[Mz]

I'm not so sure about that: My mother was given a "hardship exception" to immigrate here. And the googling I have done so far indicates that historically we tended to give amnesty to individuals rather than whole groups and this is what was different about the 1986 Amnesty Act (Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)). So while there may be no wholesale amnesty available as an easy out, that doesn't mean there are no exceptions being made. If I were in this situation, I would be asking a) when and why they make such exceptions? and b) is there any hope I can get such an exception? If so, how?

So I think they do sometimes make exceptions, on an individual basis. That is the angle I would look into.