Dalila Yeend, a Troy mother of two facing deportation, had her case dismissed in immigration court Monday morning after filing a green card application with funds donated by strangers.

Yeend can no longer be deported, doesn't have to return to immigration court near Buffalo or check in with the government while her application to become a permanent resident based on her petition as a domestic violence survivor is pending. It could take up to a year to get an answer — but her attorney, Siana McLean, who practices near Buffalo, said she has a good chance of getting it because she already has an approved petition.

A woman Yeend described as a "Good Samaritan" drove her from Troy to Buffalo Sunday and paid for her hotel. When Yeend walked into the court Monday morning, she could have been deported - and was shocked by the outcome.

"I felt like a weight was lifted off my chest," Yeend told the Times Union, flooded with relief after the Monday court hearing. "This is the best possible outcome I could have gotten."

Yeend, who is originally from Australia, came to the U.S. from New Zealand with her mother when she was 17 years old. Yeend made headlines in May when she was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a traffic stop for rolling through a stop sign in Troy. The single mother of a nine-year-old and 11-year-old spent two and a half months in immigration detention near Buffalo and was abruptly released in August.

In September, she applied for work authorization and a green card based on her petition as a domestic violence survivor. She's had the approved petition since 2014, but because of inconsistent legal representation and lack of knowledge, hadn't applied yet for a green card.

A month later, she received a notice that she failed to demonstrate her "inability to pay" and wasn't eligible for a waiver for the $1,225 fees. She hasn't been able to work since she was detained in May. Yeend and McLean said that the immigration judge in Buffalo on Monday was shocked that the initial fee waiver was denied.

If Yeend couldn't file her application, she was at risk of being deported at her next court date. After a plea for help, a stranger gave her the full amount she needed. A GoFundMe for the family has raised nearly $8,000.

"Without the GoFundMe, I don't think we would be able to survive at all," Yeend said.

Yeend still has to wait three to five months for her work authorization to be approved before she can get steady income and support her kids again. For now, Yeend will get the ankle bracelet the government used to track her removed on Friday and live without the fear of deportation.