What is the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status?

SIJS is the abbreviation for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. This status is beneficial to undocumented individuals who are under the age of 21 whom have been neglected, abandoned or abused by a parent or a caretaker.

There are two parts to apply for SIJS-

You must work with your local family court to be identified as a dependent of the family court. The way you identify this dependency is by the family court issuing you Guardian Appointment orders and a Special findings order. The orders must identify the following five criteria:

• You are under 21 years of age;
• Must be unmarried at the time of applying;
• Must be declared a dependent of the family court (as mentioned above);
• Reunification with one or both parents is not possible due to abuse, abandonment, neglect or similar basis under state law;
• It is not in the best interest for the applicant to be returned to the native country.

Fill out the I-360 petition form and include the guardianship appointment and special findings orders granted from the Family Court, and your birth certificate with a certified translation. This form is then submitted to USCIS. A receipt notice then follows within a month of submitting the petition. A response from USCIS depends on which processing center it is mailed to; the times of wait can range from 4 to 11 months for adjudication.

• Unlawful entry is waived.
• Once the SIJS application is approved you are eligible to apply for a work authorization document, under the deferred action plan.
• Pathway to legal permanent residency, this benefit is only available to you once your priority date is current. The Department of State Visa Bulletin identifies which country and date are the ‘priority’.

• You cannot leave this country while you are under this status, you are automatically disqualified if you depart the United States. This means you cannot travel outside of the U.S. until you are a Legal Permanent Residency holder.
• You are barred from ever petitioning for your parents to obtain Legal Permanent Residency.

On March 7, 2022, USCIS announced a new policy that would benefit a person that has an approved SIJS petition. The policy is a form of prosecutorial discretion, which includes the temporary protection from deportation. This action mostly benefits those in the backlog waiting for their priority date to become current. The policy now grants work authorizations for a valid period of 4 years. The authorization can be granted while you wait for your turn to apply for Legal Permanent Residency.