The special Immigrant Juvenile Status classification or SIJS allows for certain children under the age of 21 to obtain legal permanent residency in the United States on the basis that they have been separated from one or both of their parents due to abandoned, neglected, or abuse. Learn more about SIJS. After being classified as a SIJ and applying for adjustment of status, the SIJS applicant must demonstrate their admissibility or obtain a waiver of inadmissibility for any grounds that apply to them. Grounds of Inadmissibility that Do NOT Apply to SIJS SIJS applicants are exempt from certain grounds of inadmissibility. The following grounds of inadmissibility automatically do not apply to SIJS-based adjustment of status applicants and no application for a waiver need be submitted:  ▶ INA § 212(a)(9)(B) Unlawful presence: three- and ten-year bars A person who accrues more than 180 days but less than a year of unlawful presence in the United States, then voluntarily departs the country before immigration proceedings commence, is inadmissible for three years from the date of departure A person who accrues one year or more of unlawful presence, then leaves the United States voluntarily or by a deportation/removal order, is inadmissible for ten years from the date of departure. ▶ INA § 212(a)(4) Public charge Persons whom the government believes are likely to receive certain public benefits for more than an aggregate of 12 months over any 36-month period of time.  ▶ INA § 212(a)(5)(A) Labor certification Individuals who enter the United States to perform work without a labor certification.  ▶ INA § 212(a)(6)(A) Present without admission or parole Persons who entered the United States without inspection. ▶ INA § 212(a)(6)(C) Fraud or misrepresentation, including false claim to U.S. citizenship Use of a forged U.S. passport or green card or someone else’s U.S. birth certificate. ▶ INA § 212(a)(6)(D) Stowaways Persons who board a vessel without consent of the owner or person in command of the vessel.  ▶ INA § 212(a)(7)(A) Immigrants not in possession of a valid unexpired immigrant visa, reentry permit, border crossing identification card, or other valid entry document Persons who arrive at the border without any documents, or who possess an invalid visa  Grounds of Inadmissibility That Are Waivable Grounds of inadmissibility that do apply but are waivable as a Matter of Discretion under a special waiver provision for special immigrant juveniles. The waiver standard is relatively generous and is “for humanitarian purposes, family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest.”  These waivers are considered as a matter of discretion. 

USCIS had update their policy manual but the following changes were only recently updated in the regulations in April 2022. CHANGES TO 8 CFR § 204.11 UNMARRIED 8 CFR § 204.11(b)(2): SIJS applicant now required to remain unmarried only through the adjudication of the SIJS petition, rather than through the adjudication of the subsequent application for adjustment of status. Prior to the change in the regulations a SIJS applicant had to remain unmarried until they completed their adjustment of status and obtained residency. Under the changed regulations a SIJS applicant can get married once their I-360 petition is approved and while they are waiting for the priority date to become current so they can adjust status. JUVENILE COURT’S JURISDICTION 8 CFR § 204.11(c)(3)(ii): The juvenile court order must be in effect on the date the applicant files the SIJS petition and continue only through USCIS’s adjudication of the SIJS petition, rather than through the adjudication of the subsequent application for adjustment of status. 8 CFR §204.11(c)(3)(ii) specifies the judicial determinations that the juvenile court order must contain, including: (1) the dependency or custody determination, (2) the determination that the young person cannot reunify with one or both parents due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis under State law, and (3) the best interest determination. For this reason it is important to make sure the juvenile court order should include the “factual basis” for each of the three SIJS findings/judicial determinations as required by 8 CFR § 204.11(d) and should also cite to state law for each of the determinations. 1 If the juvenile court indicates that parental reunification was not viable due to a basis other than abuse, neglect, or abandonment, the applicant must include evidence of how that basis is legally similar to abuse, neglect, or abandonment under state law. For additional guidance about what to include in the juvenile court order, see 6 USCIS-PM J.3(A)(1).

