Amaya v. Guerrero Rivera

To pursue Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status, a child must first petition a state juvenile court to issue an order making special findings of fact that the child is dependent upon the court or legally committed to a court-appointed individual. In re Marisol N.H ., 115 A.D.3d 185, 979 N.Y.S.2d 643, 645 (2014). A state court must thereafter make findings that reunification with one or both of the parents is not viable and that it is not in the child's best interest to return to his or her home country. Id. Once a state court has issued the predicate findings, the child may petition the…