My father-in-law was an undocumented Mexican immigrant in the mid 80's. He got his papers in the late 80's during the Reagan, "Amnesty" and is now a citizen. He worked ag jobs, then packing plants and, after 15 years in a particular factory, started his own Mexican grocery store in a tiny storefront. Think 150 square feet.
Fast forward to today and his grocery store is approximately 5,000 square feet, it generates a couple hundred grand a year in profit and has done so for more about a decade. He owns his store, his house, a horse ranch, a rental and 25 acres of farmland free and clear. It's a pretty badass story.
I just wish he wasn't such a dick to me! Father in law syndrome, I guess. But, I should say that after 14 years of knowing him is finally being nice to me. Gotta give credit where it is due.
A second cool story is my wife. They were still pretty poor while she was growing up because it is long before the grocery store became a success. Because of our immigration system my wife didn't get her papers from her Dad's petition to enter the US legally until she was 17. While her dad was doing all the above , she was growing up in Mexico with her grandparents. Eventually, she came to the US to study in community college. In her first, year she took all math and accounting classes because she could understand the numbers without having to know English! She learned English and finished a 156 credit hour Public Accounting degree in 4 years. She worked at a big 4 accounting firm for a few years before leaving due to the work life balance issues.
We got married 9 years ago. Now we own a small law firm that caters to immigrants and is doing really well. She does all the books, payroll, client trust account reconciliation, 401k administration, digital marketing management and more. We are 32, have three kids, own our home and have over a half a million in liquid investments. So, I think her immigrant story is pretty kick-ass as well.