Our Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) journey

[bzbee 93]

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

 

This forum has great information & details about the VAWA process, but not much about SIJ. So posting our experience with SIJ. 

 

In 2019, we had a family tragedy. My sister-in-law passed away suddenly leaving her 12-year old son semi-orphaned in India. The father had little interest in the child, and the grand parents were over 80 and couldn't take care of a child. The child's father happily handed over custody to us and promptly remarried. 

 

We applied for and got a F1 visa for the boy. We brought him to the US to live with us in early 2020, before the Covid pandemic hit. He was enrolled in a SEVP Certified Private School that issued the I-20 for the F-1 visa. The school was expensive, but it was the quickest & easiest way to get the boy to the US and stay long-term.

 

We contacted several lawyers about his options for a Green Card. Most recommended adoption, but that was not practical due to us being US citizens and him being an Indian citizen. International adoptions come under the Hague convention and is a lengthy & expensive process with no guarantee of success. Plus India had a mortarium on international adoptions. And we had other reasons for not wanting an adoption. So that was not an option.

 

One lawyer (NM) finally mentioned Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) but suggested we wait 6-months so that the boy comes under the state's legal jurisdiction. We did our research and felt that SIJS was the best option for the boy. Meanwhile Covid happened and everything shutdown. No progress the whole year.

 

Step 1: Getting a court order finding the child a ward of the State (4 months, about $2500 for all - Lawyer Fees, Court Fees, Doc Fees etc.) 

 

Early 2021 we contacted NM again and she referred us to another family lawyer (MS) who handled SIJS cases before. MS was great at his job, took about 6 weeks to get all the paperwork and evidence ready to support a case for SIJS and filed the petition with the county family court. Due to Covid backlogs, we couldn't get a hearing for a couple of months. It was tense waiting for the hearing. The day of the hearing came, MS told us not to be nervous and to be honest and sincere while answering the judge's questions. The hearing went on for about 30 mins and the judge asked both us and the lawyer several questions before approving the order. It was a big relief. 

 

The order placed the child in our custody and finds that:
a) Child's reunification with his mother not viable as she is deceased.
b) Child's reunification with his father not viable due to abandonment and neglect.
c) Not in child’s best interest to return to home country as he has no one to take care of him there.
d) The child is placed under the custody of an individual appointed by a State court.

 

Step 2: Petition USCIS for SIJ status, I-360 (9 months, about $50 - Consulting Fee with the Non-Profit, No USCIS Fee for SIJS )

 

It was now mid-2021 and the next step was to file form I-360 with USCIS for SIJ status. All the immigration lawyers wanted heavy retainers for this ($8K or more). Seemed kind a steep. Then came across a non-profit agency that mainly helps children & women with immigration issues and are familiar with VAWA & SIJS. We had a consultation with them (they had a lawyer too) and, after the meeting, we felt confident we could file it ourselves 🤞. We researched and gather a lot information about form I-360 and prepared our petition and supporting documents with a clear & concise cover letter. Checked everything half a dozen times before mailing it in August 2021. Got a receipt notice the next week.

 

As per rules SIJ petitions are supposed to be adjudicated within 180 days. When we didn't hear anything after 6 months, we called USCIS. The rep we spoke with was nice but didn't have any information. Said that the case is under review, and that they are running a bit late due to back log and asked us to wait another 3 months. Then in May 2022, we got the approval notice. Yay 😃

 

School year had just ended and we were glad to take the boy out of that expensive private school and enroll him in a public school. No need to maintain his F-1 status any longer.

 

Step 3: Adjustment of Status, Green Card, I-485 (6 months, about $1,500 including USCIS Fee, Biometrics Fee and Doctor Fee for Medicals)

The last step is to file for AOS. Apparently GC is almost a sure shot as SIJ status is protected from "all bars to adjustment except the terrorist-related adjustment bar". None of those 'bars to adjustment' applied to the boy, of course, but we were still anxious. Submitted the form I-485 in July 2022 and got the Biometrics done the next month.

 

AOS for SIJ applicants is processed under the EB-4 category. We had a priority date of Aug-2021 (the date of I-360 filing) and EB-4 PD for India was current when we filed the I-485 in Jul-2022. So, we hoped it'd be processed quickly.

 

In Oct 2022 we got an RFE. We were extremely anxious when the online status said that, wondering what we missed and what could've gone wrong. It was stressful waiting for the notice to arrive in mail. When we got it, it turned out to be an error in the Medicals (I-693) - the only document not prepared by us. The nurse had made a couple of mistakes in entering the vaccine history.  It took a couple of weeks to sort it out and submit a corrected I-693.

 

In Dec 2022, just before Christmas, the I-485 was approved. The SSN card came the next week, and the Green Card was delivered this week. What a wonderful start to the New Year 

 

Finally, our SIJ journey is over. So happy & relieved.

 

Thanks for the community & support 🙏

[Ontarkie 14,215]

What a great Christmas present and start to a new year. 

[Pinkrlion 2,715]

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[R&OC 371]

So happy for you guys! This sounds wonderful!

[damin 0]

Hi thanks for sharing.  I wonder if it’s a prerequisite to have I360 approved before attending public schools? 

[bzbee 93]

On 1/28/2024 at 9:58 AM, damin said:

Hi thanks for sharing.  I wonder if it’s a prerequisite to have I360 approved before attending public schools? 

No, it is not a prerequisite. 

 

Since the boy was here legally on F-1 visa, we wanted to preserve the legal status till the I-360 was approved. Attending a public school would mean violating the F-1 visa terms and if for whatever reason the I-360 were to be rejected then the boy would be out-of-status. All future US Visa applications would be risky and any travel out of the country is not possible as there would be no re-entry. We didn't want to risk all that, so continued his education at the SEVIS approved school (that issued the I-20) till his I-360 was approved. Once I-360 was approved and he was granted the 'Special Immigrant Juvenile' status, the F-1 status is no longer relevant and we switched him to the public school.

 

The SIJ status is very 'protected' and excludes the applicants for any and all bars to adjustment of status (except terrorist-related activities). So, technically, the boy could've attended a public school and everything would be fine once the I-360 was approved. But if the I-360 was denied, then he'd be in big trouble and that was not a risk we wanted to take.

 

[damin 0]

On 2/1/2024 at 11:04 AM, bzbee said:

No, it is not a prerequisite. 

 

Since the boy was here legally on F-1 visa, we wanted to preserve the legal status till the I-360 was approved. Attending a public school would mean violating the F-1 visa terms and if for whatever reason the I-360 were to be rejected then the boy would be out-of-status. All future US Visa applications would be risky and any travel out of the country is not possible as there would be no re-entry. We didn't want to risk all that, so continued his education at the SEVIS approved school (that issued the I-20) till his I-360 was approved. Once I-360 was approved and he was granted the 'Special Immigrant Juvenile' status, the F-1 status is no longer relevant and we switched him to the public school.

 

The SIJ status is very 'protected' and excludes the applicants for any and all bars to adjustment of status (except terrorist-related activities). So, technically, the boy could've attended a public school and everything would be fine once the I-360 was approved. But if the I-360 was denied, then he'd be in big trouble and that was not a risk we wanted to take.

 

Thanks my friend. That is what I wanted. My attorney told me I-360 approved doesn’t bring any immigration benefits, like public education or aid. I wonder when applying school transfer for your kid, did you go through extra steps for application. I assume it is okay as long as you are residents in that school district? If possible could you refer me the lawyer you consulted with. Appreciate your answer!