Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) provides a pathway to lawful permanent residency for children who have suffered abuse, abandonment, neglect, or other mistreatment by at least one parent. To qualify for SIJS, the child must be physically present in the United States, and a state court must find that (1) the child is under 21 years of age; (2) the child is unmarried; (3) the child has been declared dependent on a juvenile court, placed in the custody of a state agency, or placed in the custody of an individual appointed by a state court; (4) reunification with at least one parent is not feasible due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or similar mistreatment under state law; and (5) it is not in the child’s best interest to return to their country of nationality.
Learn more about Special Immigrant Juvenile Status here.
Petitioning for SIJS has several steps. The first action requires appearing in state court to determine if the child is eligible for SIJS due to abuse, neglect, or other mistreatment by one or both parents. Delgado Rompf Bruen will partner with your state court attorney or refer you to a trusted colleague for help in state court. We can then review the state court findings to determine if they are sufficient to prove eligibility for SIJS.
Delgado Rompf Bruen can also assist with filing both the SIJS petition and the adjustment of status application when the child becomes eligible for lawful permanent residence in the U.S. The SIJS petition requires the submission of documents to prove the child’s age, nationality, and eligibility for SIJS due to a state court’s findings. Delgado Rompf Bruen can help clients determine which documents should be included in the filing.
Those with an approved SIJS petition are eligible to file for adjustment of status if a visa is available for their adjustment. The timing of visa availability is determined by the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin, which is updated monthly to reflect the number of visas available for each immigrant category. Those with SIJS fall into the fourth employment-based category for visa allotment. Delgado Rompf Bruen has much experience with the Visa Bulletin and can counsel clients on the monthly changes of the Visa Bulletin and whether they are affected by the Bulletin or if they are eligible to file their adjustment of status concurrently with their SIJS petition.
As discussed above, a petition for SIJS is a multi-step, multi-jurisdictional process. When filing with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, it is crucial to have a copy of the state or juvenile court order, including the findings that establish the child’s eligibility for SIJS. USCIS will defer to the court’s findings relating to the abuse, neglect, or mistreatment suffered by the child, which makes the court documents the most important evidence in an SIJS petition.
If you are unsure if you qualify for SIJS, feel free to contact Delgado Rompf Bruen here to schedule a consultation. Delgado Rompf Bruen is available to assist SIJS petitioners at any stage in the process, from requesting a state court finding to filing an adjustment of status application.