Have been illegal here since the age of 12...Sister is becoming a Citizen...Pls Help!

thiagofl84

New Member
Hi guys how's it going? My case is kind of different from everyone else's (I guess)...I have been in the United States since the age of 12, I moved here with my sister so I could go to school, learn English and have a better education etc etc...I was in High School in the process of applying for my Student Visa and unfortunately 9/11 happened. I heard some rumors that the US Immigration was declining a lot of Student Visas, due to the terrorists on 9/11 having such. I was young and wasn't really sure what to do, my sister wasn't a big help either. She has her Green Card for about 4 years now (going on 5) and she is going to apply for her Citizenship, which from what i heard can help me to become legal in the US. I have been in two law offices in the past month and I was told completely different things, and I am more lost than ever. One of the lawyers told me that there is a waiting list of 11 years for the people who will receive their Green Cards through a family petition and the other lawyer didn't mention anything like that. One of the lawyers also told me that even though I am illegal here I do qualify for the family petition, and the other lawyer said there is nothing I can really do about my situation but marriage...I am not willing to put myself through all that illegal stuff...I wanna do it right. Now my questions are: am I eligible to receive my Green Card through my sister when she becomes a Citizen even though I have been illegal here since the age of 12? Is there such a long waiting list of 2-11 years for Citizen's family petition? Is there any other method I could acquire my Green Card as of right now even though my country doesn't qualify as a refusee? What can I do to fix my status in this country on my own?
I have been strugling with depression for quite a while now, I speak English more than my native tongue, I am seriously scared of going back to my native country because all I have is here (friends, lifestyle). I am not able to work or do anything with my life, I am stuck in my sister's home all day taking depression pills and I don't think that is a future for me, i have so many goals in my life and not being legal here is taking it all away. I would appreciate if someone knowledgeable with Immigration Law would help me out with this matter. Whoever is reading this post, I appreciate your time for looking through this post. Thank You.
 
Sorry to hear about your dire situation. While I don't know the legal possibilities, here is an answer to your 'waiting' list question from the USCIS.GOV website. Look at the processing dates of 'Form I-130 Petition for alien relative.' I am seeing receipt dates of 1998 in the the categories you are talking about being processed now. That's why this takes so long. Sorry I don't have much better news for this.

https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/Processtimes.jsp?SeviceCenter=California
 
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