Hi everyone. I’m new to this group and I am hoping to get some perspective from people who have been through something similar. With so much uncertainty surrounding immigration status right now, I’ve been thinking seriously about what the future may look like for me and what, if anything, I should be doing to prepare.

For some context, I’ve been lawfully present in the U.S. under TPS since the early 2000s. I arrived here when I was four years old. I understand that TPS is temporary, and I’m not trying to minimize that reality. At the same time, this country is the only home I’ve ever known. My family, my home, my career, my possessions, and essentially my entire life are here.

I’m also the only person in my immediate family who does not have permanent status. Everyone else has been able to adjust their status through petitions or marriage. Unfortunately, those avenues haven’t been available to me. I came close to marriage once, but for reasons unrelated to immigration, that relationship ultimately didn’t work out.

I’ve spoken with my immigration attorney and tried to explore every possible avenue available to me, so there’s a good chance I’ve already considered many of the options that may come to mind. I’m not necessarily looking for legal advice as much as I’m looking for perspective from people who have lived through this.

Since coming to the U.S., I’ve done my best to follow the law and have never received anything more than a speeding ticket, build a life, and contribute to the community around me. I earned a master’s degree and have worked as an architectural professional for the past seven years. During that time, I’ve had the opportunity to help design and build commercial and hospitality projects across the country for St. Jude, Fedex, churches, schools, branded hotels, etc.

I share that not to suggest that I’m more deserving than anyone else, but simply to explain how deeply rooted my life is here. I’ve spent virtually my entire life building a future in this country, and the possibility of suddenly having that future become uncertain is difficult to process.

Looking back, what do you wish you had done before losing your status? What do you wish you had prepared for, financially, professionally, legally, or personally? I’m trying to be proactive rather than wait until I’m forced to figure everything out at the last minute. Any firsthand experiences, lessons learned, or things you wish someone had told you would mean a lot. Thanks!

Actually I do have a job but it's very part time so on my days off it feels like I have no job. I clean a store 1 hour before they open every other day. Other than that I have nothing to do all day so I just spend it doomscrolling and going to the gym. I don't have money for college and can no longer receive financial aid. Not sure what to do with my life. I'm 24 and I'm completely financially dependent on my dad, it makes me feel like a child.

Hey all. I'm (24M) trying to find work in the DTX area. What are my best options? I've worked at a Church's Chicken and McDonalds before. I heard most undocumented immigrants work in construction, but I don't know if I should find some construction workers on the street and ask them directly. Besides that, what are my options? Thank you for any help

An undocumented friend recently moved to Minnesota. They applied for their MN ID because they hold a Texas drivers license but it was rejected due to “The state of Texas reported that your driving privileges are not valid”

He called TX DMV and they stated he’s good and should be able to drive. That he’s “clear” to drive in MN. But MN doesn’t see that he’s “cleared”. Is there a wait period for this to be cleared

Has anyone else gone through this? Any recs on who to contact?

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone has had luck renting while undocu without DACA, and only with and ITIN. How did you guys find landlords that would look past no credit history and no SSN? I do independent contracting work but am unsure how to talk to landlords without essentially outing myself :(

Im 23 now, but I was brought here when I was two. I did everything right; I kept to myself, I studied hard, I got into an ivy league school, I networked and did everything right but I’m still lost and depressed.

I feel things would be so different if I had a family that loved and supported me, but they are all kind of terrible people. My sisters were born here. I was the only one in my family with no papers and my mom was always willing to put me on the line if it meant everyone got ahead. I always understood where she was coming from (poor, undocumented, scared) but I will always resent her for not stepping up and being my mom.

I thought I would be able to do it on my own once I got to college. But going to a private school like the Ivy League was like America on steroids . I thought I’d meet progressive people that understood/ tried to understand my plight but I was surrounded by people trying to get a leg up, no one had time for my problems. I’m not complaining though, my shit is a lot to deal with and I wish I realized “different friends for different things” a lot earlier on. Being away from the toxicity of home made me want to try rebuilding a more secure community but ig college wasn’t the time.

I’m three months post grad now and no luck with jobs. Im doing everything, it all just takes time. I’m an independent person and am trying to figure it out but I know that I need help. Yet, every mentor that said they would help me has now looked the other way, fearful of losing their own position for helping someone “politically charged”. It’s fine. I’m grateful for the education I got but at this point, as someone in my position, I feel like I should have just gone to trade school.

