Legalizing undocumented juvenile immigrant

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

I had a question from a member of our community. Since I came here through legal immigration they hoped I could help. I'm not sure I can but I will try. 

 

About 3 years ago, a 14 year old boy from Honduras was left behind by his 'father' who was having him work illegally as a roofer and took all his pay.

After an argument that the homeowners got involved in, he left the boy on their doorstep. 

The people took him in, sent him to school and cared for him. He is now 17 and they are looking into ways to get him a legal status. 

 

We don't know of any US citizen (or greencard) family members and the child was not officially adopted. The 'father' that left him is probably not the father, and illegal in any case.  

They do have contact with his birth mother in Honduras and she is willing to help in any way she can. 

 

I am thinking about special immigrant juvenile classification (i360 and i485) but any advise is welcome. 

 

[Boiler 45,470]

Can they not get him a passport and a ticket home?  Have they contacted the Consulate to help.

 

Think of it the other way around and this happened to a US child in a foreign country.

[AOSFairfax 111]

I’m not at all familiar with the I-360 process but from some quick research it looks like it would require a juvenile court to have issued an order finding that the child is indeed abandoned, is a dependent of the court, state, or of an individual appointed by the court, and it is not in their best interest to return to their home country etc 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-US/eb4/SIJ

 

Is the couple the legal guardians of the child? 

[Family 3,988]

24 minutes ago, Little_Vixen said:

I am thinking about special immigrant juvenile classification (i360 and i485) but any advise is welcome. 

You are on track w SIJ but that needs to be started now as some family courts won’t grant classification if he turns 18. Link is for California…

https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-sijs.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en

[carmel34 3,623]

This isn't a DIY case.  An experienced immigration attorney, who has filed and been successful with I-360 situations should be consulted for legal advice.

[Family 3,988]

5 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

This isn't a DIY case.  An experienced immigration attorney, who has filed and been successful with I-360 situations should be consulted for legal advice.

Yes to above. Some nationwide resources , like Catholic Charities , with tel contact info was actually provided by the CA court in earlier link. Hear  it is …definitely time sensitive since boy is 17

 

https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/EN_SIJSLOPCProvidersContactInfo.pdf

Edited December 12, 2022 by Family

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from Bringing Family of USC forum to General Immigration-Related Discussion ***

 

[Little_Vixen 1,869]

I appreciate all the replies! You guys are great. 

 

I will forward them the information of the charity organizations. They had looked into an immigration attorney but they are charging more than what the family can afford. 

 

Again, thank you!

[Kanja 201]

15 hours ago, Little_Vixen said:

I appreciate all the replies! You guys are great. 

 

I will forward them the information of the charity organizations. They had looked into an immigration attorney but they are charging more than what the family can afford. 

 

Again, thank you!

The child may be eligible for a U visa or T visa because it seems they may have been a victim of trafficking and/or forced labor. There are some organizations that will do this pro Bono but I’m not sure of the names. A good google search will help find some hopefully. 
 

Agree this is not a DIY case, some lawyers may be able to direct to funding  to cover expenses, some lawyers also take on this pro Bono also.