Legal Authorities For Special Immigrant Juvenile Status

ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS The applicant must have been: 1. Inspected and Admitted or Inspected and Paroled SIJs are not exempt from the general adjustment requirement that applicants be inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled. However, the INA expressly states that SIJs are considered paroled into the United States for purposes of adjustment under INA 245(a). Accordingly, the beneficiary of an approved SIJ petition is treated for purposes of the adjustment application as if the beneficiary has been paroled, regardless of the beneficiary’s manner of arrival in the United States. 2. Eligibility to Receive an Immigrant Visa An applicant must be eligible to receive an immigrant visa to adjust status. An adjustment applicant typically establishes eligibility for an immigrant visa through an approved immigrant petition. An SIJ can establish eligibility for an immigrant visa by obtaining classification from USCIS by filing an SIJ-based Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Form I-360) (SIJ petition). Therefore, in order for an SIJ-based adjustment applicant to be eligible to receive an immigrant visa, he or she must be one of the following: The SIJ petition should already be adjudicated and approved when the officer adjudicates the adjustment application. USCIS does not re-adjudicate the SIJ petition at the time of the adjudication of the adjustment application but the officer will ensure that the applicant remains classified as a special immigrant juvenile and thus is eligible to adjust based on that petition. Revocation of Approved Petition USCIS may revoke an approved SIJ petition upon notice for what it deems to be good and sufficient cause, such as, if the record contains evidence or information that materially conflicts with the evidence or information that was the basis for petitioner’s eligibility for SIJ classification.  Automatic Revocation of Approved Petition USCIS automatically revokes an approved SIJ petition, as of the date of approval, if any one of the circumstances below occurs before a decision on the adjustment application is issued: 3. Bars to Adjustment An applicant classified as an SIJ is barred from adjustment if deportable due to engagement in terrorist activity or association with terrorist organizations. There is no waiver of or exemption to this adjustment bar if it applies. Therefore, if the terrorist-related bar to adjustment applies, an SIJ is ineligible for adjustment of status. 4. Admissibility and Waiver Requirements An applicant who is inadmissible to the United States may only obtain LPR status only after obtaining a waiver or other form of relief, if available. SIJS Applicants for adjustment are exempt from several grounds of inadmissibility and do not require a waiver for those grounds. Inadmissibility Grounds that Do Not Apply to Special Immigrant Juveniles INA 212(a)(4) Public Charge INA 212(a)(5)(A) Labor Certification INA 212(a)(6)(A) Present without admission or parole INA 212(a)(6)(C) Misrepresentation INA 212(a)(6)(D) Stowaways INA 212(a)(7)(A) Documentation Requirements for Immigrants INA 212(a)(9)(B) Unlawful Presence Inadmissibility Grounds that Apply to Special Immigrant Juveniles INA 212(a)(1) Health-Related INA 212(a)(2) Crime-Related INA 212(a)(3) Security-Related INA 212(a)(6)(B) Failure to Attend Removal Proceedings INA 212(a)(6)(E) Smugglers INA 212(a)(6)(F) Subject of Civil Penalty INA 212(a)(6)(G) Student Visa Abusers INA 212(a)(8) Ineligibility for Citizenship INA 212(a)(9)(A) Certain Aliens Previously Removed INA 212(a)(9)(C) Aliens Unlawfully Present After Previous Immigration Violations INA 212(a)(10) Practicing Polygamists, Guardians Required to Accompany Helpless Persons, International Child Abductors, Unlawful Voters, and Former Citizens who Renounced Citizenship to Avoid Taxation An applicant found inadmissible based on any of the above applicable grounds may be eligible for an SIJ-specific waiver of these inadmissibility grounds for: Inadmissibility Grounds that Cannot Be Waived INA 212(a)(2)(A) Conviction of Certain Crimes INA 212(a)(2)(B) Multiple Criminal Convictions INA 212(a)(2)(C) Controlled Substance Traffickers INA 212(a)(3)(A) Security and Related Grounds INA 212(a)(3)(B) Terrorist Activities INA 212(a)(3)(C) Foreign Policy Related INA 212(a)(3)(E) Participants in Nazi Persecution, Genocide, or the Commission of Any Act of Torture or Extrajudicial Killing Documentation and Evidence An applicant should submit the following documentation to adjust status as an SIJ: AUTHORITY INA §245(h) [link] Application with respect to special immigrants In applying this section to a special immigrant described in section 1101(a)(27)(J) of this title- (1) such an immigrant shall be deemed, for purposes of subsection (a), to have been paroled into the United States; and (2) in determining the alien’s admissibility as an immigrant- (A) paragraphs (4), (5)(A), (6)(A), (6)(C), (6)(D), (7)(A), and (9)(B) of section 1182(a) of this title shall not apply; and (B) the Attorney General may waive other paragraphs of section 1182(a) of this title (other than paragraphs (2)(A), (2)(B), (2)(C) (except for so much of such paragraph as related to a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana), (3)(A), (3)(B), (3)(C), and (3)(E)) in the case of individual aliens for humanitarian purposes, family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest. The relationship between an alien and the alien’s natural parents or prior adoptive parents shall not be considered a factor in making a waiver under paragraph (2)(B). Nothing in this subsection or section 1101(a)(27)(J) of this title shall be construed as authorizing an alien to apply for admission or be admitted to the United States in order to obtain special immigrant status described in such section. 8 CFR 245.1(e)(3) [link] Special immigrant juveniles — (i) Eligibility for adjustment of status. For the limited purpose of meeting one of the eligibility requirements for adjustment of status under section 245(a) of the Act, which requires that an individual be inspected and admitted or paroled, an applicant classified as a special immigrant juvenile under section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Act will be deemed to have been paroled into the United States as provided in § 245.1(a) and section 245(h) of the Act. (ii) Bars to adjustment. An applicant classified as a special immigrant juvenile is subject only to the adjustment bar described in section 245(c)(6) of the Act. Therefore, an applicant classified as a special immigrant juvenile is barred from adjustment if deportable due to engagement in terrorist activity or association with terrorist organizations (section 237(a)(4)(B) of the Act). There is no waiver of or exemption to this adjustment bar if