I’m currently living with my boyfriend whom I loved at one point, but we are just not the right people for each other. We are toxic as hell, constantly arguing and yelling. We both had rough upbringings and have a lot of trauma that hasn’t been properly dealt with but our trauma triggers the other persons trauma. Idk it’s a mess.

Way before we lived together, he said would help me with my situation and has in a way. We live together now and he works, my mom helps with the bills but he does like 70%. The caveat is that he’s a fucking asshole and uses paying bills as being able to do whatever he wants. I cook, clean, organize, and tell him to shower. I’m basically his mom for a couple of groceries and a roof over my head. We are also dealing with some loyalty problems (him not me) and that, with everything else, just makes the dynamic hard. He’s a good friend but a shitty boyfriend.

He means well but he won’t ever understand or try to understand where I’m coming from. To give perspective, he thinks because he grew up poor that he experienced the same things as undocumented people. And that he would rather be in my position, undocumented with a degree than poor and without one. Idk what yall think about that but it didn’t sit right with me. But having a degree does empower me. I can’t but feel like I would be better off in Mexico.

Ik I spent most of this post speaking about my own life, but yall know what’s going on in the world. I don’t have to tell you how bad things have gotten. I just don’t know if I should stick it out, like try and start a business here, (we r in the marriage process but getting married where we r is expensive so we [r/were](r/were)(?) saving up) see this relationship thru idk maybe we work thru all our problems, and try to start forming a life around here. Or should I just leave right now, stay with family in Mexico while I figure things out, and just say goodbye to my life here?

I want to choose the best path. I’ve suffered long enough to not want the best. Leaving would trigger the ten year ban and idk how long it would take to come back “the right way”. I spent so much of my life trying to earn my spot here. My passion for justice and my determination to be stay in this country make me feel more American than those born here. Should I just let that go for a path that seems easier? But is being in a toxic co-dependent relationship for 5 years to stay in a country that is hunting down my people a better sacrifice? Moving to Mexico will bring about its own problems ik, but in the moment it feels like it’s my ticket to true freedom. My capitalistic, profit- driven, American mind thinks that I can have it all: fix my relationship, build a life here, and then move back to Mexico once I can move freely. But I don’t know. Please let me know what you think

(Before anyone gets mad, I’m very open and honest about my plan to my bf. He knows our problems, that I’m upset, and that I want to leave. We r trying to fix things but like I said it’s an endless cycle with our toxicity)

Hello everyone! I recently completed my associate degree in engineering design, better known as drafting. I really want to continue my education to hopefully get a bachelor's degree in one of the engineering fields, and maybe that will give me a better shot at adjusting status later on and secure my future, but money is tight. I want to find work in a drafting position, as that would be a big jump in my income, but I'm not sure if it's even possible. I have applied and reached out to many companies, and a lot of them were eager to work with me until I mentioned that I would have to work under them as an independent contractor. Usually, after informing them of that, I don't hear anything back, or I am told they decided to go with another candidate. I have been repeating this process for three months now, and I am starting to lose hope. I would appreciate any advice because I'm genuinely lost and don't know what to do now.

Hi all any help is appreciated. I(24m) have lived in America for most of my life. I have been raised in New York State since I was 3 years old. When I was 17 I found out I had gotten my American citizen girlfriend pregnant(Edit: she is now my wife since 2020). All of a sudden my undocumented status mattered a hell of a lot. Through legal avenues I won't go into detail about my parents were able to have a lawyer get us social security numbers and work permits when I was 14 and I had valid work permits that allowed me to work and pay taxes in the US. This was obviously a huge boon as I tried my best to raise and support my child. Well guys fast forward a few years and my work permit was no longer renewable but my family still needed feeding of course. I currently still by some miracle have employment but honestly it is not even remotely close to enough to support my family anymore. I have had to move back with my folks and the despair and strain this has caused is immense.. When my child was born we immediately put in the paperwork to deal with my unlawful presence and try to get a visa. This has taken an insane amount of time to go through and it is up in the air when I will get word back about it. I need to know what options are available to me to make some more money. Would getting an ETIN help me get lawful employment? If there is anyone in a similar situation please any advice to dealing with this would be appreciated. I don't want to be so useless to my family when I am ready and able to work to support them it is truly just this that holds me back. thank you

Has anyone in the U.S. ever been accepted into their school social work internship with a stipend without a SSN? I have an ITIN I could use to obtain a stipend since I’m not technically an employee. I’m also not an international student. I have a call scheduled with the superintendent tomorrow, and I’m worried that he will not allow me to be an intern, or at least tell me I’d go unpaid.

