@MYOS1634 How would I work with Questbridge. My understanding was I had to apply for it in the Early rounds to be a finalist.
@HKimPOSSIBLE Have you looked into University of New Mexico? It is friendly to DACA students and I don’t remember your stats, but am pretty sure you would qualify for in-state tuition and Pell. Total in-state cost is about 18K per year, which would be less than Illinois. IF you are NMF or NMSF, it would be free.
Pretty sure it has rolling admissions, so you might still be able to apply for the fall.
Berea is also a great, rigorous option. It is ranked fairly highly per USNWR, in the 60s, IIRC. It also has a very interesting culture with a good amount of international students.
@mamaedefamilia It looks like to qualify for in-state tuition, I would need to have taken 1 year in a NM secondary school or a GED from NM. I also believe Pell is strictly limited to Permanent Residents/Citizens.
Unfortunately, I did not score high enough on my NMSF to qualify if there was anything I’d qualify for. Thank you for the suggestions! It looks like I missed the bus to graduate in the lenient DACA friendly states.
@HKimPOSSIBLE Oops, sorry forgot that your status does not make you eligible for Pell. However, you would be eligible for the Amigo scholarship, I am pretty sure. It might still be beyond your means but cheaper than Illinois. Also don’t lose hope, you still have many options pending.
That’s great and it looks similar to the University of Alabama too. Definitely, an option for me if nothing comes through this year since it looks like their application for scholarships is closed.
@HKimPOSSIBLE Regents is closed but Amigo is probably still available. Call them on Monday and see if there are still funds if you want to explore this option. There is no separate application for Amigo, it’s automatic for stats. Best of luck to you and hang in there! Be sure to let us know how it turns out!
@mamaedefamilia Yikes. So I looked at the general tuition for out-of-state and looks like it’ll be around $18,000 with the Amigo scholarships per year; though next year I’ll have my green-card which should help close that gap.
It’s surprising how much a small piece of plastic can change.
If you are a male citizen of the RoK of draft age, you may be sent directly to military service when you get there.
Are you working with an immigration lawyer? I am concerned about the requirement to travel to S. Korea for the green card interview and getting back into the US. Make sure you have advance parole before you travel outside the US. https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1772/~/daca-approved-travel-to-u.s.-territories-without-advance-parole
Just saw @ucbalumnus ’ post. Yikes. Definitely work with a lawyer.
Once you have a green card, it is much easier. For one, you’d have a sure path to college. Pell + IMAP + Federal loans + work-study should be enough to cover tuition and fees at UIC while you live at home.
The above (minus IMAP) should also be about enough to cover room&board at schools where you get a full-tuition scholarship.
@ucbalumnus Yes I acknowledge that may be a problem. We are working with a very kind and generous immigration lawyer who said that this should not be a worry for us. I will turn 18 in middle/late July. Although I’m not exactly sure how this process works (my father and lawyer should know), I’m essentially guaranteed a return visa and the military service shouldn’t be an issue - this is probably the only thing in my process that I’m not completely sure on and can tell accurately.
Essentially this is the order:
- Receive an interview date (Preferrably before my brithday, but as long as it is 180 days within my 18th birthday, I will be fine)
- Go to an approved hospital for a health examination
- have my interview
- Obtain my return visa (which my father has said I should get almost immediately after the interview)
- Permanent Residency obtained (Most likely another step or two)
“Would any states have reciprocity with Illinois that might have better financial aid options for OP?”
Yes, but they’re all going to cost more than CC, so if CC is unaffordable, they’re unlikely to work without a ton of merit aid. Indiana State, for example, would cost less for an Illinois resident than UIUC, but we’re still talking about $20k or more per year.
Is the lawyer familiar with RoK military conscription issues?
Agree with the issue of military conscription for Korea. Even if you have a green card you’re obligated to do military service. And my understanding is that Korean military service is not so good. Unless you find your way to be a KATUSA.
@ucbalumnus He’s Korean himself too but other than that, he’s pretty familiar in this field.
And also thank you @HKimPOSSIBLE for this thread. I have until now equated DACA=Hispanic. And I despite great empathy for fellow humans from all countries and background. I was being narrowly focused. And I was wrong for that.
I was wrong and it’s more complicated than that.
It crosses all nationalities.
I do not condone illegal entry. But I understand the reasons. And support the children here like yourself. and fully support the DACA children receiving naturalization across the board.
You graduate and dm when your done. I’ll help you with a recommendation or in the job hunt.
@privatebanker Ah thank you very much! We didn’t come IN illegally, we just…may have…forgot when to return. In reality, though, we were supposed to renew our visa until my father’s green card petition (done by my AUNT back in early 2000 something) and then our lawyer messed something up YET took a lot of our money…so that was that. My dad had a small clothing business going in Evanston but had to close that down in 2008 since things got out of hand financially.
Another issue may be the recent announcement by Homeland Security that they are closing the 27 overseas offices that were set up for visas and immigration processing. I assume there was one in South Korea. This work will now be done back in the US and in the consulates in the foreign countries. This is the way immigration and visas used to be done before 9/11 and before Homeland security took over from the NIS. but it’s been 15 years and I’m sure there will be some changes to the way things are done.
I fear the appointments may not be as quick as they were. In the mid 2000’s (2005? 2006?) our neighbor had to return to Mexico because her name was nearing the top of the list for a green card. Her husband either had a green card or had become a citizen, her two children were born in the US so citizens, but I think she either entered illegally or had overstayed a visa, so she had to return to Mexico to gain legal entry into the US. They thought it would be a month or two. It was more than 8 months and then we moved so I don’t know how long it actually took.
Yikes. Our lawyer estimates around 3-4 months - our application is being processed in the United States (as we applied from here) I believe. Hopefully, this will be the case. It took us a long time to get the I-130 form processed so that I can be petitioned/apply for a green card, and our lawyer said it should be much quicker.
Alright. I’m receiving emails saying theyll not the update about my status to my application. Is this just procedure or are they really considering this (as in my decision hasnt been made yet).