Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status is available to minors who are in the United States who have suffered abuse, abandonment, or neglect and generally have a formal custody placement with someone other than their parent. This status can lead to a green card.

The first step to obtaining Special Immigrant Juvenile Status is obtaining an official court order placing the minor child in the custody of another person or agency – this could be a family member, a friend, a guardian, or a state agency. This requires an official court order – not just a power of attorney. The court order can come from a dependency proceeding, a juvenile delinquency proceeding, a family court order, a probate court order, or a similar type of official court order. The court order also has to state that the placement is in order to avoid the minor child suffering abuse, abandonment, or neglect. Once this order is signed, a petition can be filed with USCIS for them to officially determine that the minor child is a special immigrant juvenile. Once the special immigrant juvenile petition is approved the child will have to wait for a visa number to become available prior to applying for their green card. This wait can take several years. However, once a visa number is available, the person can file for adjustment of status. USCIS also has the discretion to grant deferred action for minor children who have approved SIJS petitions although that is happening less frequently given the policy changes. 

An individual who obtains their green card as a special immigrant juvenile generally is prohibited from petitioning for their parents.