Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) provides Lawful Permanent Residence to certain minors who cannot be reunified with one or both of their parents due to abuse, abandonment, or neglect. To pursue Lawful Permanent Residence through SIJS, an applicant must first obtain an order from a state court judge, usually in a custody proceeding. Only after obtaining that order can an applicant apply for lawful status before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. There are special circumstances involved for minors who are in removal proceedings, and minors from certain countries may have to wait years to eventually obtain their Lawful Permanent Residence.
At L&L Immigration Law, we have attorneys who are licensed to practice in the state courts of Virginia, and we have obtained SIJS orders from state courts in 20 different jurisdictions across the Commonwealth. Our attorneys have been invited to speak at conferences to teach other lawyers about SIJS. We have experience at navigating the SIJS process when an applicant is in removal proceedings before the Immigration Court, and we know how to manage the current visa backlog. Some of our proudest moments have been seeing our former SIJS clients go on to become leaders in their communities and eventual U.S. citizens.
