Hey all. Looking for info

Hey.

At the age of 16 (I'm 19 in a week) I moved to Central Florida with my family. My parents own and run a successful construction company and my mother has the option of getting any job outside the company due to being granted a work permit.

My sister and I, however, do not. We are unable to work due to a lack of SSN and getting through school with one has been difficult. I graduated from High School here last May and I'm currently enrolled in Polk Community College where I am about to graduate either this summer or coming fall semester with my Associates Degree in Computer Information Systems Analysis and Design.

Due to my 'status' in the country, I am able to go to school and hold a drivers license, but I have been unable to get a single scholarship nor am I able to enlist in the military (which is something I would like to do). So for the past year, I have had to use savings to pay for school... and it ain't cheap.

What options do I have and is there anyway to get myself an SSN or something?

if your parents have a successful construction business they should probably be legal too. You shouldn't have problem since your parents are legal and you're under 21. You should be able to benefit from their status somehow. Go through legal channels, get it done ASAP, before you turn 21 or you're going to have big problems.

Right now, I am legal. I'm a dependent on their visa. What I need is someway to stay in the country beyond the age of 21.

I think that Dreamer X didn't understand your situation. Let me know if I got it right:
Your parents are non-US citizens and they also don't have a Green Card. They are legal in the US on a work visa and you are dependent on their visa so when you are 21 you will have to leave the country. Because you are dependent on their visa you are not allowed to work and that's why you don't have a SSN.

I think that it's 5 years after getting a work permit that you can get a Green Card, when was your visa issued?

You are in the US legally so you don't qualify for the DREAM Act. I'm not an immigration lawyer but I know that if you leave the US before your visa is over - you parents could sponsor you when they'll get their Green Card, the problem is that that I think it will take at least 6 years because there's a huge waiting list if you're over 21.

Or you could always meet someone and get married, because you entered legally - you will be able to get a SSN by 2-3 months and a green card few months after that. This is your best option.

Actually he might qualify for the DREAM Act if he meets the other requirements:

from http://dreamactivist.org/faq/general-faq/

Did you enter the US before you turned 16 or after?

Consult a decent lawyer, don't rely on what people tell you on public forums about legal matters. We could be totally wrong.

I've been to the US a few times before the age of 16. But I moved out here within 2 or 3 months of turning 16

So you don't qualify for the DREAM Act. It's or you will get married to get legalized, or you will wait until your parents get their Green Card and then they could sponser you (you would have to leave to your home country for years because its a very long process). Or just win the Green Card lottery, or register to college and change your status to a student.

You have two more years to stay in the US legally, you'll figure something out. If you're planning to go to college and study for a degree, you could get a work permit that valid for a year after graduating, it called J1 and you could work for someone that would offer you a job as an intern or something.

The only problem with changing my own status is that to do it, Ill have to go back to England to get it.... and if I dont get it, ill be stuck there.

England is also one of the countries that isnt part of the green card lottery last i heard.

Yeah, sorry dude, it sounds like you don't qualify for DREAM. As for your other options, make an appointment with a lawyer. Immigration laws are complex and your options depend on the details of your case. We can't give you conclusive answers nor should you act on advice that doesn't come from professionals.

Good luck!

You don't have to leave to adjust status unless you came as a toursit on the Visa Waiver Program with your British passport, but that's not the case. If you came under your parents visa you can adjust your status as long that you're legal.

You could apply for an adjustment of status after you register to an university and get the I-20 (you'll get from your university after being accepted to school) you will be legal. BUT, if you leave the US, you will have to go back to your home country and take this I-20 and apply for a F-1 visa to enter the US as a student.

You don't need to pay a lawyer to do it, it's very simple as long your get accepted to some college and attend class.