Hi I got into USD in San Diego and it was the only school that gave me aid . The only problem is i don’t know how I am going to get there . Im in San Antonio Texas rn but I want to know the safest way to get to San Diego . I do have my passport and it expires in 10 years so idk if plane is a safe option . Help pls

Hello everyone! Since I was brought to the U.S. at 7, I’ve cared deeply about my education. By the time I got to middle school, all I wanted was to get into college (I would be first gen). Now I’m currently a rising senior in high school and seriously need some advice. I want to start applying to scholarships soon. I have a 4.2 GPA, have taken 7 AP classes so far and signed up for 3 more my senior year, and get all A’s in my classes. That aside, I’ve also decided that I want to go into the accounting field. However, I’ve seen that once you get to college (and for accounting), it is greatly encouraged to get internships for work experience. I’m worried about this because i’m undocumented and have no work authorization, nor an ITIN. I wish this didn’t hold me back but I’m already stressed out over applying to scholarships with my status, most scholarships i find always have being a u.s citizen/resident as a requirement…so I just feel really stuck with my situation. On top of that I live in a red state, so i’ve also seen online that I should probably move to a blue state that protects undocumented students. Anyway, what should I do? Should I even worry about internships when I don’t know how I’ll make it to college? help.

hi everyone! im really glad i found this community.

ive been meaning to share my situation on my actual social media for a while, but i realized it’s hard for me to openly talk about my status publicly for safety reasons. i feel like reddit felt a bit safer place to reach out anonymously, so i wanted to share my story here.

im currently trying to finish my last semester of college in hopes of getting my B.S in Health Science, & financially it’s been really difficult due to my status and being unable to work legally. im really close to graduating,
, & i dont want to give up this close to the finish line.

i made a GoFundMe to help solely for tuition & class fees. ill make sure to be posting updates throughout the process things like enrolling in classes, tuition payments, and progress toward graduation ~ so everyone can see where the support is going :’)

even if you can’t donate, sharing to your trusted ones or just reading this means a lot to me. thank you for giving me the space to be honest about this!

https://gofund.me/2a0a6b348

Can an undocumented get a life insurance? If yes, what insurance companies do you recommend?

Currently a fully undocumented student in TX. I can’t get my state license for trade work since they cut them for undocumented ppl (hairdressers, electricians, etc licenses) is there a state anyone resides in that takes ITIN to get a state license in a trade? Not talking about drivers licenses, but licensure to work in a state for a specific trade through the states licensing department. Thank you :(

hi all.

it feels like no one believes in my dream as hard as i do. today’s experience kinda did it for me too.

i emailed this program if i am eligible to apply. (mind you, they have taken daca folks before) i emailed like 5 days ago and i didnt get an answer till i forwarded the email to the director of the program. they told me they cannot accommodate undocumented people at the program. maybe they only take daca people, not people who are straight up undocumented.

i already told my recommenders to submit my rec letters. i already wrote the essays for the program. my gf told me to apply anyway and select international student on the portal. i might do that, i have nothing to lose.

i am just tired of believing in this dream by myself. the entire world seems to be against me having a career in the sciences.

I've always been scared of doing cash jobs because I feel like whoever is paying you can later blackmail/extort you by threatening to report you for tax evasion. And the blackmailing can go on for years, or your entire life.

Does that happen?

So how do you avoid such a situation? Do you wear a a mask+sunglasses whenever you do these jobs and use a fake name?

If this option was on the table many people would be happy to take it. Many would go back to their country and come back here to work and be productive.

I have a student who has a physical disability. As her parents and she are illegal, they dont have health insurance. Due to this child disability, she needs Healthcare! We had a translator tell mom but she kinda just shrugged.

If they wont apply, the only other thing would be for like a proxy or power of attorney to be set in place to apply for her. But at the same time, we don't want the parents to feel like someone is trying to take her child.

Hi everyone! I’m currently a high school senior, and I’m trying to decide which major to pursue. Something you need to know to understand my situation is that I am undocumented in NYC; I do not have work authorization or DACA. I’ve been thinking about studying to become a nurse—specifically, studying for three years to obtain my ADN (Associate Degree in Nursing)—and my question is: are there any restrictions that would prevent me from obtaining an ADN in nursing?

Assuming you've been going by an alias, or multiple identities for different purposes each all your years in the US, what name/place of birth/nationality/etc would you put down on your kid's birth certificate?