ALL LEGAL AUTHORITIES INA 101(a)(27)(J)  SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE DEFINITION (J) an immigrant who is present in the United States- (i) who has been declared dependent on a juvenile court located in the United States or whom such a court has legally committed to, or placed under the custody of, an agency or department of a State, or an individual or entity appointed by a State or juvenile court located in the United States, and whose reunification with 1 or both of the immigrant’s parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found under State law; (ii) for whom it has been determined in administrative or judicial proceedings that it would not be in the alien’s best interest to be returned to the alien’s or parent’s previous country of nationality or country of last habitual residence; and (iii) in whose case the Secretary of Homeland Security consents to the grant of special immigrant juvenile status, except that- (I) no juvenile court has jurisdiction to determine the custody status or placement of an alien in the custody of the Secretary of Health and Human Services unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services specifically consents to such jurisdiction; and (II) no natural parent or prior adoptive parent of any alien provided special immigrant status under this subparagraph shall thereafter, by virtue of such parentage, be accorded any right, privilege, or status under this chapter; 8 CFR 204.11  Special immigrant juvenile classification § 204.11 Special immigrant juvenile classification. (a) Definitions. As used in this section, the following definitions apply to a request for classification as a special immigrant juvenile. Judicial determination means a conclusion of law made by a juvenile court. Juvenile court means a court located in the United States that has jurisdiction under State law to make judicial determinations about the dependency and/or custody and care of juveniles. Petition means the form designated by USCIS to request classification as a special immigrant juvenile and the act of filing the request. Petitioner means the alien seeking special immigrant juvenile classification. State means the definition set out in section 101(a)(36) of the Act, including an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium, operating a program under a plan approved under 42 U.S.C. 671. United States means the definition set out in section 101(a)(38) of the Act. (b) Eligibility. A petitioner is eligible for classification as a special immigrant juvenile under section 203(b)(4) of the Act as described at section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Act, if they meet all of the following requirements: (1) Is under 21 years of age at the time of filing the petition; (2) Is unmarried at the time of filing and adjudication; (3) Is physically present in the United States; (4) Is the subject of a juvenile court order(s) that meets the requirements under paragraph (c) of this section; and (5) Obtains consent from the Secretary of Homeland Security to classification as a special immigrant juvenile. For USCIS to consent, the request for SIJ classification must be bona fide, which requires the petitioner to establish that a primary reason the required juvenile court determinations were sought was to obtain relief from parental abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis under State law. USCIS may withhold consent if evidence materially conflicts with the eligibility requirements in paragraph (b) of this section such that the record reflects that the request for SIJ classification was not bona fide. USCIS approval of the petition constitutes the granting of consent. (c) Juvenile court order(s) — (1) Court-ordered dependency or custody and parental reunification determination. The juvenile court must have made certain judicial determinations related to the petitioner’s custody or dependency and determined that the petitioner cannot reunify with their parent(s) due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis under State law. (i) The juvenile court must have made at least one of the following judicial determinations related to the petitioner’s custodial placement or dependency in accordance with State law governing such determinations: (A) Declared the petitioner dependent upon the juvenile court; or (B) Legally committed to or placed the petitioner under the custody of an agency or department of a State, or an individual or entity appointed by a State or juvenile court. (ii) The juvenile court must have made a judicial determination that parental reunification with one or both parents is not viable due to abuse, abandonment, neglect, or a similar basis under State law. The court is not required to terminate parental rights to determine that parental reunification is not viable. (2) Best interest determination. (i) A determination must be made in judicial or administrative proceedings by a court or agency recognized by the juvenile court and authorized by law to make such decisions that it would not be in the petitioner’s best interest to be returned to the