Seeking a Point of View

She should become a LEGAL US citizen before taking on a " singing career". It would be awful if she was super sucessful and the was deported. Take care of the legal stuff first and then look at getting her established. Talk to an immigration lawyer-they can help you.

M

You need to speak to an immigration attorney. It is possible to obtain lawful permanent residency by getting an EB2 visa (having exceptional ability in the sciences or arts) and then adjusting status to a lawful permanent resident but only if one enters the country legally. There are only about 40,000 of this type of visa issued so it is an extremely long shot and there are some countries that are restricted in the number of people who can enter. Good luck.

I hope that in the United States that we are more fair than that. Why in the world should your daughter have a better opportunity to become legal than the next child? I hope we are chosing individuals to become citizens based on their ability to follow our laws and contribute in a meaningful way to our society.

So no, I don't think if she is a really good singer that the music business can help her become legalized. Do the right thing and follow the rules to become a citizen, even if that means returning to the country of origin so that you can show her that citizens follow the laws even when it is difficult.

Why don't you worry about getting her LEGAL before turning her into the next Britney Spears?!?!?! And, is it possible to be an illegal US Citizen?...illegal and citizen don't really go together.

Sincerely,
A Tax Payer

She can start one, but if she's successful and found out to be illegal...she could be deported, at any time. Before you start a "singing career" you might look into how you can make her a legal citizen. That is FAR more important to her future.

I was actually going to post a comment but then I canceled it to see what others had to say first. I thought my comment might make me seem stupid because my comment was this:

"What is an illegal U.S. citizen?"

Hi A.,

I'm not sure what your question is...... This is the land of opportunity. However, if she is going to be legally employed in the US, then she needs to somehow become a legal citizen so she can pay taxes.

If your question is will she be able to work illegally as a singer - I don't know the answer to that question - probably she will have difficulty as employers can face fines for hiring someone 'under the table'.

I don't think she will be able to have any type of career if she is not a legal resident or us citizen. There are many benefits to becoming a legal resident - even if she ends up to not have a singing career, so you should research how to go about getting her citizenship.

Edited to add
to Denise P: Ummmm, I have left my house lately - and I DO see the amount of illegal immigrants who are working and NOT paying taxes. But they aren't trying to have a singing career. If her question was "my daughter wants to work at the carwash down the street. do you think she can do that without being a legal us resident" I would have had a different answer. My answer was if she wants a LEGAL career she will have to pay taxes.
The illegal citizens who don't pay taxes aren't LEGALLY employed and therefore don't have ALL the opportunities that legal residents have. Along with that comes the responsibility to pay taxes.

and to A. - I doubt the music company will 'help' her with citizenship unless she has the voice of Charlotte Church, Celine Dion or Mariah Carey. Even then, singers these days are a dime a dozen and they will want someone who doesn't have legal constraints that make them do extra work. Additionally, she would have to 'prove' herself before they will take her on - and that will be hard to do without residency/visa/citizenship.

Good Luck

If she is an 'illegal' living here.... anything that brings attention to her (and she is a Minor child), will and may, then bring up the POINT that she is here illegally.
At which point, she may/can be deported.
despite the fact that the parents may be U.S. Citizens.

She is not here, under a green card or temporary Visa.
She is here, illegally.
Illegal Aliens... get deported.

Any kind of 'career' is not going to guarantee, that she can stay here. I have seen (via newspaper news) ALL kinds of well regarded Professionals, here on expired Visas (thus they are here illegally)... get deported.

Get an Immigration Attorney.

No one can be an 'illegal U.S. CItizen.'
You are either a court sanctified U.S. Citizen or an Illegal Alien.

This is America! Anything is possible.

Here we go.......

"if she is going to be legally employed in the US, then she needs to somehow become a legal citizen so she can pay taxes"??? Ummmm...have you left your house lately? LOL

I'm sure she can, but I think the first thing you should ask yourself is if this is the country I plan to stay in, what can I do to change the our living status to legal. Always a good idea to be living honestly and legally...

I do realize this is sometimes easier said than done, but so is pursuing a music career. I say focus on first things first.

Just my two cents...

How can one be an illegal U.S. citizen? Very odd.

On the the question...
Self publishing? yea, easily, but it is ALOT of work! She would need to be crazy good too! She M. be deported but if good enough she will be famous already and then be famous in her native county.

American Idol? NO! Read that agreement. Legal citizen.

Publishing Co.? NO! Again Read that agreement.

So it matters...

You need an immigration attorney. Hands down. There are many groups that work illegal and undocumented aliens (who will not report you or your daughter), and who often work PRO BONO (free) but you HAVE to have legal advice and aid.

Just for example, it's *almost* impossible to attain a visa or legal status if you're in the country illegally OR legally -it has to be applied from from your own legal country... people often, after years or decades of residence have to return "home" for a year and then apply. BUT it's not true in all cases. In some cases children can be adopted by a legal citizen, in others they're granted refugee or political asylum or displaced status. The immigration web is SUPER tangled, and you ABSOLUTELY need to have a professional on your side in order to even attempt to deal with the govt and get a fair shake.

DO NOT do anything to publicize your daughter at ALL until you've spoken with and worked with an immigration attorney. ALSO... because there are a great number of scam artists out there (who take your money and run), make sure that you DO NOT go through an individual, but an organization. Churches usually have a list of local orgs that can help you.

So basically you want your daughter to make it big & pay someone off to *buy* her way to legal citizenship, well this is the U.S. so anything is possible

You can start her paperwork now if you are that concerned. Im sure if she made it big, they could help her, but why count on that criticism...

P.S. you other posters knew what she meant by illegal us citizen, she's illegal but lives here...geez

Can you contact your countries embassy? There are special visa's that she may be able to work under? One thing I thought of....I would hate for someone to take advantage of you or your child because of your sitauation. Maybe becoming a legalized citizen if she can is the way to go so she's completely covered by labor and other laws? I hope you can safely talk to someone who knows as I probably have more questions than I can answer about this for you.

I agree that you should contact your country's embassy and start the procedure to get green cards, visas and what have you. That way there will be no problem if she gets signed to a label or something. I guarantee you that if the right people hear her and want to sign her, then they'll make sure she's issued a visa. IF you're talking about something like her auditioning for American Idol though, it's a long shot and it's also a great way to call attention to yourselves if you're here illegally.