So there are a lot of people talking about the DREAM act lately (hmm...someone I know could have benefited from that at one point).
But I don't see anyone complaining about one of the laws preventing many from being able to get their legal documents. It is Section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This section states that anyone who's been illegal for up to a year in the US will have a 3 year bar from reentering the US, and an illegal presence in the US for more than a year will have a 10 year bar from reentering the US. This is despite the person's ability to have a visa to reenter the US.
So let's say someone was brought to the US as a child (less than 18y/o) and accrued more than a year of unlawful presence. Then s/he got married. Or s/he's a genius and can prove it and a company is willing and can get a work visa for him/her. Or other ways to get legal. Many of these visas, if granted to the applicant, will need to be picked up at the embassy OUTSIDE of the US.
As soon as this person, who are present in the US unlawfully, leaves the US, the timing for their 3/10 year bar starts. Even if they were leaving the US to pick up their LEGALLY granted visas. So what can one do in this matter? Brought to the US as a child, the unlawful presence is more or less mandatory by situation, and they cannot become legal resident of the country they're now calling home.
As a result, they don't become legal. They can't. Not without staying out of their new home for 3 or 10 years. How many of them are there? A lot more than you think.
Here is a link to the law (click on LAW, then find section 212, and scroll down to the document):
Here is one fairly thorough study with sources (old study but still relevant today):
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