Special Immigrant Juvenile Status · Form I-360
SIJS starts in a state courtroom, and the child's age sets the deadline.
We represent children and young people who cannot safely reunify with one or both parents. We handle both halves of the case: the Pennsylvania court order and the federal petition that follows.
Federal law allows a petition until age 21, but the state court has to act first. In Pennsylvania the state court order has to be in place before the child turns 18.
State court · USCIS · Green card
SIJS is three cases in a row, in two court systems.
Congress created this classification for children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by a parent. A state judge makes the findings about the child's family. USCIS then decides the immigration petition.
A custody or guardianship order with findings
A state court places the child with a caregiver or declares the child dependent, and finds that reunification with a parent is not viable and that returning to the home country is not in the child's best interest.
The required findingsThe I-360 petition
The order goes to USCIS with proof of age. USCIS must consent, which means it checks that the court order was sought for protection from parental harm and not mainly for immigration.
Age deadlinesAdjustment, when a visa is available
An approved petition is not a green card. The young person applies for one only when a visa number is available in the special immigrant category, and that wait can be long.
What SIJS gives and does notEligibility
Four things must all be true.
The first is about the young person. The other three are findings a state judge has to make under state law.
Under 21, unmarried, and in the United States
The petition must be filed before the 21st birthday, and the young person must be unmarried when it is filed and when it is decided.
A court order on custody or dependency
A state court with power over the care of juveniles must declare the child dependent, or place the child in the custody of a state agency or of a person the court appoints, such as a guardian or the other parent.
Reunification with a parent is not viable
The judge must find that the child cannot reunify with one or both parents because of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis under state law. One parent is enough. Parental rights do not have to be terminated.
Returning is not in the child's best interest
A court or agency must determine that it would not be in the child's best interest to be returned to the child's or the parent's country of nationality or last residence.
USCIS will not require the young person to contact the parent who harmed them at any point in the petition or interview process.
Age deadlines
In Pennsylvania the cutoff is 18. The federal cutoff is 21.
Federal law accepts a petition until 21. But state law controls whether a court can still treat someone as a juvenile, and a court that has lost that power cannot issue the order the petition needs.
In Pennsylvania, the court order has to be entered before the 18th birthday. Courts need time to schedule a hearing, so call well before the child turns 18.
- File before the day of the 21st birthday. A petition filed on the birthday itself is too late.
- Filing locks in the age. If the petition was properly filed before 21, USCIS cannot deny it only because the young person turned 21 while it was pending.
- Stay unmarried. Marriage before USCIS decides the petition ends eligibility. Ask before making that decision at any stage.
- The order must still be in effect. It has to be in force when the petition is filed, with exceptions such as an order that ended only because of age.
- Other states can go up to 21. If the young person lives outside Pennsylvania, that state's age rule applies. The federal cutoff is 21 everywhere.
Real protection, real limits
SIJS opens a path to a green card. It does not protect the wait.
The rules on what an approved petition gives you in the meantime changed in 2025 and 2026.
Why it is worth pursuing
- A green card path that needs no family or employer sponsor
- For the green card, the law treats the young person as paroled, however they entered
- Several bars do not apply, including entry without inspection, unlawful presence, and public charge
- A waiver is available for many other grounds, for humanitarian reasons or family unity
Limits that matter for planning
- A parent can never receive immigration status through the child, including the parent who did nothing wrong
- An approved petition no longer brings automatic consideration for deferred action or a work permit
- It does not pause a deportation case; judges are now directed not to wait for a distant visa date
- Some criminal and security grounds cannot be waived
- Approval is revoked if the child reunifies, by court order, with the parent named in the findings
How an SIJS case moves
The family history is the evidence in both courts.
Visa waits and court calendars change, so we do not quote timelines. These are the stages.
- 01
Review
We go through the child's age, where each parent is, what happened, who is caring for the child now, and any immigration court case.
- 02
State court petition
In Pennsylvania this is usually a guardianship or custody petition in the county court, asking for the order and for the specific findings, with the facts that support each one.
