Special Immigrant Juvenile Petitions rule (2022)
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The Special Immigrant Juvenile Petitions rule is a significant rule issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) effective April 7, 2022, that amended regulations regarding the process for those seeking classification as a Special Immigrant Juvenile, which aimed to protect neglected, abused, or abandoned juveniles.[1]
Timeline
The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:
- April 7, 2022: The final rule took effect.[1]
- March 8, 2022: DHS issued the final rule.[1]
- November 15, 2019: The second comment period closed.[1]
- October 16, 2019: DHS reopened the comment period with no changes to the proposed amendments.[1]
- November 7, 2011: The comment period closed.[1]
- September 6, 2011: DHS issued the proposed rule and opened the comment period.[1]
Background
The Immigration Act of 1990 created the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification. The classification aimed to protect neglected, abused, or abandoned children who may be eligible for long-term foster care, according to the rule. The previous regulations were created in 1993 and remained unchanged until this final rule, which aimed to further serve those who are eligible for SIJ classification.[1]
Summary of the rule
The following is a summary of the rule from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:
| “ | The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending its regulations governing the requirements and procedures for juveniles seeking classification as a Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) and related adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident (LPR). This rule codifies statutorily mandated changes and clarifies the following: the definitions of key terms, such as “juvenile court” and “judicial determination”; what constitutes a qualifying juvenile court order for SIJ purposes; what constitutes a qualifying parental reunification determination; DHS's consent function; and applicable bars to adjustment, inadmissibility grounds, and waivers for SIJ-based adjustment to LPR status. This rule also removes bases for automatic revocation that are inconsistent with the statutory requirements of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA 2008) and makes other technical and procedural changes. DHS is issuing this rule to update the regulations as required by law, further align SIJ classification with the statutory purpose of providing humanitarian protection to eligible child survivors of parental abuse, abandonment, or neglect, and clarify the SIJ regulations.[1][2] | ” |
Summary of provisions
The following is a summary of the provisions from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[1]
| “ |
The provisions of the final rule subject to this regulatory impact analysis will either affect a petitioners' eligibility or directly alter the petitioning and adjudication process. DHS expects the final rule to affect the following stakeholder groups: Petitioners for SIJ; State juvenile courts and appellate courts; and the Federal Government. The population of juveniles interested in attaining SIJ classification, adjusting status, and obtaining lawful work authorization are required to initially submit Form I–360. The cost of the final rule affects newly eligible SIJ petitioners under the no action baseline. The provisions of the final rule subject to this regulatory impact analysis are examined against two baselines: (1) The pre statutory baseline; and (2) the no action baseline. The pre statutory baseline would evaluate the clarifications in petitioners' eligibility made by TVPRA 2008. In analyzing each provision against the pre statutory baseline, DHS finds that these clarificatory changes have no quantifiable impact on eligibility. Stated alternatively, in the absence of the TVPRA 2008 provisions codified by this rule, DHS has no evidence suggesting SIJ trends would have behaved differently in the intervening years. Consequently, this analysis focuses on the no action baseline and those regulatory provisions affecting the petitioning-adjudicating process and then analyzes the historical growth of demand for and grants of SIJ classification in order to assess the benefits and costs accruing to each stakeholder. Relative to the no action baseline, the final rule will impose costs on a group of petitioners who will now be eligible to submit Form I–601, Form I–485 and Form I–765 once they already have an approved SIJ classification. This final rule will allow SIJ beneficiaries who get married prior to applying for LPR status to remain eligible to obtain permanent residence. This rule will also allow SIJ beneficiaries who have simple possession offenses to submit Form I–601 to apply for a waiver of inadmissibility under any of the provisions listed at INA section 212(a)(2), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2). DHS assumes that every petitioner who will not have their SIJ classification revoked because of marriage will file Form I–485 which will result in new costs (and benefits) to those petitioners. The changes in this final rule will not impact Form I–360 petitioners currently applying for SIJ classification under the no action baseline, however the impacts will be discussed in the pre statutory baseline discussion. The changes in this final rule will update regulations to reflect statutory changes, modify certain provisions, codify existing policies, clarify eligibility requirements, and will not impact children applying for SIJ classification. DHS has required this additional evidence since the TVPRA 2008. Due to data limitations that preclude identification of the unrelated factors that explain the changes in the volume of petitioners observed over time, DHS is limited in its ability to assess Form I–360 data. The primary benefit of the rule to USCIS is greater consistency with statutory intent, and efficiency.[2] |
” |
Significant impact
- See also: Significant regulatory action
Executive Order 12866, issued by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1993, directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine which agency rules qualify as significant rules and thus are subject to OMB review.
Significant rules have had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. Executive Order 12866 further defined an economically significant rule as a significant rule with an associated economic impact of $100 million or more. Executive Order 14094, issued by President Joe Biden (D) on April 6, 2023, made changes to Executive Order 12866, including referring to economically significant rules as section 3(f)(1) significant rules and raising the monetary threshold for economic significance to $200 million or more.[1]
The text of the Special Immigrant Juvenile Petitions rule states that OMB deemed this rule significant, but not economically significant:
| “ | The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has designated this final rule a significant regulatory action though it is not an economically significant rule since it fails to meet the $100 million threshold under section 3(f)(1) of E.O.12866[2] | ” |
Text of the rule
The full text of the rule is available below:[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
