When José Figueroa received his permanent resident card on Friday, the Langley resident posted a scan of the card online with the ID numbers obscured.
"After more than 19 years of residing in Canada, finally a Permanent Resident Card has been issued," Figueroa wrote.
"To obtain this document meant so many sacrifices by the members of our family. It is time to start to rebuild our lives and to recover what we can recover from all of those years."
He thanked the supporters who backed him during his lengthy lengthy fight against an order deporting him to his native El Salvador because of his involvement with a political movement that opposed a violent dictatorship.
Figueroa sought sanctuary in a Langley church to avoid removal, staying there more than two years until the new Liberal government lifted the deportation order late last year.
"This is a step," Figueroa told the Times.
"I cannot be kicked out of the country, that's for sure."
The fight to become a Canadian citizen is continuing, he said.
