He was 12 when he was put on the plane, 16ish when he tried to get a driver's license. A Minor. He can't easily go back. He can't legally stay. He's dammned either way, so he makes the best of it. Sooner or later, it's going to catch up with him.
The adult who put him in the situation is not in the country. At least one of the others responsible is dead.
The point (which you're clearly missing) is that this shouldn't be a crime. Our economy and our society loses in a very tangible way because of our draconian and ultimately childish attitude toward immigration.
The point at which law becomes a hinderance and not help is when it gets changed or broken.
Basically, all you are suggesting is: go find a "citizen" to trap in matrimony in order to be a legal immigrant?
The matrimony route is especially relevant, since in the US it is the one of the faster means to obtaining citizenship compared to other methods immigrate legally.
One of the fallacies about immigration is that anybody can become a permanent resident by marrying a citizen. This path to permanent residency was basically choked off in the 1980s by requiring that the newlywed couple leave the country for a few years before they're allowed to come back to the US to live, and even then, it's not certain that the government will let it happen. This means that if I happen to fall in love and marry someone who happens to not be a citizen of the US, I'm totally at the mercy of the government.
Huh? "Anybody" (i.e. excluding terrorists, nazis, communists, HIV-positives, and other comparatively small segments of the population) can become a US permanent resident by marrying a US citizen unless they are present in the US illegally. Then the case is more complicated, but in many cases you are still eligible.
Only if they are the wrong ones... Joke aside, I don't think you're automatically excluded, but you do have to answer yes or no as to whether you are or have been affiliated with said groups on the application form.
Please reread, I said "this path to permanent residency," not "the only path".
You can become a permanent resident by getting married, but the process isn't straightforward. The draconian requirement that the newly-married couple leave the US reduces some fraud, I'm sure, but it also causes an enormous amount of disruption for the 99% of legitimately married couples who have families and livelihoods within the US.
Jeffrey, there is no such requirement. Someone who marries an American cannot immediately adjust to permanent resident status, but is (typically) granted conditional residence, which is in practice the same thing except that it can be easily revoked if it looks like the marriage is a sham. After 2 years the not-so-newlyweds can (in fact, must) apply to have the conditional status removed, at which point the foreign spouse becomes a permanent resident. This is almost always a formality except in cases of marriage fraud or involvement in criminal activity. There is no requirement to leave the country. In fact, for people who have been married longer than 2 years or living together a long time, USCIS will sometimes waive the conditional status (and thus the fee to have lifted later) because they have prima facie evidence of a bona fide relationship. It's only in cases where they have serious doubts about the honesty of the applicant that they require the couple to leave the US and wait several years to reapply.
IANAL but you are definitely misinformed about this, and should not allow it to interfere with your love life.
"This path" is what I don't understand what you're talking about. I'm a non-American who married a US citizen, and I just got my green card. There was no requirement that we leave for any amount of time. The whole process took 5 months and was about as painless as anything dealing with the USCIS could possibly be.
You are quote wrong about this. That happens in some circumstances, but it is not the rule. Indeed, a major part of the problem is that the immigration system is wastefully arbitrary and unpredictable.
Crime should have consequences. Sometimes you have to spend a night in jail. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks) Otherwise people might mistake that crime for living an honorable and hardworking life.
