Did I make the right decision?

Are you asking if you made the right decision by not being an illegal immigrant?

Yea

If by NOT breaking the law, you mean, not putting a burden on the economy and social security system and going back and finishing school, then yes, you did.

Finishing school is the way to go. You will be happier if you are living here legally.

Yes, you made the right decision. Finish school in your country, and then find a legal way to come back. Not trying to sound nasty, but we really don’t take kindly to illegals these days. If you actually want to live here, then you need to come in legally, and get a job and take care of yourself.

And, a side note. I have vacationed in a lot of other countries. There is a BIG difference between being on vacation somewhere and actually living there. You might be in for a big surprise when you have to do the daily grind of living here.

Is “school” high school or college? I am assuming college. Once you get your degree you can try to get a Visa through work, or come here for gradate school on a student visa.

Also, depending on what country you are from it might be fairly easy to come back on other types of Visa’s. The US still has quotas for each country. If you are from a country that does not have many citizens trying to come in you might not have much trouble.

@Eureka makes a good point, living somewhere and vacationing there are very different. My husband’s family is from Mexico and some of the family members made some incorrect assumptions about what America would really be like to work and live. They idealized America, were incorrect about how we define freedom, and thought money would come easy here.

In order to enter the United States from anywhere, you now have to have a current passport.

Yes you did. You absolutely do not want the experience of being deported, it can wreck your life. Unless there is civil war in your country or something like that, the risk is not worth it.

You made the right decision. Living here is much different from vacationing here. Even if you had decided to go back and come in legally, it’s much better to do so after you have your education. And legally is always better than illegally.

If your visa expired, can’t you just renew it? You did make the right decision, since having a good education is the best way to get ahead in the U S