Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was born to an Anglo family in
Quebec. For some reason when I was 9 my parents thought it would be a good idea to drive across the border and move to dallas. I'm 18 about to graduate HS and since I don't have papers not a lot of money college here is out of the question, as is driving (can't get a license), and gettig a job (no SSN). My family wants to stay here but I wanna to back to Canada so I can actually have a normal life. Here's my problem, I'm broke. I have enough for a plane ticket but that's about it. I have no family in canada really. I either don't speak with them (a lot people cut me off because of certain "lifestyle choices") or they're dead. So I have no one to stay with, no money, and just a Texas HS diploma. I have no intentions if being a lifelong benefit recipient but will the federal/provincial/local govt help me out with housing until I get on my feet and start University? I'd preferably like to go back to Montreal because that's the only canada I know but I'm willing to go almost anywhere. (Cities would be better, more jobs - I have no desire to be in the Yukon)
What do I do?
Well you got yourself a conundrum there for sure as when you get to that border and they ask you "citizen of what country" without a passport to prove either Canadian or quality identification to prove you're American it's gonna get interesting for sure.
I would certainly petition your parents for any and all documents you can to prove your history one way or the other with the preferred system of applying for a Canadian passport based upon your birth certificate but even that's going to be a crap shoot because of all the other endorsements required to support an application.
I'm flummoxed as to how to advise you about returning to Canada.
Once here though you will (if somehow deemed a legitimate citizen) be eligible (within a time frame) for some welfare to sustain yourself but there will not generally be a wellspring of moola to enable you to transition immediately to a higher education facility.
Your catch 22 is going to be the same as is current; no entry, assistance or job without proof of citizenship. You might sneak in, but your predicament remains the same.
Finally; WTF were your parents thinking? Never mind, redundant question.
Well you got yourself a conundrum there for sure as when you get to that border and they ask you "citizen of what country" without a passport to prove either Canadian or quality identification to prove you're American it's gonna get interesting for sure.
I would certainly petition your parents for any and all documents you can to prove your history one way or the other with the preferred system of applying for a Canadian passport based upon your birth certificate but even that's going to be a crap shoot because of all the other endorsements required to support an application.
I'm flummoxed as to how to advise you about returning to Canada.
Once here though you will (if somehow deemed a legitimate citizen) be eligible (within a time frame) for some welfare to sustain yourself but there will not generally be a wellspring of moola to enable you to transition immediately to a higher education facility.
Your catch 22 is going to be the same as is current; no entry, assistance or job without proof of citizenship. You might sneak in, but your predicament remains the same.
Finally; WTF were your parents thinking? Never mind, redundant question.
My parents are conservative nuts and thought Texas would be a better environment - don't ask.,,
I have a Canadian passport. We didn't hop across the border we used Canadian/US visa waiver priveleges and overstayed..If not I can go to the embassy or consulate and apply for a new one. I have a Canadian birth certificate. I however don't have a sin number or Canadian address. MY pareńts are older and get Canadian pensions so they don't need to work. Isn't Canadian University free? At least in Quebec? I don't want to get rich off welfare just need a couple of months to get situated and find work etc.
No, uni is not free, we pay. Do you speak French? Won't be a pleasant life here in Montreal without it. Choose another city if you only speak English. Quebec bureaucracy is a nightmare enough without your situation.
"Conservative parents hate your lifestyle"? You might find Vancouver to suit you much better.
I think you need to use that plane ticket money to hire the services of an immigration lawyer because you need some professional advice. Or, if your parents are willing to help you to return, then get them to hire a lawyer to advise the whole family about this. It's unfortunate, but it sounds like your parents have put you into a difficult position through their own thoughtlessness and they should now take some responsibility to protect you and make sure things will be done the right way for you to return to Canada.
This is all conjecture so I could be wrong about some of the following, but it seems like you (and also your parents) could have a lot of legal problems to deal with if you don't get legal advice and do everything legally and correctly to return yourself to Canada.
Depending on what province you want to move to you might have to wait til you turn 19 or older and are no longer considered a minor. Some provinces the age of majority is 18 and some are 19 and if you try to enter a province where you are still a minor you may not be allowed in without your parents present, or you might end up getting your parents into trouble with authorities if you're taken into custody as a minor and then enquiries are made and it's found out that your parents are illegal immigrants still staying in America.
Education in Canada is not free for anyone, and in your case that might include no free health care and no social financial or housing assistance for you under your peculiar circumstances because you and your parents disappeared and have not been paying into the social system. Because none of it is free, you see. If you've been out of the country illegally for 9 years with your parents and try to return alone with no money, no residence, no family and no job to return to, even while possessing your passport and birth certificate and being eligible to apply for SIN, you may not qualify for any assistance once enquiries are made about your parents illegal activities out of country during the past 9 years collecting Canadian pensions but not paying taxes. Or - if you are allowed into the country - you might eventually qualify for some kind of assistance but you would probably have to wait a minimum of 3 months before you qualify and then, if you do get on assistance you're only eligible for assistance for 3 months (because you're a single, able-bodied young adult) unless social services is sending you for entry level job training. They will not pay to send you to college or university, they will only send benefits recipients to job training programs and only for a maximum of a year.
Also, it sounds kind of fishy that you are only 18 but your parents are seniors living illegally in another country while collecting pensions from Canada.
So see, there are a bunch of red flags going to be raised and a whole schwack of personal problems for you if you don't get proper legal advice before attempting to return to Canada on your own if you don't want legal problems for both yourself and your parents. Your circumstance is so strange, you might qualify for entry as a Canadian refugee returning to Canada and you'd have to ask the immigration lawyer about that, but that might still get your parents into trouble. I don't know.
In any case, however this works out for you, I really, really wish you good luck and I hope you manage to make it back home to Canada safely and soundly and legally without a lot of troubles.
OP: As you seem to have already figured out, you risk deportation everyday you remain in the states. You have to take action. In addition to the excellent advice posted above, I'd suggest that you make an appointment at the closest Canadian consulate and talk to an officer about your situation.
Because you have proof of Canadian citizenship, I imagine that you will be fine. Your tax-dodging, irony-free parents may not even factor into your particular case since you are now a legal adult, attempting to rectify a situation that you were forced into when you were a minor.
Zoisite: + 1 for the phrase "a whole schwack of...problems." :-)
Since the OP came to the U.S. against his will before he turned 16, he may be eligible for "deferred action", which would allow him to get a SSN and job in the U.S. This is if you want to stay in the U.S.
Dude your situation sucks...sorry I can't help more
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
