between a rock and a hard place

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Hello, I am a jamaican citzen, after my father died in 1992- i was 4 yrs. old-, my mother emigrated to the US. My younger brother and I spent the rest of our years in jamaica living with our grandmother until 1997, at this time i was 10 yrs. old. I have gone through the American school system, graduated and recieved honorable mentions on the sats. Now this is where my "coming to America" saga gets complicated. To my knowledge, when I had first come to the US in 1997 I came on a b-1 visa, my mother had disclosed to my brother and I however that because she did not want to sends us back to Jamaica we fell out of status. Fast forward to 2004- at this time I am a sophomore in high school, after discussion with an aunt-in-law who married a USC, my mother discovered a guy in NY who we felt would jump start our journey to becoming citizens- this guy charged us $5,000 a piece to get our legal documents, we went to the Jamaican consulate in NY got our passports renewed and even got our employment authorization cards and ssn cards. When the card expired-which was only valid for 1 yr we were not allowed to renew them however, my mother spoke to a lawyer who told her she had to send in forms to reveal what this guy filed us under when we got our documents, so far our search has been futile.
(Sorry to be writing so much but I want to tell as much as I know)
After getting my EAC, i have worked several jobs and have filed tax returns under my ssn. After I graduated high school I had aspirations to go to college but could not because I am ineligible for government aide, my guidance cunselor recommended an HSBCU called Knoxville College, in Knoxville Tennessee. I went to this school for 2 yrs, and found that it was a dispicable waste of time given the fact that this school is unaccredited and recieves no funding.
I am now 19 and reside in Knoxville, Tennessee, and I recently lost my job which I have held for the last year, i am facing eviction and cannot get a job because I do not have a Tennesse state ID card. I went to the DMV yesterday, and left disheartened because my jamaican passport was invalid and my ssn card has a "DHS authorization" stamp on it.
What am I to do? Should I join the military? I have a GF that I have been with for the past year, we have discussed marriage but as I mentioned b4 I'm only 19 and right now marriage is a last resort.

I thank you in advance for reading through this narrative but I need help- you can email me

THANX

Welcome!

Joining the military will not get you a legal status. That is something the DREAM Act would accomplish. If you get married you will not get your papers for at least several months so it will not solve your immediate problems.

How did you get your EAC?

The guy we went to in NY- had applied for us, after charging us 5,000 each. It was only valid for a year

Welcome, i'll help you track this guy down maybe he'll help me too? LOL i'll pay 5,000 for one year of legal status anyday.

Welcome. It looks like you have a very tough situation.

Have you considered moving to New York or other cities with large immigrant populations? I can only think of Atlanta as being the closest large city with a significant immigrant population. The reason I say this is because it is quite easy to obtain a service sector job in the restaurant/food industry in these cities. The pay won't be great, in fact it'll most likely suck but it helps to pay the bills and expenses.

Your immediate concern is obtaining a job, so see if you can obtain a minimum wage job in the service/construction sector or other labor intensive sectors in Knoxville. I'm not very familiar with the demographics of Knoxville but if they have a large enclave of Hispanics or other immigrant populations, you can certainly try there.

After that you should do your best to obtain a college degree. If you have to go to community college and even take only 1 or 2 classes, it is worth it to work towards your college degree.

Unfortunately, you can't join the military. The military only accepts U.S. citizens and permanent residents, i.e. green card holders. There is a very small number of illegal immigrants in the military but thats because of intentional or accidental oversight of the recruiters.

The DREAM Act would benefit you greatly but your immediate available path to citizenship is through marriage.

Welcome. Lol, right, I would pay that annually. Like rent. Lol

This happened to me too. You got to make the best of it though, I still use my ssn and have since apply to get a loan. What happens is, I think anyways, anyone can apply for an adjustment of status, your paperwork is then sent to the immigration department and waits review. While this is taking place, the department allows you to have a ssn and an employment authorization card for one year. However, if you have no means of obtaining a visa, which will allow you to adjust your status, your case will be dismissed. I person in NY did it to me, for a large amount of money too, and what ended up happening was that, like I said, I got a ssn and have since used it to continue my education. The card clearly states that you need proof or an id from INS, in order to make it valid. Larger urban cities sometimes have the possibility of allowing you to "obtain an id" and employers need the labor so they don't really check. I was able to obtain a legal driver's licence and state ID, which eventually will expire, but hopefully then the DREAM Act and immigration reform will be a reality. I

I MUST stress that the process is a scam, because in order to change or adjust your "illegal" status, one needs to have an application with immigration and be waiting for a visa to be available, once this happens, then you can apply to adjust your status.

Always consult with an immigration lawyer, and please anyone feel free to corroborate any discrepancies in my statements.

Welcome!

I have the same dilemma as you. I had an EAD for about 1-2 years and already had a SSN from back in the day when my family came here when I was 2. I'm also 19 and my BF, a citizen, and I have been talking about marriage. And, just like you [see a pattern? ], I'm really not ready for that type of commitment. So, I totally understand how you feel.

We'll make it through buddy!

Welcome again!