SIJ Petition Process

This page gives you information on:

• SIJ Forms
• Fees related to those forms
• Fee Waivers

Note: You may apply for a Green Card based on Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status at the same time you petition for SIJ status only if (1) a visa number is immediately available at the time of filing, and (2) USCIS has jurisdiction over your application to adjust status. A visa number is immediately available when your priority date for your immigrant category (EB-4) is current. For more information, visit our Visa Availability and Priority Dates page and the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin page.

Visa Availability

UPDATE: For information on the availability of EB-4 visas, please visit Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin.

Forms

You must file at least two USCIS forms in order to obtain LPR status based on classification as a SIJ:

• Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant.
• Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

You may be eligible to file both forms together, or you can file the Form I-360 and wait for a decision before you file the Form I-485. For EB-4 categories subject to a final action date for visa issuance, your Form I-485 will be rejected, and any applicable filing fees returned, if your priority date is not current. For more information, visit our page on EB-4 visa limits.

There are additional forms you may need to file depending on your circumstance. Please see our SIJ: Forms You May Need to File page.

If you want permission to work

File Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization

• with your Form I-485, or
• after you get the Form I-797C (which shows that your Form I-485 was accepted).

If you want USCIS to waive a ground of ineligibility for a green card

File a Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility,

• If you need a waiver, you should include this form with the Form I-485
• You can wait to file until after USCIS tells you that you need to file a Form I-601, but that will delay your green card.

How to Check if You Have Latest Version of the Form

• Look at the date in the lower right-hand corner of the form.
  • The version date will be in parentheses like this:  (Rev. 00/00/2000)N
  • Check our website at www.uscis.gov to make sure you have the latest version of the form
  • Under “Edition Date” on the webpage, you will see the acceptable forms.

Or

• Telephone our USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283, and ask for the correct fee, filing location, and form edition date.

Fees

Fees, filing locations, and the forms can change from time to time. You can make sure you have the right fee, filing location, and form by:

• Visiting our Check Filing Fees page
• Telephoning the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283, and asking for the correct fee, filing location, and form edition date.

Paying the Fee

You must:

• Pay with a check or money order from a United States bank or company.
• Pay the exact amount of the total of the fees for all the forms you file in the same envelope.
• Make the check or money order payable to the “Department of Homeland Security”.

Do NOT send a check or money order if you are asking for a fee waiver.

Fee Waivers

There is no filing fee for the Form I-360.  But if you cannot afford to pay the filing fees for the other forms:

• File a Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver
  • List ALL the forms that you are filing that you cannot afford to pay, and
  • That are included in the same envelope.