Panic!

Hello there, my name's Danni and I just joined this portal.

Why? Because it has finally dawned on me that in 5 weeks I will be starting my senior year of high school... which means I have to start applying to colleges.

This is my story:
I was born in Mexico and lived there until I was 11 when my parents suddenly decided they wanted to move to the US of A. We acquired tourist visas and came to live with some relatives in Texas in October 2002 (meaning in 3 more months I will have been living here for 6 years!). I have attended public school in the state of Texas since 6th grade and will soon be graduating (as previously stated) out of one. I am classified as an illegal immigrant of the country because I have overstayed my tourist visa but I don't see another future for me after high school that is not college.
But how do I make it happen? The Dream Act sounds like a great idea, but when is it going to be passed? Is Texas the only state that has HB 1403 / SB 1528 or do other states have similar laws? Are there any other laws out there that will allow me to attend college with financial aid even in my situation? In short, what am I supossed to do?!

I feel so un-informed about all of this and therefore need help. Any type of suggestions, comments, web-links, or anything that could help me could be much appreciated.

Thank you!!

Welcome to the forum!

If you graduate from a Texas high-school then you qualify for in-state tuition (within Texas). There are other states that allow for in-state tuition for students in our situation, however, ALL of them require that you attend and graduate from a high-school within that state. Your BEST bet is to STAY in Texas, graduate from HS and then attend college within TX.

TX is one of the only, if not only, state that DOES allow for some type of financial aid. Other members from Texas will be able to fill you in on what exactly that is.

Check out the rest of the forum as there is already quite a bit on information available to you!

Good luck and please stick around!

Thank you for responding!

But as I understand for NORMAL situations some of the states surrounding Texas also offer in-state tuitions for students with a certain GPA or some other requirement. Does that apply to me? Or not?

Well if you do well enough, you can get scholarships from Universities. Another option is taking out a loan, or going to an affordable college. The CUNY system here in NYC is quite affordable, about 5k per year, I think.

euplo it is best u stay in Texas since you will obtain in-state tuiton once you graduate from high school. I also recommend you get a recommended diploma so you can be elible to obtain the Texas grant, they pay 735 dollars+ per semester if ur in a Community college(thats almost all of the tuiton with 12 hrs!!) and 2,000+ for a university in the texas system.

Haha, yeah I'm in Washington and we have similar laws.
BTW, I'm exactly in the same boat as you, except I came here in 06.
And by the way, we're not illegal. We're simply overstayed. And also, until we turn 18 1/2, we aren't committing a crime. If you haven't seen a lawyer yet, you may want to so they can tell you your own options because you actually have a chance.

Please check your facts on that. None of us have committed a crime, nor are we criminals. Immigration is a civil matter.

Does being an "overstay" make an undocumented person any better? NO, IT DOESN'T. If you don't have legal status in this country, you are an undocumented immigrant (aka illegal immigrant). Just because you overstayed doesn't give you some kind of higher status in the undocumented population. At the end of the day, if you entered the country through the southern or northern border without inspection OR if you came to this country on an airplane and were inspected and all that good stuff, we're in the SAME situation. You are still considered an illegal immigrant. (<--And I don't mean that in a derogatory way; it's simply the legal term in most statutes concerning immigration. Let's also not let that term degrade us as human beings.) None of us (unless you happen to live in one of the few states that allow us to get DLs) can drive or work legally. Many of us can't even attend college or tech school because of our situation. Overstaying a visa means nothing; to the antis and Americans who don't know much about immigration, you are still undocumented (or illegal) at the end of the day. Let's get off our damn high horse and stop this divisive behavior that exists.

I'm not picking a bone with you personally zJustice; you've just hit a major pet peeve of mine.

/endrant and /endhijackoforiginaltopic

And new member, welcome! Glad to have you here!

I totally agree with Hopeful. And yes, overstaying a visa still means you're undocumented/illegal.

Euphoricbliss I sent you a pm with all the information you need. Just read all the information on the student resources page. Talking to an advisor at the university you want to go also will help.

I agree overstaying a visa or sneaking across the border is no different when it comes to being "illegal". It does play a big part in some legalization processes like becoming a permanent resident from marriage. If you overstayed a visa you don't have to leave the country, while if crossed the border and weren't inspected you have to fill out a hardship waiver and hope it's accepted or go back to your birth country to complete the process.

zjustice make sure you aren't being tricked by a lawyer if he/she is providing you this information.