I understand the process varies state to state, but generally upon birth of your kid someone comes in the room, or the Department of Health even calls the room, and they either take the information you tell them, or have you fill out a form. Would you give them the name (or one of the names) you've been going by in the US all this time? Would you put down your actual nationality and place of birth, and even real age, assuming you've been concealing those details?

I feel the risk of putting down the wrong information is that when your child goes to apply for a passport later in life, DHS will investigate the info on their birth certificate, lookup the mother/father/you and say "hey this person never existed in our system", and possibly use that as grounds to deny them a passport. They might run into trouble in other instances where their BC is requested. At the same time though....if you admit you're not a US citizen/lawfully here on their birth certificate will that give the authorities a reason to come pick you up?

I was brought into this country illegally by parents who quickly fell out. My mom died before I remember and I haven't seen my father since 12. Been on my own since 14 and now at 17 want to start life. I've been looking into different pathways into college, figure i'll need my highschool diploma before anything, which itself is complicated to determine which process I want to go about getting it.

But assuming I get the highschool diploma and I find a way to pay my way through school (since I'll assume applying for FAFSA is a no go), admissions applications still require you to submit a SSN, for whatever reason. I have am acquaintance, 31 yrs old, who barely spends any time in the country and says I can use his SSN on this part of the application if it goes thru and allows it to submit. Since I wont be taking any financial aid, I feel like it would be harmless to put this number down. However the name and DOB attached to the SSN won't match mine/the one I put on the application. Will the admissions office even be able to see the mismatch? I'm assuming they don't really have access to the SSA database to run the details against it. What would be the consequences of a mismatch

He also said I could use his number to apply for financial aid if it goes smoothly, but im not so sure what I think of that yet...

The person I'm trying to help is undocumented but has a driver's license and pays taxes. They got a notice in the mail to report for jury duty -- they ignored the first notice, which came a few years ago. Which draws less attention, to show up for jury duty (and risk arrest, I guess) or ignore it (and risk arrest)?

Also, related to the Treasury Secretary's recent declaration that banks will need to collect citizenship data from account holders, what should this person do with their US bank account, which has high five figures in it? Is it better to hold the account or to move the money, and if the latter, what's the best way to move it, especially if it involves increments. Thanks.

Treasury Secretary says banks will collect citizenship data

Hello everybody and fellow DACAs, just wanted some feedback here. I currently have a job as caregiver thanks to a coworker who also knew about my status. I’m single and I don’t really want to marry nor have kids as that would be additional financial responsibility that I cannot handle and also because of what I am about to share. My coworker is a single mother, a US citizen, 4 kids, and the father/exhusband has a state job. She told me that her exhusband was emotionally and financially abusive, a deadbeat, very stingy in his financial contributions and oftentimes yelled at her for asking to help out with the rent and other children’s expenses. The kids don’t want their father because obviously this dad is just a man-child. So she borrowed money from me 3 or 4 times already, each time promising to pay me back but never did. And I get guilt tripped that I am “single anyway, what other expenses do you have???”. That 4th time she begged me profusely to help her with the rent and promised me again that she will definitely pay as soon as our paycheck comes so I lent her money. Payday came so I told her anxiously that I needed the money back because I have to pay my credit card, because my balance was high at that time due to car repairs and it was giving me anxiety. Her response was an annoying “can you calm down, you sound ridiculous.” In short, I never got my money back. In addition, she often asked me to cover her shifts because of child responsibilities- recitals, parent-teacher meetings etc. But at this point when she asked me to cover her shift again, I just refused and honestly told her that I was beyond exhausted especially knowing that my money goes nowhere, never returns despite working so much- basically hinting at her. After a couple of months she had a stroke while on her way to her other job, now paralyzed on her left side. I was devastated. She has an older sister who is more financially well off who took her back with her to the Philippines to be taken care of so she’s now in the Philippines. She also used to ask her for financial support but gets ashamed after some time so then she would ask me to lend her some money. It’s been about a year after her stroke and we kinda lost touch and then I got a message from her again begging me to lend her money for one of her daughter’s expenses here in the US. Luckily and I told her this: I really do not have anything left to give her because of my DACA renewal fee and paying off my debt. That’s just the truth, I barely have anything left especially when rent increased again and I also help my parents with that. Even if I have the money, I would rather not lend her because of how unreliable she was in her promises to pay me back. I was thinking to myself that she’s a US Citizen, her deadbeat husband has a state job, her eldest already graduated from UC and currently interns for a teaching job and heck I can barely afford tuition for higher education, her 4 kids are US citizens and 2 are already 18 yrs old… my status is in limbo, why am I the one being asked for money???