Adjustment of Status - Childhood Arrival

[America1 3]

So guys, Im 16 years old and I live in Texas. I been out of status since 2011; My workers permit was denied renewal. I came to the US in 2003; basically I qualify for the new Childhood arrival program. I'm starting college later this year and it's a pain in the but. I really need to drive and I've been driving but I get paranoid. I went to drivers ED back in 2010, but wasn't able to get a drivers permit because my workers permit wasn't "valid for more than 6 months", I was a week late. Long story short...What do you think of this Childhood arrival thing? I really just want opinions. I did the application and it looks like they will know every single thing about you and it might backfire, after two years they might just use it against you to deport you.It really destroys me, how I cannot be a free man in a country that I only know. The sad part is, I was about to be born in America but my mom decided to leave 3 months before I was born and she regrets it everyday. I just have no one to talk to about my problems, some of my close friends know, but they never will understand because they're citizens and they don't even know what a workers permit is...They don't need to know because they are teenagers and just doing what a regular teenager does, not care but I can't do that. I didn't do anything wrong...I love the United States. Today I went to the lawyers to file my childhood arrival file, I gave him my passport, expired texas ID, School Transcripts/ID's. He is charging me $1,100 not including the $465 fee. After my mom paid, I discovered many lawyers are doing it for $500-$700. Every dollar counts, nobody understands how hard it is to make money in the position that me and my family are in. What should I do..?

[Xanax 349]

I'm not sure I understand your question.

[Malagasy 4]

If the lawyer hasn't filed the form, let the lawyer file the form so you can get your EAD (work permit) and with that you can get a Driver's License. Remember you already had a work permit so the government already has all of your information.

Personally I support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and believe it will help numerous young people in your position. So many want to drive, work, and go to college but can't given their circumstances. Now that will change and the young people will have the opportunity to contribute and experience life the way their friends and neighbors can. Try not to worry about 2 years from now - just live in the present, stay out of trouble, and make your mom proud.

[asdfg 18]

You will do what you will do.

I am not a lawyer and do not advise anyone what to do about their legal issues. I only voice my individual opinion.

In my opinion it would be wise to wait until after November before applying for DA.

First of all, the program has just started and no one has any idea how it works. 3 months down the road more regulations are likely to come and at least there will be some understanding of the process from applicants perspective.

Second, DA is not a law, it's an executive action. Just as easily as Obama ordered it, if the contender wins the next election it could be reversed. If Obama stays in WH chances are this program can be extended another 4 years , but even that is questionable. If enough Senators and Representatives ,who are strongly against DA, win the seats in November, then they can pass a law to explicitly outlaw the DA. If Obama is still a President he can veto it unless overruled by super-majority, but no one can tell now how it will unfold in reality.

The more rational approach would be to wait until after November elections and then make a decision to apply or not to apply based on the political climate and results of the next election.

There is a range of possibilities and anyone who is not in legal status must understand that this country has sovereign power and may decide either: to grant DA and later full amnesty to all applicants or it may swiftly change the course and remove anyone and everyone found to be removable.

[America1 3]

Xanax: I didn't have a strong question, I just wanted an opinion, I just had to make an account on this forum and say something. Thanks for reading though.

Malagasy: Thanks so much, and really thanks for supporting the Deferred Action. I will stay out of trouble! The only trouble I had was a ticket. My friend was driving and I was the passenger, the cop pulls us over and says both of you guys didn't have a seatbelt on. I promise to God, I had the seatbelt on, but he still gave me the ticket and my mom told me not to fight it because I was out of status, she was afraid; so I just paid the ticket ($130). But the driver is fighting the ticket because, well..he is a citizen! If I was a citizen, I would not pay for the ticket, I don't care if I had to pay the lawyer more than the ticket, it's the principle. If I had the seatbelt on, I don't deserve the ticket.

asdfg: REALLY GOOD POINT! You are thinking about the possibilities in the future. Who do you think is going to win the election? A lot of people I know don't like Obama; one of my bestfriends that just turned 18; he said he will vote for Obama, for me, so I can have a workers permit. Let's see how it turns out...The funny thing is, when I was in status, I was just a kid, and now I'm older...Need a drivers license, need to get to college...I graduated High School this June. Every time I hit bad luck, I was about to be born in this country! But my mom left; she said I never expected to come back to US but I regret it. They came back for my education.

