With everything in the news recently about Donald Trump, his view of illegal immigrants and what plans politicians have to fix this issue, it is easy to oversee the aspect of legal immigrants and just how hard it can be for them too. The numerous problems my family and I have had to undergo because gaining permanent residency for a person who has lived here five years already is close to impossible.
Many may not know that, while a family waits for a green card in order to stay in this country, if a child is to turn 21 in that time, then that child is therefore no longer eligible for said green card. This country no longer sees that child as a dependent anymore and classifies them as not a part of the family. This scary but true fact is what has caused many families heartache and anguish over the years.
It is because of the court case Scialabba v. Cuellar de Osorio that this aging out situation even came about in the first place. These children are forced to return to their place of citizenship and pushed into a different category than the one that they had originally applied for their green card in. This is unacceptable.
According to lasvegassun.com, if a child is moved into this other category, some may have to wait up to twenty years to gain residency, while their parents and younger siblings may be able to live here for as long as they wish. Even if this 21-year-old were to attend school here and gain a student visa, the government assumes that they are here merely to gain an education and not to stay here with their family - this means out of state fees and disadvantages of being seen as an international student, when in reality, they should have the right to stay here already.
Even with assistance from the Child Status Protection Act, the child has to be eligible under many circumstances, and each step can take a long time for them to process. Yes, it can help, but it does not resolve the issue. Even legally gaining a green card without any of these problems can take years. Aging out should not have to mean that person is no longer a part of a family and no longer a part of the green card process. The dictionary definition of family is "a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household." This includes all children, not just those who are still dependent on their parents in the eyes of the law.
Many families are resorting to desperate measures in order to keep their children in this country. Whether it be keeping them here illegally and hidden from the law, or continuing to get them an education and spend thousands so they can keep their student visa, families are doing anything they can to bide their time. It isn't as if their countries of residency are horrible places necessarily either, but which parents want to have to send their child thousands of miles away because of a flaw in the American immigration system?
A petition that my family and I found and have signed is linked below. Whether this topic is a one you are passionate about or whether you just want to give legal immigrants who call America home a way to stay here, signing this petition could help countless families stay together.
