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.
I went through my Green Card and Citizenship applications with Elizabeth Rompf and every step of the way was fantastic. Incredibly professional, prompt, clear, and very attentive to details. I cannot recommend them enough! They're my absolute top pick for any immigration recommendations!
DRB helped us with securing a work visa for one of our staff members, communicated well, and helped explain the process.
I am full of gratitude while writing this review for Delgado Rompf Bruen Law. Thank you so much Marta for handling my case so beautifully. It has been only your diligence and professionalism in the work which guided my case to success. I am very fortunate to have you as an attorney. With other attorneys I've experienced ones who only took my money and promised to help me or never called me back. You're helping a lot of people with your honesty and great quality of work. I can't thank you enough. Yay, I am an American Citizen!
Elizabeth and her legal team were extremely helpful in my husband's green card case. They had us so prepared that the interview was a piece of cake. We didn't have a single issue. They were quick to reply to any questions we had and were very honest with us about any possible issues we could have. I would highly recommend her and her team.
I began working with Martha after a decade of having my immigration process handled by attorneys that worked for my employers and everything changed immediately. Martha was invested in my personal story and circumstances and took all the time I needed to talk me through the options and process. She was consistently professional, knowledgable, and compassionate. She even leveraged her network to get specific information about my interview site in the Bay Area which was invaluable the day of my naturalization interview. She's the BEST.
I've struggle for over 10 years to get my Permanent Resident status and have been represented by 4 immigration lawyers over that period. The last one I hired and who was able to resolve my immigration case is Elizabeth Rompf Bruen. The contrast of how she handled my case and the other 3 lawyers was obvious from the beginning. She was always available when I wanted to talk to her and provided the updates in my case as soon as she had one. I also noticed a different level of knowledge and expertise in comparison to the other 3 lawyers....
Marta was the most professional, accurate and caring lawyer I’ve encountered in the 6 years I’ve been living in the US, her work ethics are unmatched and without doubt was the best decision for my process. I recommend her to anyone that needs help, you will feel listened and she is incredible when it comes to explaining this procedures in a simple and straight forward manner. She will be my first option again when the time comes in the future.
Elizabeth has been my immigration attorney on multiple cases. She handled my 3 different cases over past 7 years including the recent immigration case that got approval last month. Whenever I need attorney help, the only person I reach out to is Elizabeth. She is knowledgeable and very professional in handling any case. Elizabeth always kept me informed about the status of my case. She is very responsive to my emails and phone calls. I highly recommend Elizabeth.
Elizabeth helped me file, process and ultimately successfully complete my Naturalization "journey" to become an American citizen. There were bumps on the road as the process is time-consuming, confusing (to me) and frequently frustrating... But Elizabeth (and her staff) were always responsive, clear, knowledgeable and reliable. I am today an American citizen and I would recommend her services to anyone anytime. She is great!
We contacted Martha after reaching out 3 immigration lawyers and having terrible experiences. When it comes to immigration issues it is easy to play with peoples’ hopes, Martha was fresh air. Since the first call, Martha was straightforward and realistic, she thoroughly explained the rules that applied, most common/possible outcomes in my case, time frames and the requirements I had to meet. She didn’t oversimplify things nor came up with patchwork solution (considering my level of anxiety at that time), she came up with long term solutions that would take up some time but also were attainable. Together we set...
