Previous mistake on a College App
 

So, I spoke to my friend who is also a DACA recipient. She and her boyfriend are planning on getting married in a couple months. She inquired to me about the process and what forms to file. So, I showed her the websites that will help guide her for her AOS.

She contacted me a few days ago and she said she's planning on not applying for AOS for the meantime. I asked her why and she told me that when she was looking at the form one question asked "Have you ever claimed to be a US citizen?" She said she is scared about what she did to her college application 8 years ago. She said that one question from her college app ask about if she is a US citizen and she put yes. She said she was only 17 at the time. She was being petitioned by her step-mom (whom she's not really close with) and she thought that everything was okay since her step mom and her dad weren't telling her about anything regarding immigration. She thought that having a Green Card makes you a USC and that when she got her EAD during highschool, she thought that that was a GC. he only found out a year after starting college that the petitioned was denied (long story). She said the denial was actually before she was 17 as she only saw the letter of denial last year when she asked her dad about it. Her dad's reasoning was because she was still too young. Mind you I thought that that was a bad move by her parent.

I don't really know what to tell her. She said she want to adjust but she is just afraid on what to put on the form as she doesn't want to be in trouble. What should I tell her guys??

Re: Previous mistake on a College App
 

why are you asking here instead of going to a lawyer?
some of the people here barely know how to tie their shoes.

Re: Previous mistake on a College App
 

I just told her that. She's just scared and I feel bad.

Re: Previous mistake on a College App
 

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclope...eportable.html
Exceptions to a Finding of False Claims to U.S. Citizenship

The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 changed the rules on who may acquire or derive U.S. citizenship from their parents. While many people benefited from this legislation, some mistakenly assumed that they are U.S. citizens. To deal with this problem, Congress included an exception in the Act preventing deportation of children who make false claims to citizenship under the following circumstances:

1) the child’s parents were U.S. citizens by birth or naturalization

2) the child made the false claim when he or she was under age 18

3) the child was a U.S. permanent resident prior to age 16, and

4) the child reasonably believed, when making the false claim to citizenship, that he or she actually was a U.S. citizen.

Re: Previous mistake on a College App
 

So long story short, she doesn't qualify for anything. Claiming US citizenship is a felony.

The 1996 IIRIRA act does not allow any exception to a false claims if it was done after 1996.

Re: Previous mistake on a College App
 

She did it before 17. Also it wasn't for a student loan. I don't think that applies here?

Re: Previous mistake on a College App
 

I asked her about that part and she said she didn't ask for any student loan or any financial aid. She said her tuition was paid via tuition payment plan. She said that was her only mistake, filling out that part in a paper form college app.

Re: Previous mistake on a College App
 

So, does this apply to all DACA recipients who falsely claimed that they were citizens on their college app?? Will this automatically disqualify most dreamers when adjusting status through future laws of pathway to citizenship because I bet this question will be ask in their application as well. I'm pretty sure that she is not the only Daca recipient who did that and won't be the last.

Re: Previous mistake on a College App
 

She is fine and she should proceed with AOS:

https://cliniclegal.org/resources/bi...im-citizenship

If she still feels scared then have a lawyer guide her through the process.

Re: Previous mistake on a College App
 

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely let her know about it.