On September 15, 2023, a young man from Honduras came to consult with our office about a criminal citation. He has a court date on October 4, 2023, and he was worried about his future; would immigration arrest and deport him; how can he fight his case? During the consultation, we determined that he would turn 21 on September 29, 2023—in less than 2 weeks. He is living in the U.S. with his older brother. His father abandoned him even before he was born. He dropped out of school at 13 to help support his mother. His mother has been unable to provide for him so at 18, he made the arduous journey to the U.S. We later found out that he has a deportation order because he did not appear at immigration court proceedings following his release from immigration custody. So, he had serious reasons to worry about any encounter with immigration when he appears for the criminal case.
As background, Special Immigration Juvenile Status (SIJS) is a immigration law provision that allows certain children or at- risk juveniles in need of protection to apply for permanent residency in the United States. It requires securing an order from the district court finding that the juvenile is in need of protection as defined by the U.S immigration laws, and then the filing of the related petition with the USCIS before the young adult turns 21.
Convinced that his criminal matter, though serious, is not the most pressing issue he faces, we counseled him on the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status process, and that should be his priority. The window for this relief closes once he turns 21. With the benefit of a very generous law signed by the MN governor in 2022, we could seek the Minnesota District Court order finding him as an “At-Risk Juvenile” under Minnesota laws. We would also needed to have the signed predicate Court Order and the Immigration petition filed before his 21st birthday. A difficult task, but one we believe we should do.
Once we were retained and the older brother, who is also without immigration status, agreed to serve as guardian, we got to work. Relevant pleadings were prepared and filed by Monday September 18; all the relevant parties notified and served. We then had to persuade the court administrator to get us an earlier date for the hearing. We got a hearing on September 20. At the hearing, we had to show good cause to waive the 14-day notice requirement before the hearing could proceed. Convinced that we had showed good cause, the District Court heard the case and signed our proposed order. On the same day, we mailed the Immigration petition to the USCIS, and it was received on September 21, 2023—just six days after his initial consultation.
Our client was lucky with how the stars aligned to make this possible. An experienced immigration attorney with the necessary resources counseled him two weeks before his 21st birthday. The rest is now up to the young man to take full advantage of the opportunity he now has. While it may be a few years before he finally gets his Permanent Residency status, the most important step in this journey has been completed in a timely manner.