. Before its enactment, only false U.S. citizenship claims made to an U.S. immigration or consular officer in connection with visa application, admission to the U.S,. or obtaining immigration benefit rendered the foreign national inadmissible to the United States. As such, misrepresentation of U.S. citizenship to private persons or entities such as employers, banks, and airlines did not result in inadmissibility.

Since September 30, 1996, however, strictly speaking even an utterance in a bar on New Year's Eve qualifies for such purposes, although that would be hard to document. Therefore, it is of paramount importance as to when the last false claim of US citizenship happened.

Then there's the I-9 form which used to have 3 fields: 1) US citizen or national 2) Lawful Permanent Resident 3) Non-Resident allowed to work. One immigrant charged with false claim of US citizenship was able to successfully fight this, when he pointed out that by marking "US citizen or national" he had only claimed to be a US national, not a US citizen, and the judge agreed with him. Only because of this judgement, the I-9 form now has separated US citizen and non-citizen US national (which are only people from American Samoa).

In order to really help person X, I need to know specifics, when person X did apply for what, when he stated that he's a USC and how.

Hope this helps as a general overview.

[VJ User 0]

Person X last stated USC on I-9 in 2007. Employer legally have to keep a copy for 3 years right?

Person X first got the license in 1998 and did not state USC, only on the renewals. Last renewal in 2008 for DL.

Since "false claim of US citizenship" is one of my personal pet peeves, let me respond as well.

I understand that person X entered the US with a visa. At some point he was able to obtain a SSN, a state-issued driver's license, credit cards, went to school, and so on. I believe that, because that's what I did, all of it. Back in the early 1990s, that was not a problem, at least not in California. I actually graduated from UCLA, but at no time did I have to claim to be a US citizen, just a California resident. Ah . . . the Golden State!

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of September 30, 1996 was the big game changer. Before its enactment, only false U.S. citizenship claims made to an U.S. immigration or consular officer in connection with visa application, admission to the U.S,. or obtaining immigration benefit rendered the foreign national inadmissible to the United States. As such, misrepresentation of U.S. citizenship to private persons or entities such as employers, banks, and airlines did not result in inadmissibility.

Since September 30, 1996, however, strictly speaking even an utterance in a bar on New Year's Eve qualifies for such purposes, although that would be hard to document. Therefore, it is of paramount importance as to when the last false claim of US citizenship happened.

Then there's the I-9 form which used to have 3 fields: 1) US citizen or national 2) Lawful Permanent Resident 3) Non-Resident allowed to work. One immigrant charged with false claim of US citizenship was able to successfully fight this, when he pointed out that by marking "US citizen or national" he had only claimed to be a US national, not a US citizen, and the judge agreed with him. Only because of this judgement, the I-9 form now has separated US citizen and non-citizen US national (which are only people from American Samoa).

In order to really help person X, I need to know specifics, when person X did apply for what, when he stated that he's a USC and how.

Hope this helps as a general overview.