I suddenly became an Illegal Alien.. :( what does this mean for tertiary education?

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>I will very briefly introduce only the academic specs so far as a 10th grader </p>

<p>-I am a top student in my public high school in the East Coast(top 1%)
(around 500 student in the grade)
-I have taken 3 AP as sophomore, two 5 and one 4
(will take 5 AP junior year)
three 800 SAT II so far (Chem,Math I,World history)</p>

<p>BUT.. I have recently found out that I have become an Illegal Alien.....</p>

<p>short explanation about what has happened.
I came from the U.S from Asia 100% legally (applying for everything, filing out every paper, and following all the law) at the age 10 on F1 Student Visa along with my family... and now 5-6 years later we got rejected twice from USCIS (apparently according to the letter my father unknowingly failed to stay enrolled in an university untill the I-20 was issued by like 2 weeks...) (BUT the thing is the lawyer said it was no problem...... and was able to apparently repeal the decision the first time...) (immigration fraud... ??? ).. our lawyer told us that there is technically no way to save our immigration status and we are doomed to be illegals..no way now to earn a green card by senior year... </p>

<p>What could this mean for college admissions? can colleges distinguish between International students and illegal aliens? Also being an Asian lowers chances of acceptance in to ivy league schools.... is there a significant difference in acceptance chances between Asian Americans and Foreign Asians? Also what sorts of scholarships or competition even allow illegal aliens to apply?? i.e. does Quest Bridge allow illegal alien application..?</p>

<p>I just am at a disbelief at how after all these years thinking I was going to be a legal permanent resident soon... just how quickly things have changed........ It is really scary, frustrating, and saddening to feel so hopeless and powerless to do anything... Is there literally anything I can do to improve my desperate situation??</p>

2

<p>What a nasty surprise! </p>

<p>See the last paragraph here for the eligibility requirements of Questbridge: [Who</a> Should Apply for the National College Match?](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/ncm-who-should-apply]Who”>QuestBridge | National College Match: Who Should Apply)</p>

<p>I assume you will need financial aid to attend college. That puts you into a very tricky position because you are currently not eligible for federal financial aid, and you might have trouble getting private student loans as well. Financial aid for international students is concentrated at the top private colleges, which may or may not admit undocumented immigrants. </p>

<p>Here are three things you should be doing right now:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Email some of the colleges you might consider and ask if they will consider undocumented students for admission. Some do, some don’t, but it’s generally not something that they can advertise on their website. Get a general impression of what your options are.</p></li>
<li><p>Find out if you are still eligible for in-state tuition at your public universities.</p></li>
<li><p>Talk to your lawyer and find out if you can apply for a F-1 student visa when you hit college. That would make you legal and get you a work permit. (Careful though. The student visa might help you in some aspects but it will <em>certainly</em> make you ineligible for in-state tuition.) </p></li>
</ul>

<p>

If you claim to be an international student, colleges are required by law to check and maintain a copy of your immigration papers. If you claim to be a US citizen, you won’t be able to apply for financial aid because that is processed through the government (via FAFSA), which can and will verify your citizenship claims. </p>

<p>Props for being proactive about your college options. Take care!</p>