Oh and I also have a Social Security Number...But to work, you need a workers permit also

Edited August 18, 2012 by America1

[Old_Dog_Barking 36]

There are a lot of advocacy centers around the US helping people in your situation to file for the DA program; you don't really need a lawyer. Here is a list of free legal help providers in the state of TX; give them a call and they might be able to refer you to the appropriate center. If it's still possible, cancel the contract you had with the greedy lawyer you hired.

Just a personal opinion, I would file for the DA if I was in your situation.

[Darnell 8,478]

well, you made it through some schooling -

so I have to ask ..

why in the world do you think you need an attorney ??

All of the instructions are readable...

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

So guys, Im 16 years old and I live in Texas. I been out of status since 2011; My workers permit was denied renewal. I came to the US in 2003; basically I qualify for the new Childhood arrival program. I'm starting college later this year and it's a pain in the but. I really need to drive and I've been driving but I get paranoid. I went to drivers ED back in 2010, but wasn't able to get a drivers permit because my workers permit wasn't "valid for more than 6 months", I was a week late. Long story short...What do you think of this Childhood arrival thing? I really just want opinions. I did the application and it looks like they will know every single thing about you and it might backfire, after two years they might just use it against you to deport you.It really destroys me, how I cannot be a free man in a country that I only know. The sad part is, I was about to be born in America but my mom decided to leave 3 months before I was born and she regrets it everyday. I just have no one to talk to about my problems, some of my close friends know, but they never will understand because they're citizens and they don't even know what a workers permit is...They don't need to know because they are teenagers and just doing what a regular teenager does, not care but I can't do that. I didn't do anything wrong...I love the United States. Today I went to the lawyers to file my childhood arrival file, I gave him my passport, expired texas ID, School Transcripts/ID's. He is charging me $1,100 not including the $465 fee. After my mom paid, I discovered many lawyers are doing it for $500-$700. Every dollar counts, nobody understands how hard it is to make money in the position that me and my family are in. What should I do..?

You could have filed it yourself. The lawyer simply collects your information (which you have to provide for them), transcribes it to the official forms, combines that with the required evidence (which you also have to provide), and mails it to USCIS. Basically, you just paid an attorney $1100 for 30 minutes of work any secretary could have done. Each form has instructions. All you have to do is follow them.

Please don't be offended by the following. It's only my opinion...

This deferred action program is a political ploy by the President to garner favor with Hispanic voters. He couldn't care less about illegal immigrants, children or otherwise. There were two immigration reform bills which were proposed while the Democrats still held both houses of Congress. The President didn't actively support either one of them. Both died in committee. The DREAM Act was taken up by Congress in 2009 and 2010. The President didn't actively campaign for it. The Republicans killed it with the threat of a filibuster. Senators Durbin and Lugar reintroduced it the following day. Only two other senators co-sponsored it, and it was summarily defeated. The President didn't put his weight behind finding a compromise bill (remember that one of the Senators who introduced it was a Republican) because he was too busy pushing for his flagship health care act, which ended up being enormously unpopular.

In the meantime, the Obama administration was deporting people at an annual average rate of 400,000 - more than double the rate during the Bush administration, and more than any previous administration in history. In late 2011 the polls showed that more than 56% of Hispanics disapproved of the President's record on immigration, and especially the accelerated deportations. If the President actually cared about immigration reform and the plight of illegal immigrants who were brought to the US as children then he could have instituted his deferred action program the day he took office. He did it now, in an election year, because he realized he was in trouble with one of his strongest demographics. Most Hispanics vote Democrat, so there wasn't really a risk they'd vote for Romney. The risk was they they'd stay home on election day.

