EB-4 Special Immigrants

Religious Workers

This immigrant visa category is for individuals who, for at least two (2) years prior to filing an I-360 petition, have been a member of a religious denomination having a bona fide, nonprofit, religious organization in the United States AND ; seek entry to the United States to work full-time in a remunerative position, solely to continue his or her religious vocation as a minister OR seeks to in a professional or nonprofessional position in a religious vocation or occupation; AND seeks to work for a bona fide, nonprofit organization in the U.S. or its affiliate in the U.S., AND the person has worked abroad or in the U.S. as a minister or in a religious vocation or occupation, for at least the two-year period immediately preceding the filing of a petition seeking EB-4 status as a religious worker.  Full-time employment constitutes a minimum of 35 hours per hour. The two-year employment period preceding submission of the application need not be compensated.

Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs)

This is an immigrant visa classification for minor children who require protection from the state. These are normally children under the age of 18 who enter the U.S. unaccompanied by a parent or other responsible adult. An SIJ normally petitions for him or herself to become a dependent of the state where he or she is residing. If the SIJ does not have another relative to assume custody and responsibility for the SIJ, it is likely the SIJ will be referred for services, meaning he or she will be placed in foster care until the age of 18 or longer.

To acquire SIJ status, the juvenile or a “next friend” can petition a state court seeking an order of dependency. The order must contain certain findings of fact and necessary language; for example, it must specify that it is not in the minor child’s best interest to return to his or her country of origin.

Once a dependency court has issued an order finding the juvenile a dependent of the state, the juvenile may proceed with filing an I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. To qualify for SIJ status with USCIS (the Immigration Service), an individual must demonstrate the following:

• He/she is present in the United States at the time the Form I-360 is filed
• He or she is under the age of 21 on the date of filing the I-360 (note: so long as the I-360 is filed before the SIJ turned 21 and the state of residence recognizes that a child under 21 is a juvenile, the application will not be denied simply because the SIJ was over 21 when the application was adjudicated)
• He or she is unmarried at the time of filing AND adjudication of the I-360
• He or she continues to be physically present in the U.S.
• He or she has been adjudicated dependent by a juvenile court in the U.S. OR who has been placed in the custody of a state agency (adoption, foster care, guardianship)
• Reunification with one or both parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment or a similar basis found under state law. (Note: termination of parental rights is not required; however, there must be a determination that reunification is not viable.); AND
• The state court has determined that it is in the minor child’s best interest NOT to be returned to his or her country of nationality or last habitual residence.

Grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to the I-36o petition but will apply to adjustment of status. Certain of these grounds of inadmissibility are waived for SIJs, such as public charge, labor certification, entry without inspection (EWI), material misrepresentation, false claim to U.S. citizenship, 3/10 year bar (but not permanent bar), stowaways and lack of proper documentation. One ground of inadmissibility that is not waived automatically is working without authorization.

SIJ status is very oversubscribed, meaning there are many more SIJ adjustments of status every year than there are immigrant visas allocated for that status. As a result, most SIJs with approved I-360s still need to wait several years before they become eligible to adjust status. This is highly problematic since these SIJs need to have some way to support themselves financially until they are eligible for a green card. In the past, USCIS has allowed such SIJs to apply for work authorization under a program entitled “Special Immigrant Juvenile and Deferred Action.” As of June 6 2025 USCIS has announced it will no longer grant deferred action to SIJs and they will no longer be eligible for work authorization. There are class actions attempting to challenge this recent development.

There are many more Special Immigrant categories that are too numerous to summarize here. Most of these are little-used.