SIJS Predicate Order Obtained Just in Time!
As a single mother from Ecuador, Jenny is her 18-year-old daughter’s entire support system. Jenny’s partner left in 2007, leaving Jenny responsible for everything from physical care to financial support. Jenny’s daughter recently had a child herself, and Jenny has been helping raise her too.
In 2022, Jenny came to the United States in search of a better life for daughter and newborn granddaughter. When she learned that she could help her daughter obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) on the basis of the father’s abandonment, Jenny applied for services through the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC).
NIJC placed Jenny’s case with Emily Becker of DLA Piper with CVLS providing supervision. With the daughter’s 18th birthday rapidly approaching, Emily knew that she had to act fast to obtain the appropriate “predicate” order. Emily represented Jenny in a parental allocation (f/k/a “custody”) in order to obtain an allocation judgment with factual findings related to Jenny’s role as her daughter’s caretaker and the father’s abandonment.
Emily worked efficiently to serve the father and secure a court date right before the child turned 18. She convinced the Court to enter the necessary orders so that Jenny’s daughter could be eligible for this special form of immigration relief and a pathway toward U.S. citizenship.
