Local Teen Struggles to Gain U.S. Citizenship

A Simpsonville family claims an error by the S.C. Department of Social Services several years ago has created a "nightmare" for them and their adopted son, Javier, a native of Mexico.

Thomas and Brenda Stephens claim that 10 years ago DSS allowed the Stephens' to adopt Javier, who is now 17 and a rising senior at Woodmont High, without him being a legal U.S. citizen, according to this report by WSPA.

"It wasn't until later when we went to INS to apply for Javier's citizenship, they told us DSS should have gotten his green card before we adopted him," Thomas Stephens told WSPA. "INS told us they couldn't process his adoption because he didn't have a green card or birth certificate."

The result has been 10 years of ongoing legal hassles, countless obstacles, and a small fortune spent in the family's struggle to gain citizenship for Javier, a soccer player and honor student.

Now, the snafu may likely force the family to travel to court in Ciudad Jaurez, a deadly Mexican city in the mist of a drug war, in an effort to obtain the credentials required for U.S. citizenship.

It's unfair, and it never should have come to this, Stephens told the station. 

"They have made mistakes and they're not willing to come back and rectify those mistakes," says Stephens of the government. "They're allowing us to pay the price."