[suzanne4]

Please read this closely:

1. The green card will not keep you from getting deported if you break the law in the US, something as simple as a DUI can get you deported.
2. A visa out of status for any reason can get you deported. You get stopped for a traffic ticket, and out of status, do not pass go, and you will go to Immigration Detention.
3. A SSN# that is not a legal number will also get you deported. They are verifying them when you apply for a license.
4. Does not matter if you have family, own a home, and a car, and even a business, if you get deported, you will be out of the country shortly, immigration does not care.

Right now, INS is in a surge mode to pick up anyone that they find illegal in the US, for what ever reason..........Please do not let this happen to you.
In California, they actually have immigration stops set up, and they are picking up people in large numbers. Does not matter which country that you are from, how long that you have been in the US, etc. If you do not have a legal document permitting you to be in the US, you will be gone.

Please be very careful. And all of the above also goes to nurses that have overstayed visas, immigration does not care. And if you get deported, it will be ten years before you will be able to return.

------
After consulting with multiple immigration attorneys, it is not expected that any special visas for nurses will be available until the Congress and the House of Representatives create new visas, and not until later in the year. There will not be any Schedule A visas appearing in the Januray Bulletin of the USCIS until they become available. Right now, there is no preference....strictly on where you were born.. If your country does not use up its allotment, then you will be able to get a visa earlier, otherwise all will be waiting. No special cicumstances apply here.

-------------------
Without having US citizenship, you do not have the same rights as far as immigration. Scary, but it is true.

[MARI 1]

You are correct...

I was at the immigration detention center visiting someone that was in a car that was stopped over Christmas and they did not have the correct documents on them and they had overstayed a visa. They were put into the county jail, then moved over to immigration. Then immigration moved them six times in three days.
I heard that one person who was deported has grown up in the US since the age of two, thought he was a citizen and learned he had only greencard and he was not, he was deported for a DUI. He owned a company and employed people, and had a home. One of the people I spoke to had come to the US as a refugee 15 yrs ago and forgot to renew his work papers and apply for citizenship. He is being held for deportation. PLEASE make sure your documents are renewed and that you have copies with you. Homeland Security is not playing with this situatiion.
Once you have your greencard apply for Citizenship when your allowed. If have a greencard and you get a criminal record for example DUI you will be sent home. Immigration is being very strict. So they best thing you can do is check the dates on your EAD make sure you stick to those dates. When you go and talk to someone get there name and mark the date and time in a calendar. Don't play with your status here.
If you follow the rules and don't try to take short cuts you will all be fine.
Those detention centers are federal prisions... not some place anyone wants to be housed.

Follow the rules and keep safe

[suzanne4]

Sorry if any of you think that I am being mean or tough, but US immigration has a crackdown in place right now, and they really mean business.

If you get stopped for any reason, and do not have proper documentation that can be verified with you, they will deport. You will not have time to go home and pack a suitcase, but will be taken to Deportation Detention with what you have with you. Does not matter if you own a home, or car, and have family here. And the family will only be able to visit if they have a legal visa for the US, otherwise they are not permitted to see you.

And Detention is not the same as a federal prison, though they can be located in the same area. Since you are not a citizen of the US, you are not given the same things and treated as such. You are provided with soap and water only, anything else needs to be purchased there. Food is at a very minimum.

Please, please do not take chances with any of this. Out of status means illegal in the eyes of immigration.............do not make the ten year list, no chance of returning to the US for ten years.

[Silverdragon102]

this is a good thread to let people know what happens if they don't keep up to date with visa etc. Our plans are to get citizenship as soon as we can once our 5 years are up. That is once we get out there

[lawrence01]

Yes, I agree. This is a good lesson for all potential immigrants and even those who already have their green cards. No one is 100% safe.

[suzanne4]

Exactly, until you have become an American citizen, the US is not required to keep you and permit you to stay.

[mysterious_one]

i have a green card now for over 21 years , permanent , I am married to an American. What are you saying?

[suzanne4]

Originally Posted by mysterious_one

i have a green card now for over 21 years , permanent , I am married to an American. What are you saying?

Stating that you could be deported if you break the law. If you do not have US citizenship, you can be deported. And they are deporting........

Word of advice: Get your citizenship.

[chepita]

OK, I'm getting scared. After graduating and passing NCLEX, and doing OPT it is over? No change to get a green card and work? Did tht just change?

[chepita]

Does that mean that after passing NCLEX, and doing OPT I have to go home?
There is no chance to get a green card based on work petition? We are back to H1-A/B???
Also, my son got a DUI under 21. In Lousiana it is a misdemeanor, he is F-1 and a freshman in college. I've been told that on immigration forms, just do not lie. Mention the offense and how it was resolved. Any info?
CIAO and thanks