Forget status you’re deportable
Q Q
A“Undocumented” is not a legal term. We use the term undocumented to refer to a person in the United States without legal status. Some undocumented immigrants came here legally but stayed longer than allowed or otherwise violated the rules of their stay. Examples include visitors like you, who overstayed, and international students who dropped out of school. Others, however, came here without legal status. We use the term “undocumented immigrant” instead of “illegal alien” to avoid stigmatizing immigrants here without legal status. Further, simply being here without lawful status is not a crime.
Until U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approves your immigrant visa application, you are arguably undocumented. If you don’t have an outstanding deportation order or criminal record, immigration authorities will let you stay here pending a decision on your green card application. Nevertheless, the law considers you deportable.
AIf conditions in Cameroon have changed enough so that your sister’s asylum claim is stronger, she can renew her asylum claim. However, the fact that she would face a violent situation if she returned home is not sufficient for a favorable asylum grant. To get asylum, an applicant must prove that he or she will be singled out for persecution based on his or her race, nationality, religion, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick. com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.