Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) can help young people who have been neglected, abandoned or abused. In some cases, it can be a path to lawful permanent residency if that person is issued a green card.
Those in Hennepin County need to remember that this is actually a two-step process. The first step is to go through a family court or a juvenile court in Minnesota. The court can then act as a “shield” for these vulnerable children.
The state judge will issue a “predicate” order. This order states that it would not be in the child’s best interests for them to be deported back to their home country, so it is actually in their best interest to stay within the United States. That may mean that they need a change of status to become a permanent resident.
Who is eligible?
Even though this status is for children and juveniles, it technically applies to anyone who is under the age of 21. Even if they are in deportation proceedings already, it may be a viable option. They just need to be residing in the United States, and they need to have a valid juvenile court order as noted above.
Additionally, they cannot be married. In most cases, they will never have been married, but there are some cases in which a young person may have been married previously, but it ended through the death of their spouse, through divorce or through an annulment.
The court order will also establish that the individual has suffered from abuse, abandonment, neglect or similar conditions, meaning that being reunified with their parents is not possible or could even be harmful for the child. The goal of SIJS is to allow the child to legally stay in the United States and to protect them from future harm.
The legal process
This can be a complicated legal process, whether determining eligibility or setting up the appropriate hearings. It is important for those involved to know what legal steps to take to protect their futures.