Practice Alert: Guidance on Adjustment of Status for Youth with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Using INA § 245(h) with a Non-SIJS Petition

There is a largely un-tested legal argument that young people with approved SIJS petitions can use the SIJS-specific adjustment provisions at INA § 245(h) to satisfy the “inspected and admitted or paroled” requirement that applies to many other forms of adjustment, allowing the youth with SIJS to use that provision even if they are not seeking adjustment based on their approved SIJS petition but rather using some other non-SIJS immigrant petition. This practice alert from the End SIJS Backlog Coalition gives a background on SIJS and adjustment of status under INA § 245(h), provides legal arguments for a “juvenile-based” reading, discusses potential roadblocks to successfully advancing these arguments, and provides tips for advising clients about this approach.