Immigration Services: knowing the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status

Immigration services have long been a sensitive issue in the United States. Especially in recent years, as immigration has settled on the political agenda of the country, the fear of deportations has become sadly common among the immigrant community and the need for legal help for those seeking a better life in the country has become increasingly common.

Because of all this, immigration lawyers are becoming increasingly important figures and immigration services are becoming more and more essential when immigrating to the United States.

However, not all immigration lawyers offer the same services and, while every lawyer is somewhat familiar with what a deportation order is, not all legal professionals attend to the same needs of the immigrant community.

Immigration needs vary from case to case, so having an immigration lawyer who specializes in your specific needs is extremely important to successfully complete the process. In this sense, it is not the same to try to cancel a deportation for an adult as it is for a minor, or to apply for asylum in the country as an adult as it is for a minor.

That is why it is important to have an attorney who can respond to the particular needs of your case or to contact a firm that has professionals from different areas of the law. Fortunately, there is a firm that has both: Jaskot Law.

Likewise, there is a topic that is common to all immigration lawyers and that Jaskot Law knows very well: the cancellation of removal through the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. For this reason, today we will see what this law is and how the process of cancellation of removal can bring so much relief to the immigrant community.

What is the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status?

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (or SIJS law by its abbreviation) is an immigration resource intended for young people who cannot be reunited with their parents and need to stay in the country legally for their own safety.

It is important to keep in mind that this is a legal resource especially made for immigrant minors in situations that compromise their physical and psychological wellbeing, so it is extremely important that the lawyer who deals with them has experience with this kind of cases.

It is true that a firm like Jaskot Law offers multiple immigration services, but it has sufficient experience in this kind of cases. That is why they know that professionalism should not, under any circumstances, put aside the humane treatment of the client, especially in cases such as these in which they seek to reunite entire families or protect defenseless children. 

Therefore, the firm’s attorneys know that, regardless of the usefulness of the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, its beneficiaries are often in a situation of extreme vulnerability, both because of their immigration status and because they are generally children in need of urgent legal protection.

What are the benefits of this status?

Let’s see then what are the benefits of these Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. First we have to point out that it’s a direct path to permanent residence. Once a young immigrant obtains the protection of the SIJS law, a direct path to permanent citizenship (Green Card) is open to him or her. Additionally, they will be able to acquire discounts on their student fees and other tools and guarantees to assure them a better future.

On the other hand, it also allows access to a work permit in the United States (as long as they are of working age), offering young people economic independence so that they can get away from the context of abuse and mistreatment in which they found themselves. 

Who is in charge of granting the status to the minor?

But there is another issue that makes it even more important to count with a competent immigration lawyer: the entity that is left in charge to grant the status to the minor.

Contrary to popular belief, the state court is not in charge of granting a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status to migrant minors. Instead, it is the USCIS that will give that classification to them. 

The state court’s role in the SIJS process is only geared toward making the necessary determinations for the eligibility of the migrant juvenile determinations necessary for SIJS eligibility. Once that is done, the agency in charge of doing the immigration processing, using the information given by the court, is the USCIS.

That’s why a immigration lawyer that comprehends the particularities of this kind of immigration services is really important: the minor immigrants have to deal not only with a state court that determines his eligibility, but also with USCIS at the whole immigration process.

In short, the immigration lawyer dealing with a Special Immigrant Juvenile Status application case must know how to deal with both state court and USCIS bureaucratic processes, all while supporting (to the extent possible) the family and children both legally and emotionally.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although the immigration services that a lawyer can provide may vary depending on the needs of each client, almost all of them will be moderately familiarized with the benefits of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and how to handle this kind of cases.

However, this may not be enough since, due to the situation of their beneficiaries, it is extremely necessary for the immigration lawyer to also know how to support both the relatives and the minors involved in a legal and emotional sense.

For this reason, as can be seen in the case of Jaskot Law, it’s necessary for any immigration lawyer to know that their clients deserve not only a quality legal assistance, but also a lawyer that can comprehend what their clients must go through to immigrate to the United States and, therefore, could help them in both legally and emotionally ways.