My daughter has been accepted to university while our asylum case is still undecided

Dear Delyara, My daughter received a university offer today. She screamed when she opened the email. We hugged. Ten minutes later, she asked, “Will I actually be allowed to go?” Our asylum case has been unresolved for years. Her future depends on decisions made by people who have never met her. She has grown up here, studied here, speaks English better than our first language, and still plans everything with an invisible question mark. We do not know what fees she would face, whether funding is possible, whether our status will change before enrolment, whether we may be required to leave. I told her to accept the offer. She asked if that was sensible. I said sometimes hope has to submit paperwork before certainty arrives. I sounded wise. Inside, I was terrified. Tonight, she is making lists of accommodation and societies she might join. I am secretly collecting immigration documents at the same table. Her acceptance letter begins, “We are delighted.” I wish governments used sentences like that.