- 03
The I-360 petition
The signed order, proof of age, and supporting evidence go to USCIS. The record has to show the factual basis for the judge's findings.
- 04
The wait for a visa
After approval, the young person waits for a visa number. During this time there may be no work permit and no protection from removal, so any court case needs its own defense.
- 05
Green card application
When a visa is available, the adjustment application is filed with any waiver that is needed. The applicant becomes a permanent resident on the date of approval.
Private two-minute guide
Where should an SIJS review start?
Answer three general questions. The guide suggests where a first review should start; it does not decide eligibility or send your answers to the firm.
Sources
Read the rules and check the visa wait here.
Official pages first, then our guide to the 2026 change.
SIJS questions
Short answers for caregivers and young people
The child's age, the state, and any court case may change these answers.
What is Special Immigrant Juvenile Status?
It is a classification for unmarried people under 21 in the United States who cannot reunify with one or both parents because of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar reason, as found by a state court. In Spanish it is often called the visa juvenil, although it is not a visa. It can lead to a green card.
Does the child have to be in foster care?
No. The court can place the child with a person it appoints, such as a relative acting as guardian, or with the other parent. Many of these cases involve a child living with one parent or a relative.
My child is 18. Is it too late?
In Pennsylvania, it depends on whether a court order was entered before the 18th birthday. If it was, the federal petition can still be filed until 21. If not, a Pennsylvania court can no longer make the findings. Some other states allow their courts to act up to 21, so tell us where your child lives.
Can I get papers through my child's SIJS?
No. The statute bars a natural or prior adoptive parent from receiving any immigration right or status through a child who was granted SIJS. That applies to both parents, even after the child becomes a citizen.
Will my child get a work permit while waiting?
Not automatically. USCIS ended automatic consideration of deferred action for approved SIJS petitions in 2025, and under its current policy it will not renew earlier grants for people still waiting on a visa number. A work permit generally comes with the green card application, once a visa is available. See our guide to the change.
Does SIJS stop a deportation case?
Not by itself. In 2025 and 2026 the Board of Immigration Appeals held that judges should not close or continue a case just to wait for a visa date that is far off. A young person in court needs every available defense prepared alongside the SIJS case.
My child entered without papers. Does that block the green card?
No. For the green card application, the law treats a special immigrant juvenile as paroled regardless of how they entered, and the bars for entry without inspection and unlawful presence do not apply. Certain criminal and security grounds still do.
What does it cost?
USCIS sets its filing fees and the county court sets its own, and both change; see our fee guide for the federal ones. Our fee is flat, quoted in writing after a review, with the state court case and the federal case scoped separately. Payment plans are available.
SIJS representation at a glance
- Who we represent
- Children, young people, and their caregivers in Allentown, the Lehigh Valley, and across Pennsylvania.
- Languages
- English and Spanish.
- State court
- Guardianship and custody petitions in Pennsylvania county courts, with the SIJS findings.
- Main forms
- Form I-360 (petition) and Form I-485 (green card).
- Government fees
- Set by USCIS and by the county court, and subject to change. See the fee guide.
- Our fees
- Flat fee quoted in writing after review; payment plans available.
- Office
- 609 W. Hamilton Street, No. 102, Allentown, PA 18101 · (484) 763-4984
Information reviewed against official sources, including INA §§ 101(a)(27)(J) and 245(h), 8 C.F.R. § 204.11, the USCIS Policy Manual, and decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals, on November 11, 2026. This page provides general information, not legal advice; it does not predict a decision or create an attorney-client relationship. State court rules, visa availability, fees, and policies change.
Reviewed and updated
Age · Parents · Caregiver
Tell us the child's birthday first. Then tell us what happened.
A first review can start with the birth certificate, who the child lives with, and what is known about each parent. We will tell you whether there is time and what the state court will need.
English and Spanish · Allentown · Pennsylvania · New Jersey · New York · Representation where permitted