Hi
I am currently living in Texas. I entered to the country legally with a tourist visa, unfortunately it expired on 2015, now I am going to my senior year. Is there the possibility I can apply for scholarship and keep studying without a Social Security Number, or apply for a student visa.
I would really appreciate the help.
Thank you!
You can if the school will accept you, but you aren’t eligible for any federal aid, and some states do not give state money to non-citizens. Many private scholarships require citizenship or a green card.
You might ask about DACA or other programs. Talk to your guidance counselor. You are not the only student in Texas in this situation.
Some private schools will accept top students without documentation; some will meet full need as well (with endowment/donated money).
Would it be at all possible for you to discuss your case with an immigration lawyer? You have a small window of opportunity around your 18th birthday to correct your status in the US.
US immigration law does not blame minors for immigration violations; for example, minors under 18 do not accrue “unlawful presence” for the purpose of triggering a bar on acquiring a US visa or entering the country. However, once you turn 18, continuing to stay in the US despite being being out of status will be considered your own fault and may make it difficult-to-impossible to ever acquire legal status again.
Which is not to say that this path would be easy. To qualify for a non-immigrant visa (like a student visa), you need a residence in another country and convince a US consular officer that you intend to return there after your temporary stay in the US. That might necessitate living abroad for a little while before you return to the US. (E.g. could you attend college in another country and then re-join your family in the US?)
To qualify for immigrant status (i.e. permanent residence, green card), you would need sufficient ties to the US. Marriage to a US citizen would do.
Alternatively, you may consider applying for asylum. If you have a real case, you should be doing that anyway. Even if you don’t have a strong case… There’s currently a multi-year backlog on the processing of asylum applications. After your application is filed, you can legally stay in the US until your case gets adjudicated. Furthermore, you can apply for a work permit half a year after you file for asylum. Might be worth considering as a temporary solution while you work on getting a green card through a different route (such as marriage).
https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/asylum/affirmative-asylum-scheduling-bulletin
https://www.uscis.gov/i-589
I wish you all the best!
Texas considers you instate if you graduated from a Texas high school. So, you can go to college.
The difficulty will be paying for it (you won’t qualify for for financial aid beside the instate tuition debate) so applying to a college you can commute to is probably the best situation for you.
If you’re a TOP student (32+ACT, high GPA), elite colleges such as Rice and Pomona will consider your application without checking your status and may provide sufficient financial aid.
Then comes the question: what happens after college? You won’t be allowed to use your degree to work.
Try to find an immigration lawyer and see what your options are.