College or Atelier?

[ASLS]

Hello, I'm in a bit of a bind here.
I was brought to the US when I was about 8 years old (I'm about 20 years old right now). The visa I came here on has long expired (or so I assume, my guardians somehow have a hard time coming up with/giving a clear explanation regarding it).
Now, I do have a social security number, had an employment authorization permit (last year at least, I'm still waiting for a renewed one to come in), and have applied for permanent residence as well.

I am applying to colleges and such and I'm trying to decide wether it matters if I get a degree or not. I'm assuming the worst case scenerio regarding my employment authorization permit (it's been slightly over 3 months since I reapplied) and permanent residence.
From what I understand, having a degree is good for obtaining visas and such. However, I've been researching on visas and such for a while and realized that I can only renew it in my native country. And that if I do go back to my native country, I believe that I will not be allowed to enter the US again for 10 years. Also, 2 years (or so) of my life will be spent in the army which I would be forced to enlist in. (+ I forgot most of the language... I don't plan to go back there, but if I do, I suppose I would have to try to get a job somewhere in Europe?)
Soo... I'm wondering, does a degree matter for someone in my situation?

And sorry for the wall of text and the terrible grammer, in a bit of a hurry right now. Thanks for reading.

[Craig D]

If you can, you should consult with a lawyer with knowledge in this area
as soon as you can.

Advice from people on here might be valid. But if they're wrong they probably won't show up in court to help you out.

[emifinan]

I agree with Craig. Talk to a lawyer if possible.

It would be helpful for us to know what country you are from. I have many many friends from Iran who came to the US on refugee status and were able to obtain permanent residency. (If they returned to Iran they would have been enlisted in military service, found out to be members of the Baha'i Faith, and stripped of their rights as an Iranian citizen without the option of moving/locked in prison.) I also had friends from Singapore come to the US just for college, and when their visa's expired they went to Mexico before returning to their home country to get a new visa to enter the US on vacations and such. I have a friend who is from Peru who obtained a 12 month long work visa for the US and when it expired, went back to Peru for a few months and applied to business school in the US and obtained a new student visa. All of my friends with student visas were forced to leave the US once they graduated.

On a different note, I have a friend from the US who obtained a work visa for Colombia, and when it ran out she obtained a short Visa for Singapore, then after 3 months took a vacation to Thailand so she could obtain another 3 month visa to Singapore, and then returned to the US so she could get a 6 month work visa to Colombia, and then married a guy friend in Colombia so that she could stay. Yeah I have a crazy group of friends.

Other options might include studying in Canada or marrying a woman in the US.

[dguy]

Because you overstayed your previous visa, for what I understand, you will be penalized and won't be able to apply for another visa for 10 years. Even if you wait 10 years, when you reapply they probably deny your application because you have violated your visa status in the past.

Can you apply for refugee status? That would allow you to stay in the US indefinitely.