<p>An undocumented student I know got accepted into the prestigious Cornell school of Architecture but is having some confusion over the paperwork he is being required to complete. </p>
<p>As far as he told me it seems like the school is treating him as an international student, sending papers for him to apply for a F-1 student visa. </p>
<p>Because he received a scholarship, he is also being required to fill some other papers that only F-1 students are able to fill out.</p>
<p>This student was brought with his parents under a tourist visa 6 years ago and overstayed. He plans to talk things out with the school as soon as possible. I am posting this here in hopes that someone might now something about how Cornell treats undocumented students.</p>
<p>Don't be surprised if your friend starts to get all kinds of things revoked. The sponsors of scholarships and FA may not care for this situation at all.</p>
<p>Have you noticed national contests like "Win the new Ford Explorer! Open to legal residents 18 and over..."</p>
<p>That's to ensure that undocumented folks don't win. The scholarship and even the spot in the class may be vulnerable here...</p>
<p>Well, I think he explained on the app why he took a year off. He mentioned it was because of immigration issues. But as far as I know the FA was determined from W-2's and Income Tax Returns his family provided. What I think is that the school may be treating him as an international student because he put he was a citizen of another country in his application.</p>
<p>I will let you know how it turns out. He will try to personally talk with the Registrar soon.
I have read somewhere that Cornell is like Harvard, MIT, and other schools. They do accept undocumented students need blind. However, their resources for scholarships is kind of limited, exactly because I think they put the undocumented students in the international students category for aid.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure (as in I've-done-this-process-myself sure) he has to get the F-1 visa from the US embassy in his home country, which he probably - unless we're talking mexico, canada, cuba here - will have a hard time getting back to without consequences. </p>
<p>If caught as an overstayer when trying to cross the border out, he might face a ban on entering the US for a very long time.</p>
<p>If he's not a permanent resident of the United States, he can study ** legally ** in the US under a (non-resident alien) F-1 visa (as most of us internationals do). However, the visa has to be issued outside the United States in a US consulate or embassy (not necessarily in his home country though). The problem is that, when he applies for the visa overseas, he will be asked to fill out a form listing, among other things, all countries where he lived in the past and is currently living today. If he lies, he risks getting caught. On the other hand, if he tells the truth, the US consular officers will find out he has been staying illegally in the US for the past 6 years, in which case he will barred by law from applying to a visa and will be refused entry in the United States. In fact, as someone said above, he will be caught as an overstayer even before that, when he tries to leave the States and doesn't have a valid I-94 form stamped on his passport.</p>
<p>In other words, he and his family broke the law and now have to live with the consequences.</p>
<p>this is really starting to sound like a catch-22 situation, you might get eventually deported if you stay, and, if you leave, you're aren't allowed back</p>
<p>so if that person gets a college degree, isn't there a chance he might eventually gets to be a citizen?</p>
<p>Bruno, I think the question was whether the Ivies take on illegal immigrants as students and perhaps even give aid. This might be possible, and I welcome the decision as it brings people who usually have no or little legal safety, voice, etc into the heart of society.</p>
<p>lordofthedark, no, not in the US. Canada is very lenient on giving citizenship status to people with M.A's, however, and after having been in the US for a long time there may be various green card options available to you. However, they are all very complex and I would really suggest going outside of CC for something like this.</p>
<p>If he was legal in the first place, he wouldn't have this issue. Don't get me wrong, I have compassion for people who want/have to come to the US illegally, and I would do the same thing if I were them, but this person should try to find a better way to do this.</p>
<p>Look in the LA Times archives for an article about undocumented students at the UC's within the past two years. (Sadly, not a pretty picture for these kids.) I believe that the article also had some information about policies at private colleges.</p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that this would be the first time Cornell has seen a situation like this and would not be sympathetic. It is not, after all, this child's fault that his parents brought him to US under these circumstances. What was he going to do at 12 year old, swim home? I wonder if Cornell's legal counsel has dealt with this before and might have some advice and assistance to offer -- although I would have a lawyer rather than the student approach them initially given the magnitude of risk this young person faces.</p>
<p>Finally, if the student lives in a congessional district with a representative who has been openly supportive of undocumented workers in his or her district, it might also make sense for the student's lawyer to see if the congressperson could help.</p>
<p>OP -- So glad you are helping this student. Not to be paranoid, but please don't give any info that might identify the kid. (I am secretly hoping that s/he's in at Dartmouth or some other unidentified college and you've used Cornell for cover.)</p>
<p>Thank your for your information. The student has already found a lawyer to examine his situation, and the school will be contacted as soon as possible.</p>