Teachers at a Montgomery County high school were devastated that one of their students could be deported.

The 18-year-old has lived in the United States since she was 6 and knows no other home.

Currently, she lives in Pennsburg, Montgomery County with her legal guardians.

She is a native of Belarus, in eastern Europe.

Teachers at Upper Perkiomen High School are writing letters in support of Anya Gorlova and her desire to stay in America.

Gorlova said she loves it in American and that this is her home.

NBC 10 sat down with Gorlova and the Chmielinskis at the high school. Al and Jackie Chmielinski said they became legal guardians of Gorlova in 2003, when she was 13 years old.

"She was left home alone a lot. She eventually became our family," Al Chmielinski said.

Gorlova, a high school senior, said her grandparents sent her to America from Belarus when she was 6 years old.

"My grandfather has heart problems, as well as my grandmother. Nobody really knows where my mom is but she's alive though doing her own thing. My dad died though when I was 8," Gorlova said.

Although she's been in the United States for 12 years, she doesn't have a visa, or a green card. Also, she wasn't adopted as a cousin led her to believe. Now, she fears she may be deported.

"I don't think words can describe how scary it is. I feel anxious. I would probably be on my own at 19," Gorlova said.

"I want her in my family. She's my daughter. This is her family," Jackie Chmielinski said.

Ernie Quatrani, Gorlova's teacher, said it would be a tragedy. Hope it doesn't become a routine through no fault of her own.

Quatrani, a journalism teacher, has galvanized teachers to help Gorlova become a legal citizen. They're writing letters on her behalf.

View Images

"Anya Gorlova is a caring, respectful and humble individual with many gifts and talents," Susan Flack, an algebra teacher, said.

"Her maturity and sense of social consciousness are far beyond her years," Erika Hemperly said.

Gorlova said she hopes for the day when she'll be sworn in as an American citizen.

"I know this is my home and I know I belong here," she said.

Her deportation hearing is scheduled for April 21.