Anyone Care to hear my rant? (22 y/o Canadian stuck in the US)

[LostCanadian 1]

Again, what are you trying to say? Is my story really that farfetched and unbelievable?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Well thanks for the replies everyone. I do have a birth certificate from canada and thats about it.. I started and application online for the Canadian military but they need 2 reference letters from employers and school teachers.. I haven't been in school for almost 5 years so this may be tough and I also have never really had an employer.

Will the dream act still apply to me if I leave the US and come back after a 2 year military serve in Canada or do I have to continue to stay here illegally? I am not looking to get married any time soon and am not willing to get married just for papers because thats pretty immoral and illegal. I don't even have a parking ticket in my name and plan to keep it that way. I'd rather join the US military than Canada's as again I know nothing and no one over there.

I know that it seems bleak right now but really, it could be SO much worse! I know it's hard to see that right now and I'm so very angry at your parents for you right now. It's incredibly scary to go somewhere where you don't know anyone but people do that a lot, travelling around etc.

The important things are:

1. Where are you going to live?

2. How are you going to get a job?

Government support is available to you. So much better than the US in that regard.

If I were you (you can ignore me if you like) I would first look into government support for housing and income. At least so you have somewhere to go. I would call the Canadian military to see if you can go straight from here to there (takes care of income and housing all at once) and you'll start meeting people.

Unfortunately you'll need to stay in the US illegally if you want to try and take advantage of the DREAM act. You will only be able to return to the US after 10 years thanks to the overstay ban.

The last thing I want to say is please don't be ashamed of your status. You did nothing wrong. While yes, you should have left when you turned 18, you trusted in your parents and didn't think your status was an issue. Now that you DO know you're doing whatever you can to remedy the situation. I wouldn't talk about it until after you've left, or when you're about to leave, only because it just takes one call for someone to tell the authorities and you'd get detained. Have a plan and be proud of yourself for tying to do things the legal way. And best of luck in the military. You never know, this could be the best choice you've ever made

Edited December 19, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[Kajikit 65]

Are you for real? Canada is hardly the wilds... okay, they've got plenty of wilds there, but there's plenty of civilisation too. They speak English (mostly) and they have a social welfare system about a hundred times better than the US. And you have the legal right to live there? You're nuts if you stay in the US as an illegal when you could be a perfectly legitimate Canadian. Most of the Canadian population lives less than an hour from the US border, so you could come back any time you want as long as you don't get your butt banned. I like the US just fine, but if you offered me the legal choice to go and live in Canada, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

[LostCanadian 1]

Are you for real? Canada is hardly the wilds... okay, they've got plenty of wilds there, but there's plenty of civilisation too. They speak English (mostly) and they have a social welfare system about a hundred times better than the US. And you have the legal right to live there? You're nuts if you stay in the US as an illegal when you could be a perfectly legitimate Canadian. Most of the Canadian population lives less than an hour from the US border, so you could come back any time you want as long as you don't get your butt banned. I like the US just fine, but if you offered me the legal choice to go and live in Canada, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

Wanna trade?

[LostCanadian 1]

I know that it seems bleak right now but really, it could be SO much worse! I know it's hard to see that right now and I'm so very angry at your parents for you right now. It's incredibly scary to go somewhere where you don't know anyone but people do that a lot, travelling around etc.

The important things are:

1. Where are you going to live?

2. How are you going to get a job?

Government support is available to you. So much better than the US in that regard.

If I were you (you can ignore me if you like) I would first look into government support for housing and income. At least so you have somewhere to go. I would call the Canadian military to see if you can go straight from here to there (takes care of income and housing all at once) and you'll start meeting people.

Unfortunately you'll need to stay in the US illegally if you want to try and take advantage of the DREAM act. You will only be able to return to the US after 10 years thanks to the overstay ban.

The last thing I want to say is please don't be ashamed of your status. You did nothing wrong. While yes, you should have left when you turned 18, you trusted in your parents and didn't think your status was an issue. Now that you DO know you're doing whatever you can to remedy the situation. I wouldn't talk about it until after you've left, or when you're about to leave, only because it just takes one call for someone to tell the authorities and you'd get detained. Have a plan and be proud of yourself for tying to do things the legal way. And best of luck in the military. You never know, this could be the best choice you've ever made

Thanks again.. I am doing as much research as possible right now to see my options there. It will be tough. A lot of things are easier said than done.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Thanks again.. I am doing as much research as possible right now to see my options there. It will be tough. A lot of things are easier said than done.

As they say in Quebec..."C'est la vie!" Yeppers, life is tough. Do not make it tougher than it needs to be, go to where you can live freely, get educated, get jobs, get benefits of being a citizen.

You want children? You want them to have a good life? You want to provide good things for them? How will you do that standing around waiting to be exploited at Home Depot? You cannot wire your paltry pay to Mexico and live in the same motel room as 6 other men. The logistics are not on your side.

