Adult adoption of foriegn born currently living in US

[daverax]

What is the name of your state? VA

I have a friend who is 26 and is from S. America. She has been in the US since 1988 (via her parents, who lost her paperwork) and has no immigration documentation. Her parents no longer live in the US and is on her own. A family is thinking of adopting her to help her become a US citizen. She knows very little of her culture and does not want to go back. She is having a hard time supporting herself because she cannot get a job because of her lack of documentation, has no DL, state ID, or even SS card. She has a SSN and it is hers, but she can't get the card without her Visa, which she has not had in many years. She graduated college here in the states. She does not want to go to INS because she is afraid of being deported. If the family adopted her, would that enable her to apply for citizenship without having to worry about deportation?

Thanks.

[HappyHusband]

Originally Posted by daverax

What is the name of your state? VA

I have a friend who is 26 and is from S. America. She has been in the US since 1988 (via her parents, who lost her paperwork) and has no immigration documentation. Her parents no longer live in the US and is on her own. A family is thinking of adopting her to help her become a US citizen. She knows very little of her culture and does not want to go back. She is having a hard time supporting herself because she cannot get a job because of her lack of documentation, has no DL, state ID, or even SS card. She has a SSN and it is hers, but she can't get the card without her Visa, which she has not had in many years. She graduated college here in the states. She does not want to go to INS because she is afraid of being deported. If the family adopted her, would that enable her to apply for citizenship without having to worry about deportation?

Thanks.

If the family adopted her, would that enable her to apply for citizenship without having to worry about deportation?

No, it doesn't work that way.

[nextwife]

Originally Posted by HappyHusband

If the family adopted her, would that enable her to apply for citizenship without having to worry about deportation?

No, it doesn't work that way.

The former INS ONLY gives special immigration/residency status to MINOR adopted children. Why doesn't she have her parents write to the INS from wherever they are and request copies of her immigration papers? She can probably provide them some sort of POA to allow them to request this for her.

[daverax]

Thanks for the advice. Guess we'll try something else. She doesn't want marry right now, and prolly would be a while before that happens. Just looking for another avenue besides that to stay in the US. We were hoping Congress would pass the immigration bill, cuz she would have easily qualified for the requirements listed in the Senate bill to stay legally in the country. I wish they would get that passed and done. This would be a huge benefit and relief for my friend among others.

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by daverax

What is the name of your state? VA

I have a friend who is 26 and is from S. America. She has been in the US since 1988 (via her parents, who lost her paperwork) and has no immigration documentation. Her parents no longer live in the US and is on her own. A family is thinking of adopting her to help her become a US citizen. She knows very little of her culture and does not want to go back. She is having a hard time supporting herself because she cannot get a job because of her lack of documentation, has no DL, state ID, or even SS card. She has a SSN and it is hers, but she can't get the card without her Visa, which she has not had in many years. She graduated college here in the states. She does not want to go to INS because she is afraid of being deported. If the family adopted her, would that enable her to apply for citizenship without having to worry about deportation?

Thanks.

She really needs to get a consult with an immigration attorney. If she truly has a valid SS number then she may be here legally, and it may simply be a question of establishing her identity so that she can get proper ID. An immigration attorney may be able to help.

[daverax]

She indeed has a number and her name is assigned to that number. The problem is when she went to SSA to get her card she was told she could not get the card without an unexpired visa. The passport she has isn't sufficient. She has the same problem with getting any other state ID. She finally was able to open her own checking account a couple of months ago by using her new passport and university ID. She was here legally when she came in, but obviously that's no good after many years here. We will look into getting help from an immigration expert.