USCIS Issues Further Guidance on Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification

On Oct. 11, USCIS issued three adopted Administrative Appeals Office decisions to clarify requirements for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification. USCIS is now updating the USCIS Policy Manual (PDF, 375.22 KB) to reflect those clarifications.

This update reaffirms and clarifies that:

• The petitioner must have been a juvenile under relevant state law when the juvenile court order was issued;
• USCIS requires evidence of a court’s intervention to provide relief from abuse, neglect, or abandonment beyond a statement that the juvenile is dependent on the court; and
• USCIS will no longer require evidence that a state court had the authority to place a petitioner in the custody of an unfit parent in order to make a qualifying determination regarding parental reunification for purposes of SIJ classification.

Visit the Policy Manual for Comment page to comment on this update.