Canada really is not as backwards as it is made out to be, they are just like here (except Tim Hortons) Almost NO Canadians try to live illegally in the USA. You are really a rarity in that regard.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Well thanks for the replies everyone. I do have a birth certificate from canada and thats about it.. I started and application online for the Canadian military but they need 2 reference letters from employers and school teachers.. I haven't been in school for almost 5 years so this may be tough and I also have never really had an employer.

Will the dream act still apply to me if I leave the US and come back after a 2 year military serve in Canada or do I have to continue to stay here illegally? I am not looking to get married any time soon and am not willing to get married just for papers because thats pretty immoral and illegal. I don't even have a parking ticket in my name and plan to keep it that way. I'd rather join the US military than Canada's as again I know nothing and no one over there.

Y'know, for a lot of people, the "dream act" is to live in Canada.

I live right at the border and go to Canada A LOT, it is our nearest city (Montreal) If you live in northern Vermont or Northern New York, Montreal IS your city. It is great! We love it. Alla was anxious to get her green card ...SO SHE COULD GO TO CANADA!

We have almost NO illegal Canadians, they do not want to leave. Why would they? It really is a nice place, not that here is not a nice place, just nothing there to run away from.

Really, dude, take your birth certificate and head up there. They will say "Welcome Home" (or "Bienvenue a Canada") depends where you enter

Edited December 19, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[Susita 175]

What am I supposed to do? Besides going to Canada with nothing. This just isn't fair.

I have a close friend in a somewhat similar situation, her mother brought her here from Poland when she was a baby on a tourist visa & they never left. Right or wrong, that's how it happened and it's not her fault. Anyway, she's in the same predicament and is pretty much stuck.

She has been given the same advice as you, by an immigration attorney. Go back to Poland (which at the moment is currently not possible for her to do, being that she cannot speak, read or write properly in Polish and has no money or family left there to help her. She would be homeless).

Being that you only have to go to Canada, I think you have an advantage because you can easily secure employment somewhere as you already know the language. Imagine, going home to a country that you haven't seen since you were 1 year-old & not being able to communicate with anyone. Best of luck to you. I hope something works out for you.

[Boiler 45,525]

She has been given the same advice as you, by an immigration attorney. Go back to Poland (which at the moment is currently not possible for her to do, being that she cannot speak, read or write properly in Polish and has no money or family left there to help her. She would be homeless).

Millions of people come to the US not speaking English etc etc.

So very possible.

And if she is caught, well the timing option has gone away.

[Susita 175]

Millions of people come to the US not speaking English etc etc.

So very possible.

And if she is caught, well the timing option has gone away.

Hey, I see what you're saying. I was just telling the OP he's lucky to know the language and be able to secure some kind of employment there with less of a struggle than most.

[hikergirl 277]

Not that it will be an easy thing for him to cross the border into Canada either. To obtain a Canadian Passport he needs more than just his birth certificate, he requires documents to support his identity, none of which he would have.

He also has none of the documentation required by CBSA to cross at a Land Border.

Canada at one point (1996 study) was 4th by country of origin for illegal immigrants in the US.

Edited December 20, 2011 by hikergirl

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Not that it will be an easy thing for him to cross the border into Canada either. To obtain a Canadian Passport he needs more than just his birth certificate, he requires documents to support his identity, none of which he would have.

He also has none of the documentation required by CBSA to cross at a Land Border.

Canada at one point (1996 study) was 4th by country of origin for illegal immigrants in the US.

As I said, I live at the border and they do catch illegals here. They come from Canada but they are not Canadians.

When the US recently lifted restrictions for Haitans, many French speaking Haitians that had immigrated to Canada flooded across and headed south to claim they were refugees of the earthquake. Likewise many Chinese. Chinese is the second most commonly spoken language in Montreal behind French. English comes in forth.

Recently, Quebec claims they are having a problem with Americans illegally working in Quebec!

He IS a Canadian citizen, he ought to be able to show that somehow. He has a birth certificate and needs some form of ID to verify he is that guy. I find it difficult to believe he has NOTHING. School ID? Old passport? Anything?

I also believe that CSBA could verify his identity. It may take a while, but I believe they could.

[LostCanadian 1]

I really don't have any form of ID other than an OLD high school photo ID card. Possible to get pictures/records from an elementary school in Canada?

[EAbbas 213]

I really don't have any form of ID other than an OLD high school photo ID card. Possible to get pictures/records from an elementary school in Canada?

Why don't you contact the place where you were born in Canada and obtain your birth certificate? Hospital records anything?

[david'sgirl 134]

[Visa expired in 2003 and since then we are still here but now my family is broke (make just enough money to make ends meet). My parents insist on staying here forever and never returning to Canada because of the weather. They are lucky enough to have at least a Social Security card so they can get jobs, and loans.. ]

If your parents have social security cards I am assuming that at some point they ajdusted status and became either permanent residents or naturalized. Have you applied for change of status for yourself? You probably cannot afford an attorney but you can contact USCIS and ask some questions.

I don't understand the suggestions for you to move to a country you have not been back to since you were a small child. I do think you need more help than you are likely to get on any website. before you make a rash decision which could affect your future you need to find out what your options are from the government's point of view not another poster. The suggestion about applying for your birth certificate would be a start. Good luck to you.