Immigration · California
SIJS in California: The Predicate Order
The federal petition cannot be filed until a state court has made the required findings, so in practice a California SIJS case starts in state court, not with immigration.
The law itself is federal and works the same way in every state. It is covered in full on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). This page is only the part that changes because you are in California.
What changes in California
- Which court: California juvenile, probate and family courts can each be the right forum depending on the child’s situation — a dependency case, a guardianship, or a custody proceeding.
- Age: California extends the jurisdiction that supports these findings past the ordinary age of majority for this purpose, which gives older teenagers a route that several states do not.
- What the order must say: Findings about parental reunification and about the child’s best interests are what the federal petition rests on. An order that grants custody without making them does not do the job.
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