Youth and Family Immigration

LCYC partners with immigrant rights organizations and attorneys to support unaccompanied immigrant youth and young adults in connecting with resources and applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification. 

IMMIGRANT SAFETY PLAN

LCYC maintains an Immigrant Safety Plan for Youth and Children to empower immigrant parents in the event they are unable to care for their child, particularly if detained and/or deported. This guide was started in 2021, and continues to evolve as a collective community resource.

Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Classification

Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) is a classification that provides undocumented young people a youth visa, work authorization, and path to United States citizenship.

To be eligible for SIJ classification, a young person must:

  • be under age 21,

  • be unmarried,

  • have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by at least one parent, and

  • it is in their best interests to not return to their home country.  

ACCESSING SIJ LEGAL SERVICES

Partnership with an immigration attorney is necessary to pursue SIJ classification with LCYC. The immigration attorney must confirm the young person’s eligibility for SIJ classification and provide representation in federal court.

Obtaining SIJ classification is a two step process, the first in state court, then the second in federal court. After an immigration attorney confirms that a young person is eligible for SIJ classification, an LCYC attorney can begin the state court process. The first step is for a state court to determine that a young person has been abused, abandoned, or neglected, and is “dependent” under state law. Dependency cases, or child welfare cases, are one of LCYC’s four main practice areas.

After a young person has been declared dependent in state court, an immigration attorney files a petition in federal court to request SIJ classification. 

  • Have your immigration attorney submit a referral using one of the forms below.

  • Submit a referral to Northwest Immigrants Rights Project (NWIRP) by emailing childrenintake@nwirp.org. After a NWIRP attorney determines you are eligible for SIJ classification, they will connect with our team to carry out the process.

    If you are between ages 15-17 and unsafe in your current situation, submit a referral to LCYC’s Immigrant Youth Team.