Anyone still waiting since the 1990's?

Anyone here still waiting since the 1990's to get legal status? If so, what phase are you on now?

DACA? TPS? Work Permit? Permanent Resident? U.S Citizen?

Me…I arrived in 1996 (I was 4) and aged out of my petition at the age of 18. I have DACA now.

Stayed in 1998 when I was 7, and have DACA now.

Unless I get married my only option is my mom’s petition which will take decades.

Been here since 1994 and still nothing, just have DACA currently. Spent thousands on various immigration forms and appeals and got declined for AoS when I was a minor and my parents had applied. It’s just depressing at this point and my whole family is mad at my dad because he kept delaying applying, otherwise we would have been citizens now. Other people that were in the same situation as my dad applied earlier and are US citizens now and we don’t even have green cards FFS.

90's?! Try the 80's. Brought here in the mid-80's after the amnesty (purely a coincidence) when I was 10ish with just a sibling and a parent. The whole thing was some weird mixup and the details are so bizzare that I won't get into it but it was never our purpose to arrive here without documents but somehow it happened and we were detained at the airport. After a week in detention (at a private residence, not jail jail) and a hearing, we were technically "excluded" from entering the US but were paroled. Hence we were NOT Entry without Inspection...according to the law, I have never entered the US, even now.

We had an asylum hearing that was a complete disaster in part due woeful unpreparedness by our last minute lawyer and alcoholic asshole relative we were staying with and in part due to approaching the whole thing from the wrong angle. We were rejected and we appealed and by then we had been here for about 3 years and the rest of our family was already elsewhere in the world and we had nowhere else to go once we got that rejection and had a final order stamped on my forehead.

Seriously though, I just might be in the running for the oldest Dreamer who is still in here and/or hasn't done a header off a bridge.

So we just kind of kept our head down waiting for a family petition and/or new laws, etc. Before I knew it, I was out of High School and before I knew it I was in my mid-20's and things have gotten worse and worse ever since then as it got harder and harder to live as an undocumented person. The rest of the family found ways of becoming legal but nothing applied to me and I was too old....Also was too old for DACA. Now I'm too old to get married too apparently as a middle aged undocumented person doesn't exactly scream stability for a middle aged woman desperate to have an instant family.

So here I am with you fine people

Yes, I have been US since 1990. My petition through my father is about 4 months away from being able to start the process. The Visa Bulletin for Adult Unmarried Children hasn't moved since september though, so who knows how long it will take. At least I have DACA while I wait.

Arrived in ‘89 at the age of 3. I am, however, no longer “waiting”.

DACA gave me a lot of opportunity; started a business, bought a car and a house, got to take road trips without worry and have independence for the first time in my life. For that, I am incredibly grateful.

But I’d be lying if I didn’t say it isn’t a mixed bag. I lived my entire life hiding my status, and I naturally carried that with me under DACA. I became absolutely sick of it. Mentally and physically.

Additionally, I have a lot family in other countries and since I don’t like to gamble my most precious commodity (time) I opted to make a change for myself since there won’t be change coming from the government. Advanced parole is not workable. Full stop. I’m supposed to miss birthdays, weddings, vacations? Sure I can probably make it to a funeral but I won’t get to say goodbye to a loved one in person.

Fuck that. I got sick of pretending. I got sick of the modern day ennui of a meaningless grind with family oceans away that I couldn’t see. I got sick of submitting myself to the winds of politics. I suspected we will never get anything better than DACA, and that made me realize that its just time to liquidate my assets and start a new exciting life.

Landed in Madrid on March 4. Im EU citizen. I’ve seen so many damned cousins and relatives since I’ve gotten here that I still can’t process why the fuck I put myself through all this shit and that I’ve been missing out on a much more tranquil life where I’m actually a fucking free citizen.

IamAman, 4o’s is straight up not old unless you ask some smoothbrained tiktoker. You’re also framing yourself the way I did before DACA regarding meeting a significant other; you’re framing yourself undesirable because of your status and that makes a self fulfilling prophecy. There are 2 things that I will say which I pray you’ll take to heart. 1) look far and wide because a person who you want in your corner won’t let your status ruin a good thing. Those who walk away from you solely because of DACA are doing you a favor. 2) Unless you’re in prison, life is never on hold. We have agency, so use it. Even without status, there are loads of opportunities ($$$) that can be used to build a good life somewhere else in the world where you won’t feel that unending sense of political stillness. The world is fucking huge and people can live amazing lives anywhere, you just need the money. So while you’re in the land of milk and honey, take advantage.

1991 - plan is to leave for the EU at the end of this year and spend summers mostly in North Eastern EU (mostly Poland) and winters in the Canary Islands (Spain) or some other Spanish speaking beach paradise.

At least you have DACA, not bad. Any other petition pending and/or will be eligible for one?

DACA is not bad. I aged out in 2012 and 2014 law never went in effect.

How long to go with your mom's petition? F1 category?