I have a friend who is living Illegally on the planet Earth, because no country will accept him. He has no where to go and :cool::cool:was detained in 2007 and released in 2008 by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for felony bank/check fraud he committed in 1995 when he was in College at UC Davis at the age of 19. He lost his Immigration case and was ordered deported back to Vietnam. His problem is that ICE will not deport him because he has lived and worked in the US since 1978. ICE will only deport those who arrived in the US after 1996 because Vietnam won't accept anyone before 1996, because to them he is no longer a Citizen of Vietnam. He cannot legally work in the US to support his family, and was told if he was caught working illegally in the US that he would be committing another felony. He has already served 1 year in jail in 1995 for his crime. Then he served more time in 2007 for the same crime. That is an injustice. He has been a lawbiding Citizen ever since his release in 1996, went back and put himself through school, married his wife in 2001 and has 2 children ages 7 and 2. His wife and children are all US Citizens. He is a Professional Network Engineer and owns his own IT Consulting business. Then in 2007 as he went to the Immigration department to renew his Green Card, they threw him in jail for what he did as a kid of 19 years old in 1995. He felt the US wanted him to fail so they could detain him indefinitely so in short he now lives in Vancouver, Canada and he wants to know if he can legally become a Canadian Resident. Vietnam won't accept him, he will not return to the US in fear of years of detainment indefinitely. He has no where to go, is there any relief for him in Canada? What can he do to legally live and work in Canada? He is afraid to apply legally in fear he will be detained and deported back to the US for detainment. He currently works as an undocumented worker for cash but he has dreams of opening his IT Consulting business once again and living and working in a Country that will accept him and give him a chance to prove his worth. He is not asking for a handout. He can do very well for himself and has never needed any type of assistance. Can he apply for residency and a legal work permit without being detained and deported back to the US? What are his options as an illegal immigrant living in Canada that has no County to go back to?

He must apply as a refugee in Canada, it might be hard but if he can prove he cannot return to Vietnam or USA he might have a chance.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/index.asp

What was this person's status in the US from 1978 till 2008 when he was deported?

This is not a big deal... he needs an experienced immigration lawyer.

He must apply as a refugee in Canada, it might be hard but if he can prove he cannot return to Vietnam or USA he might have a chance.

The refugee system (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/index.asp)

What was this person's status in the US from 1978 till 2008 when he was deported?

He was a Resident Alien.

This is not a big deal... he needs an experienced immigration lawyer.

Why do you feel that it is not a big deal? He is living undocumented in a new Country... His Country will not accept him and the Country where he has lived for the last 30 years since the age of 3 will not accept him and cannot deport him and will not grant him a working permit setting him up to fail. He is a college educated man who runs his own IT Consulting business and has a family. He is a good man, a dear friend and a great business partner. I don't feel that it is fair that the 1 mistake he made in College at the age of 19 which he has already served time, paid restitution and community services for should haunt him for the rest of his life. We all were young and broke in College, sure he made a mistake and cashed a false check, but he paid the price. He was detained and imprisoned twice for the same crime. What more should he and his family have to endure? I apologize for ranting, but I don't see how you can see this as not being a BIG DEAL!