My nickname is Nat. I came from Thailand. Here is my story.I was bought to the US by my mother when I was 14 because she had a fight with my father. I worked hard through high school, dreaming of being accepted to a good University.  However, I learned at the age of 17 that I wasn’t able to go to college because both my mother’s and my visa had expired. Despite many efforts to renew her work visa, she was continuously denied one. However, she didn’t want to go back to Thailand because of the fight with my father and because I was still in high school. So, my mother and I continue to stay in US.

I eventually finished high school and I was able to continue my studies at the University of Massachusetts, from which I graduated last year in 2009. Currently, I am a graduate student at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

I am now 25 years old and my mother is a green card holder because she divorced my biological and remarried to my stepfather when I was 21. Nonetheless, there is no way (under current law) for me to obtain a green card through my family. I could possibly go back to Thailand but it could take up to 10 years before I can come back. Thus, I am living with both of them in our house here in Massachusetts and I work in our own business because I can not “legally” work elsewhere.

I also have a brother who is studying at Northeastern University in Massachusetts under a student visa.

I know that there could be million of children around the country who face the same problem and I am very fortunate to be able go to college and continue my study.  However, many of these children dropped out of high school because they couldn’t see their future.  They face a roadblock that they themselves cannot remove. The Dream Act might be the only chance for children, like me, to continue their education and life. Everyone has a different story, a different background, a different path in life. But the dream is one; To be able to continue on with their life.

Thank you for reading.

Nat