Every immigrant child needs an advocate.

By Jason Braun, Director of Legal Services

In 1990, Congress created a legal pathway for immigrant children if they had been abused, abandoned, or neglected by a parent. This requires a determination that reunification with that parent is not possible, and it is in the child’s best interest to stay in the United States. The process has two major components, starting with a local state court and ending with an application to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If approved, the child is put on a waiting list for a Green Card. This pathway is called Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”).

SIJS is a life-changing benefit to the children we serve because their dire circumstances often leave them with few options to remain safely in the United States. SIJS is thankfully not a complicated process, but it does require knowledge of two completely different court systems and areas of law: domestic and immigration. Seeing the need for this type of work in our area, RILA has taken on SIJS cases from its inception, successfully litigating 100 SIJS cases. We often get calls from other organizations asking for RILA to take difficult cases for children who are about to age out of eligibility (18 years old in Virginia) or have complicated fact patterns. 

My vision is for every single SIJS-eligible child in Northern Virginia to be represented. RILA will begin to pursue this vision by expanding our SIJS practice area, doubling the number of cases for next year. We know this is a big vision! But we believe it's possible and that we are uniquely equipped to accomplish it. Our dream for representation for every SIJS-eligible child in the Northern Virginia will ensure that they have the protection and safety they need to flourish. (Let us knowif you know any volunteer attorneys who’d like to take a case or two!)