Facts: In early 2016, a citizen of El Salvador came to the firm seeking help for his minor child in removal proceedings.
The Firm’s Representation: The minor child had been abandoned by her mother in her home country in El Salvador, which would form a basis to seek Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) in the immigration system. The first step is to seek an order of custody (or guardianship) and an order for SIJS findings in the Maryland state courts. In this case, the Maryland state court judge granted custody and granted the SIJS order for the minor child, but refused to make any underlying SIJS factual findings. Such an order would not be sufficient to obtain SIJS benefits in the immigration system. The firm appealed to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.
Outcome: On March 1, 2018, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals held that the state court judge had a duty to make specific SIJS factual findings and remanded the matter back to the state court to make such findings. The case was published as Martinez v. Sanchez, 180 A.3d 158, 159 (Md. Spec. App. 2018) and is widely cited as authority compelling Maryland state circuit court judges to make SIJS factual findings in custody and guardianship cases that request such findings. On remand in our client’s case, the Maryland state court judge made the SIJS findings and the firm filed a self-petitioning I-360 SIJS visa petition on behalf of our client’s minor child.