I don't trust this President to follow through on any promise he's made. He won't care about Hispanic votes anymore after the election. If you enroll in the deferred action program then you are voluntarily entering a system that has no path to legalization. At the same time, if they pull the plug on the program then DHS will know who you are and where you live.

Look, you're 16 years old. You don't start accumulating unlawful presence until you're 18, and you won't incur an automatic ban from the US until 180 days later. Do you have any family member that's eligible to submit a petition for you? If it's at all possible, it would probably be better to focus on a path that will eventually result in a green card rather than one that's guaranteed not to.

[America1 3]

Guys, my dad was telling me to file it alone, I opened the form before I went to the lawyer. It looks really easy, I mean everything was clear. But the situation that I'm in, I was so afraid of messing up, I just don't trust my self anymore. If you guys were in my spot, you guys would be really paranoid, you just don't want to mess up. I was just scared, this is my only opportunity...and I just had to do it professionally. Kind of sucks, my mom paid $1,500 for her deferred action under a law..(it starts with a M, memo law, I don't know something like that). The lawyers assistant got the file ready and sent it in April...They never replied to my moms request. Now the lawyer was like he will re-send the file for my mom and he will state that, her son is eligible for the deferred action as well...I mean, I kinda know almost everything about my case...We had 3 lawyers since we came to America, and we have spent over 30 grand...maybe more. My parents arn't fluent in English either. Everything is bad luck. Just to add it in their, we had a Green Card interview when I was in like 6th grade, but we got denied and they kept out I-94's. We came here on a business visa, but our first lawyer didnt change the visa to a different one.

JimVaPhuong, I will turn 18 in 2013. I also knew that there will be a ban on me once I turn 18. I have cousins that are citizens, but there is no way they would file for us, the reason my mom left America is because she got in a fight with them. Basically what happen was, they told my mom "I will not let you have the benefit of your baby being born in America" so they left, because they were living at their house. They never realized they would regret it forever.

THERE IS NO WAY I CAN GO BACK TO MY COUNTRY. I DONT KNOW IT. I JUST CANT! My friend, who is a citizen, just visited there; he was like "bro..there is no way you can live there, it's so different". I mean, I'm just a teenager facing all these problems, I have my dad ready to go back, but Im saying no. My dad has never worked under anyone, when he was in his native country, he always owned a store. These past 9 years he has been struggling. Many deaths have occured in the family, but he can't leave the country. Now my mom and my dad both have expired licenses. Im so confused..The only good fix is if I get married to a American Citizen, and I can do that, because I entered the US legally.

Also, Jim, you are correct, Obama might not give a #######; he also did do this in the election year. But look at everyone; there so happy they don't know what there getting into. Im just afraid, I'll have to live in a country that I don't even know. But again, Romney doesn't support us.

[America1 3]

They should change the Drivers License rule, I believe everyone deserves to have that...Maybe even a ID. It destroys when some asks me for my ID...My heart drops, I usually just give them my expired one, but It's really old.

[Old_Dog_Barking 36]

Besides all your tribulations, you sound like a strong young man. Don't give up, you will turn your family bad luck around. Praying for you.

[America1 3]

Thanks so much Old Dog Barking...It's really hard on me and my family. I just hope something happens...Really appreciate it!

[asdfg 18]

America1,

I am in MD and there is a lawyer in CA who doesn't need me to advertise his services.

His name is Carl Shusterman. He normally charges $450 for a consultation, but he currently offers free consultation for those who want to apply for DA. He is former INS trial attorney. You may want to ask him about your options (it's free, take it or leave it).

Edited August 21, 2012 by asdfg

[Hypnos 6,576]

As probably one of the best immigration lawyers in the country right now, if Shusterman was offering me a free consult you can be damn sure I'd take it.

[America1 3]

Im working with George Willy from Texas, he is known very much in Immigration, my file is almost filed, one or two more days and it's shipped! Thanks for the advice, really appreciate it.