The Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS, for its acronym in English) announced this Monday that it will facilitate the procedures to obtain a
green card
for permanent residence and a work permit for young immigrants who have been victims of abuse or abandonment.
The new policy, which will apply from May 6, will benefit those who are protected by the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program, who are precisely those who can prove that they have suffered violence but have not been able to access a visa.
"We act to help migrant children in the United States who have been abused, neglected or abandoned, and offer them better protection to help rebuild their lives," said USCIS Director Ur Mendoza Jaddou.
File image of the USCIS offices in Miami, Florida, during a naturalization ceremony on August 17, 2018. Wilfredo Lee / AP
Among the changes announced by USCIS is also to protect from deportation those who access the SIJ program when they turn 21 if their petition is still pending, and simplify the requirements for presenting evidence to facilitate applications.
It also saves petitioners from having to communicate with their alleged abuser while USCIS makes a decision on their case.
Young people will be able to access deferred action, as the agency calls it, and will be allowed to apply for employment authorization, something that was not possible until now.
“Employment authorization will provide invaluable help” to these “vulnerable” children or youth with limited financial support networks in the United States,” USCIS said in a statement.
Immigrants protest in front of ICE offices in Florida and demand that Biden keep his promise
March 4, 202200:49
"Due to the continued unavailability of visa numbers, the protection that Congress intended to offer SIJ through adjustment of status is often delayed for years, leaving this especially vulnerable population in limbo," USCIS said.
Between October 2020 and 2021, nearly 72,000 minors crossed the border alone to enter the United States without documents.
