A woman born and raised in Bermuda with a Bermudian father and devoted local family, has been left without status because her parents were unmarried.Laura Roberts, 23, is living in Norwood, Massachusetts as a result.She told The Royal Gazette she feels deprived of her birthright and hopes her case can be reconsidered by Bermuda Immigration.“For me, Bermuda is more than an island,” she said. “It was where I grew up to be who I am today. My family is there. Everything I know is there. When people ask me why I moved to the US, I explain that it was never by choice. Bermuda is my home. Whenever someone asks what my nationality is I say Bermudian, because that’s what I am, regardless of what the government says.”Her predicament came to light this week after Canadian lawyer Kevin Comeau and his American wife opted to leave the Island for the US with their Bermuda-born daughter.The couple hold permanent residency status, for which their seven-year-old child is also eligible upon reaching the age of 18.Mr Comeau said the attached restrictions made them feel as if they were “second-class citizens” on the Island.Said Laura’s mother, US national Helen Roberts: “My daughter was born and raised in Bermuda and she isn’t allowed to live there. Not every single child born out of wedlock to Bermudian and non-Bermudian parents lived the kind of life my daughter did in Bermuda.”Laura’s father was initially part of their lives and his name is on Laura’s birth certificate, Helen added.They met after she moved to the Island as an executive secretary in 1987. The two never married and for some years lived separately but “his family took me right under their wing”, she said.Helen left the Island with her child in 1990 but returned in 1995. She stayed here until 2004 on a year-by-year work permit that was eventually denied.Laura attended Dellwood and Elliott primary schools and then Bermuda High School for Girls.Her mother explained: “Laura sees Bermuda as home. She worked in her granny’s store as a child, she was a Girl Guide, and very close to her father’s family. Now she has been getting into a closer relationship with her father, and I kind of hope that he could help her out. Either way, she is determined to get this done.”Helen said she struggled for years to get Bermudian status for her daughter, but was told repeatedly that it wouldn’t be granted because she and Laura’s father didn’t marry.“It ought to be decided on a case-by-case basis, for sure,” she said. “My daughter lived there for nine years and grew up with her Bermudian family.”Even today Laura has a Bermudian flag on her bedroom wall, Helen added.“Culturally, she is Bermudian, but she doesn’t get any right to live there.”Asked for her side of the story, Laura responded: “I can’t tell you in words exactly what Bermuda means to me. All I can really say is Bermuda is where my heart is.”She said leaving the Island was “the biggest challenge I have ever faced in my 23 years of life ... I am still coping with it”.Added Laura: “I cried for months. I was ripped apart from my best friend. We had to sell my toys because there was no room. The only thing that I was able to bring with me were my memories. I was taken from everything I knew and was expected to start all over again.“I identify myself as a Bermudian. To me, that is still how I live my way of life. In Massachusetts, I feel like an outsider — even years later.”She visits the Island often and was last here in 2010 to introduce her boyfriend to her Bermudian family.She said she was unsure as to her legal recourse at this point.“I do want to hold Bermuda citizenship,” she continued. “It’s my birthright.“If Mr Comeau, who is Canadian, and his wife, who is American, can be granted something, I must have options as well. Many of my family members have said that they are willing to help. It feels great to have the support of loved ones.”Asked how she would respond to a Bermudian questioning her right to status, she said: “It’s a shame that I have gotten so much opposition. Of course, coming from both sides, the arguments are understandable, but I must chalk it up to ignorance. I could never imagine denying anyone their birthright.”According to a Department of Immigration spokesman, Ms Roberts has been advised how to proceed with an application, and has contacted Government to discuss it.“The staff at the Department are available and more than happy to discuss the issues with Ms Roberts at her convenience,” he said.