US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, which will be published on their website on March 11, 2019. USCIS will only accept the revised Form I-539 with an edition date of 02/04/19 effective March 11, 2019, and USCIS will reject any Form I-539 with an edition date of 12/23/16 or earlier. On March 11, the agency will also publish a new Form I-539A, Supplemental Information for Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, a form that will replace the Supplement A provided in previous versions of Form I-539. Form I-539A is not a standalone form and should only be submitted along with Form I-539.
Read moreProPublica: “A Defendant Shows Up in Immigration Court by Himself. He’s 6.”
Wilder Hilario Maldonado Cabrera, a Salvadoran boy, was the youngest defendant on the juvenile docket in immigration court in San Antonio, Texas shortly before Thanksgiving this year. Wilder, six years old, was one of the last children affected by the administration’s zero-tolerance policy. He was separated from his father on June 6 after they crossed the US/Mexico border to seek asylum. Wilder’s father was detained separately, while Wilder’s mother remained in El Salvador.
Read moreA Beginner’s Guide to Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
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Created by Congress in 1990, the Special Immigrant Juvenile program seeks to aid foreign minors living in the United States. Minors unable to live with one or both of their parents in their home country due to abandonment, neglect, or abuse, may be eligible for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS). SIJS permits a minor to remain in the United States and apply for legal permanent residency, and eventually, US citizenship.
Why is it important?
Last year, we wrote about the surge of Central American children crossing the US-Mexico border. While the number of unaccompanied minors entering the US has decreased, the motivations underlying their entry remain. Poor conditions in Central America, including poverty and gang-related violence, still prompt thousands of minors to flee their home countries every year. While some of these minors may be eligible for asylum (for individuals who have been persecuted on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group), U visas (for victims of certain crimes in the US who aid law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting the offender), or T visas (for victims of human trafficking), others are better candidates for SIJS.
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