A desperate single mother, born on the Island 27 days after the cut-off date that would have qualified her as Bermudian, has been left unable to find work — or qualify to get Financial Assistance.Five months after she first shared her story with The Royal Gazette, and seven months after the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) holder had to surrender her Government job to a Bermudian, the 23-year-old said she was on the verge of penury.An online petition through her Facebook page called The Almost Bermudians drew 90 signatures — but little else.“I just don’t know what to do,” said the woman, who prefers not to use her name.“I can’t get a job. Everyone says Bermudians first, then spouses of Bermudian, then PRCs. I can’t get work even in a grocery store.”Born to Azorean parents who hold PRCs, the woman has a daughter who qualified as Bermudian at age four. Her older siblings are also Bermudians.But her own birthday fell just weeks short of the August 1, 1989 date entitling eligible residents to receive status.Government backbencher Dale Butler, who has met with the woman, said that those who fall afoul of the Immigration and Protection Act face an especially tough battle.“I’ve been coming across more and more young people with similar circumstances,” Mr Butler said.“It’s a worldwide issue, and in Bermuda, as small as we are, it becomes even more complicated.“Government did try with long-term residency as a partial solution. The issue does need to be considered fully with a probably bipartisan committee.“It seems that no matter what solution you come up with, it will always be an issue in a tiny, tiny country.”Long-term residency was offered to candidates who had resided 20 years in Bermuda up until August 1, 1998.In this particular case, the Progressive Labour Party MP speculated that “at the moment, long-term residency is the most she could hope for”.Added Mr Butler: “People fall in love with the country, they have children here and feel part of the country — it seems there might need to be an annual grant for people to get status.“But then the question becomes, if we grant status to those people, would others deliberately stay here, hoping to get citizenship because of it?”Mr Butler said National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief had expressed willingness to hear the woman’s case. So far, the two have yet to meet.He said, for the woman in question, disillusionment may have played a role. And Mr Butler stressed that, if any compromise were to be found, “it can’t be just Government”.“The only way this can be resolved is to get all the parties in the room, and then go out and canvass Bermudians.”The PRC-holding young mother said she had taken her case earlier this year to talk radio.“Except for one caller who disagreed, people were saying I should be Bermudian,” she recalled.Aspects of her case echoed that of US national Laura Roberts, who was born in Bermuda to a US mother and a Bermudian father.Although her father’s name appears on her birth certificate, he was not involved during her early life.Although Ms Roberts has a close relationship with her other Bermudian family, and now has her father’s backing, she cannot prove any close relationship during the first 15 years of her life.For the PRC holder, acquiring Bermuda status for her own Bermuda-born daughter proved a trial.“They kept telling me she wasn’t Bermudian and the child takes the mother’s nationality,” she said. “Once her father gave an affidavit to show that he was part of her life, she got it. And her father’s name was on her birth cert.”She acknowledged: “You can’t help everybody. I’m thankful for my PRC. But don’t sugar-coat it and see you can get a job.“That’s BS. What good is it if I can’t get a job, can’t get financial assistance and can’t qualify for a scholarship?”Now supported by her parents in their Pembroke residence, she said the frustrating aspect of her situation was that “if I got married, I’d be all right”.Asked for comment, a spokesman for the Department of Immigration does not speak on individual cases, because of privacy issues.He added: “Each case is different. The issues highlighted in this case speak to why the Minister has referred to the law as a ‘blunt instrument’ and has pushed for the wholesale review of the law.“The Government has promised this and the Minister has made considerable progress in streamlining policies and amending legislation to make the whole area of immigration more user-friendly and less complicated.”To find out more, e-mail almost.bermudian@gmail.com.