petitioner’s or their parent’s country of nationality or last habitual residence. (ii) Nothing in this part should be construed as altering the standards for best interest determinations that juvenile court judges routinely apply under relevant State law. (3) Qualifying juvenile court order(s). (i) The juvenile court must have exercised its authority over the petitioner as a juvenile and made the requisite judicial determinations in this paragraph under applicable State law to establish eligibility. (ii) The juvenile court order(s) must be in effect on the date the petitioner files the petition and continue through the time of adjudication of the petition, except when the juvenile court’s jurisdiction over the petitioner terminated solely because: (A) The petitioner was adopted, placed in a permanent guardianship, or another child welfare permanency goal was reached, other than reunification with a parent or parents with whom the court previously found that reunification was not viable; or (B) The petitioner was the subject of a qualifying juvenile court order that was terminated based on age, provided the petitioner was under 21 years of age at the time of filing the petition. (d) Petition requirements. A petitioner must submit all of the following evidence, as applicable to their petition: (1) Petition. A petition by or on behalf of a juvenile, filed on the form prescribed by USCIS in accordance with

IN-PERSON APPOINTMENTS AT USCIS FIELD OFFICES FOR SIJS AGE-OUTS In-person appointments can be scheduled if the child is turning 21 in two weeks or sooner by contacting the  USCIS Contact Center to request an expedited appointment with a USCIS field office . If you try to make an appointment more than 14 days prior to the child’s twenty-first birthday USCIS will presumably advise you to file by mail instead.  No I-360 receipt will be issued at the in-person appointment. The I-360 receipt will be issued by mail but will have the filing date of the day they appeared in-person at the field office. The USCIS field office won’t issue any proof of filing at the appointment.  In-person appointments can be scheduled if the child is turning 21 in two weeks or sooner by contacting the  USCIS Contact Center to request an expedited appointment with a USCIS field office . If you try to make an appointment more than 14 days prior to the child’s twenty-first birthday USCIS will presumably advise you to file by mail instead. 

General Eligibility Requirements for SIJ Classification INA§101(a)(27)(J) (codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J) (a) As used in this chapter— (1)–(26) * * * (27) The term “special immigrant” means— (J) an immigrant who is present in the United States— (i) who has been declared dependent on a juvenile court located in the United States or whom such a court has legally committed to, or placed under the custody of, an agency or department of a State, or an individual or entity appointed by a State or juvenile court located in the United States, and whose reunification with 1 or both of the immigrant’s parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found under State law; (ii) for whom it has been determined in administrative or judicial proceedings that it would not be in the alien’s best interest to be returned to the alien’s or parent’s previous country of nationality or country of last habitual residence; and (iii) in whose case the Secretary of Homeland Security consents to the grant of special immigrant juvenile status, except that— (I) no juvenile court has jurisdiction to determine the custody status or placement of an alien in the custody of the Secretary of Health and Human Services unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services specifically consents to such jurisdiction; and (II) no natural parent or prior adoptive parent of any alien provided special immigrant status under this subparagraph shall thereafter, by virtue of such parentage, be accorded any right, privilege, or status under this chapter; PROCESS Age-out Protections for Filing with USCIS In general, a juvenile may seek SIJ classification if he or she is under 21 years of age and unmarried at the time of filing the petition with USCIS. However, state law is controlling as to whether a petitioner is considered a “child” or any other equivalent term for a juvenile subject to the jurisdiction of a state juvenile court for custody or dependency proceedings. If a petitioner was under 21 years of age on the date of the proper filing of the Form I-360, and all other eligibility requirements under the statute are met, USCIS cannot deny SIJ classification solely because the petitioner is older than 21 years of age at the time of adjudication. USCIS RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED IN-PERSON APPOINTMENTS AT USCIS FIELD OFFICES FOR SIJS AGE-OUTS For Applicants who are within a month of their 21st birthday, USCIS allows them to make an appointment to drop off their I-360 self-petition in-person to ensure it is timely filed. Juvenile Court Order For purposes of SIJ classification, a juvenile court is defined as a U.S. court having jurisdiction under state law to make judicial determinations on the dependency and/or custody and care of juveniles. This means the court must have the authority to make determinations about dependency and/or custody and care of the petitioner as a juvenile under state law at the time the order was issued. Depending on the circumstances, such a determination generally would be expected to remain in place until the juvenile reached the age of majority, or until the goal of a child welfare permanency plan, such as adoption, or other protective relief ordered by the juvenile court has been reached. The title and the type of court that may meet the definition of a juvenile court varies from state to state. Examples of state courts that may meet this definition include: juvenile, family, dependency, orphans, guardianship, probate, and youthful offender courts. Not all courts having jurisdiction over juveniles under state law may be acting as juvenile courts for the purposes of SIJ classification. For example, a court of general jurisdiction that issues an order with SIJ-related findings outside of any juvenile custody or dependency proceeding would generally not be acting as a juvenile court for SIJ purposes. The burden is on the petitioner to establish that the court is acting as a juvenile court at the time that the order is issued. To be eligible for SIJ classification, the petitioner must submit a juvenile court order(s) with the following determinations, and the record must provide evidence that there is a reasonable factual basis for each of the determinations:

