Can I work in the U.S. legally? I don't have a social but been here my whole life!?

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2009-10-13 17:23:03 +0000	So are you trying to say you are illegal? If you are illegal than no you cannot work anywhere. If you do, the employer can be fined. Some fast food restaurants and lower paid jobs will not check for a social security number or documents. It's their risk though because that fine can be hefty. If you are a legal resident than of course you can work. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

2009-10-13 17:53:31 +0000	Without an actual fact ...not one word is believable Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

2009-10-13 18:33:56 +0000	You are here illegally. If you were legal, you would have SSN. Obviously your parents did not properly complete immigration paperwork prior to entry. If you depart by the time you graduate high school or before you turn 18-1/2, your parents' illegal acts will not be held against you, and you could apply for a student visa if you meet all of the requirements. You cannot legally attend college without that foreign student visa, and the visa can only be applied for from your home country. There is no way you can work. There is no way an illegal alien can remain and adjust status. Your parents made things a real mess for you. Make them pay your way back home and ensure you have somewhere to stay, someone to take care of you, and get started on the right foot. If you stay, you become deportable at age 18. And you would be barred from reentry for 10 years. The sooner you return to your own country, the better for you if you ever want to immigrate, or even get a visa to go somewhere. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

2009-10-13 17:30:28 +0000	You need to find out whether your parents are here on a visa or what legal basis they have (e.g. greencard, citizenship, some kind of employment visa). Are you the only one in your family who has problems with this, or is it all your family. It sounds like they could have been applying for a greencard, but have to wait until their priority date is current in order to adjust status. Depending on their previous status your father could be legal to keep working, but you would not be. It all depends what is really going on and you should have your parents explain that to you. If you are older than 18 years you are responsible by yourself to make sure you are in the country legally, so you really need to know. You can get an employment authorization card shortly after you applied for adjustment of status (greencard), but depending on what basis your parents would get a greencard and what country you are from it can take years until you actually can do so. So you really need to figure out what is going on. You can also read up on the USCIS website about all the different processes. If you are in the country illegally your parents have not been doing things in the right way and you can't get a work permit without trouble. If you leave the US before you are 18 1/2 years old you won't get a 10 year ban for reentry and you can try to get admission legally. Otherwise your options are very limited. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No