Real Stories of GrayLaw: Jane

Hi Mr. Gray! I just wanted to thank you so much for having helped me become a citizen. I received my citizenship on November 1, 2012 and my social security number on January 14, 2013 (just 2 days before the application deadline for the Gates Millennium Scholarship, a full ride scholarship to the college of my choice. I needed to be a citizen and needed to provide a SSN in order to apply. I became a finalist this past month and I am waiting to see in a few days whether I receive it or not.). In addition, since I am a citizen now, I did not have to apply to college as an international student, which would have required me to compete against an even more competitive applicant pool. In addition, I am now eligible for federal aid and all of the acceptances that I have received are pretty much full rides already because of all the grants I am eligible for as a citizen. The most I have to pay annually in the Financial Aid packets that I have received is $2,700 for personal expenses that is covered by federal work-study (which i am now eligible for), since tuition, books, room and board are covered in grants, not loans, at all my schools. This past week, I have received pretty much full rides to Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Stanford, USC, and UC Berkeley. I can’t fit into my heart the excitement and happiness that I have right now. I just wanted to thank you for helping me. Honestly, I dont think I would have been able to receive all of this with all the restrictions that being undocumented placed on me. After being turned down by a lawyer here in LA because it had been more than 5 years since my dad passed away, being scammed out of my money by another lawyer in Miami, and you, finally, were able to fix all of this and had been so encouraging and careful with helping me. Thank you so much. The blessings you have helped bring into my life had become even more apparent this year since I have 3 friends who are undocumented and are struggling with whether they can afford college or not right now. We actually founded the AB540 Club in my school to fundraise for scholarships 🙂 That to say, when you help one person, they take it into account and help others. The good spreads around 🙂 Still, I do not have the same worries in mind when planning my future as my friends anymore, and college is now a given to me. I cannot feel any more grateful. Honesty, I am incredibly grateful that I was able to cross paths with you and that you were so willing and dedicated in helping me. It has been one of the biggest blessings. Thank you so much, and thank you for helping all the other people who are in similar circumstances. It really does make a difference. 🙂

Sincerely,
Jane