Conditional Parole Conditional parole is also known as release from custody. This is a separate and distinct process from parole and does not meet the “inspected and paroled” requirement for adjustment eligibility. Evidence of Parole Evidence of parole includes: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) Parole INA § 245(h) states “a special immigrant described in section 1101(a)(27)(J) of this title…such an immigrant shall be deemed, for purposes of subsection (a) [adjustment of status], to have been paroled into the United States.” The Regulations at 8 C.F.R. § 1245.1(a) goes farther, noting that regardless of how they entered the United States, a young person designated a special immigrant juvenile has been paroled: such a person is “deemed, for the purpose of applying the adjustment of status provisions of section 245(a) of the Act, to have been paroled into the United States, regardless of the actual method of entry into the United States” (emphasis added). A Respondent cannot be found inadmissible or removable for being present in the United States without having been paroled when, under the law, he has been deemed to have been paroled. So this would serve as grounds for a motion to terminate removal proceedings if the the respondent is being charged only as inadmissible INA § 212(a)(6)(A)(i). INA §245(h) (h) Application with respect to special immigrants In applying this section to a special immigrant described in section 1101(a)(27)(J) of this title- (1) such an immigrant shall be deemed, for purposes of subsection (a), to have been paroled into the United States; and (2) in determining the alien’s admissibility as an immigrant- (A) paragraphs (4), (5)(A), (6)(A), (6)(C), (6)(D), (7)(A), and (9)(B) of section 1182(a) of this title shall not apply; and (B) the Attorney General may waive other paragraphs of section 1182(a) of this title (other than paragraphs (2)(A), (2)(B), (2)(C) (except for so much of such paragraph as related to a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana), (3)(A), (3)(B), (3)(C), and (3)(E)) in the case of individual aliens for humanitarian purposes, family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest. INA § 245(h) is clear and unambiguous, as “a special immigrant described in section 1101(a)(27)(J) of this title…such an immigrant shall be deemed, for purposes of subsection (a) [adjustment of status], to have been paroled into the United States.” The Regulations at 8 C.F.R. § 1245.1(a) goes farther, noting that regardless of how they entered the United States, a young person designated a special immigrant juvenile has been paroled: such a person is “deemed, for the purpose of applying the adjustment of status provisions of section 245(a) of the Act, to have been paroled into the United States, regardless of the actual method of entry into the United States” (emphasis added). The Respondent cannot be found inadmissible or removable for being present in the United States without having been paroled when, under the law, he has been deemed to have been paroled. 8 USC § 1101(a)(27)(J) (J) an immigrant who is present in the United States— **(i)**who has been declared dependent on a juvenile court located in the United States or whom such a court has legally committed to, or placed under the custody of, an agency or department of a State, or an individual or entity appointed by a State or juvenile court located in the United States, and whose reunification with 1 or both of the immigrant’s parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found under State law; **(ii)**for whom it has been determined in administrative or judicial proceedings that it would not be in the alien’s best interest to be returned to the alien’s or parent’s previous country of nationality or country of last habitual residence; and (iii) in whose case the Secretary of Homeland Security consents to the grant of special immigrant juvenile status, except that— **(I)**no juvenile court has jurisdiction to determine the custody status or placement of an alien in the custody of the Secretary of Health and Human Services unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services specifically consents to such jurisdiction; and **(II)**no natural parent or prior adoptive parent of any alien provided special immigrant status under this subparagraph shall thereafter, by virtue of such parentage, be accorded any right, privilege, or status under this chapter; When is Parole NOT Parole for Purposes of Adjustment of Status? See **Matter of Olty CABRERA-FERNANDEZ, 28 I&N Dec. 747 (BIA 2023);** MATTER OF CABRERA FERNANDEZ (1) Release on conditional parole under section 236(a)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a)(2)(B) (2018), is legally distinct from release on humanitarian parole under section 212(d)(5)(A) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)(A) (2018). Matter of Castillo-Padilla, 25 I&N Dec. 257, 258–63 (BIA 2010), followed. (2) Applicants for admission who are released on conditional parole rather than humanitarian parole have not been “inspected and admitted or paroled,” and accordingly are not eligible for adjustment of status under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act of November 2, 1966, Pub. L. No. 89-732, 80 Stat. 1161, as amended.