Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, often called SIJS or SIJ classification, can involve a New Jersey Family Part case and a separate federal immigration case. The two tracks support each other, but they do different work. A state judge does not grant immigration status, and USCIS does not decide New Jersey custody.
Age, court authority, living arrangements, service, immigration-court posture, and visa availability can affect the plan. This page does not calculate a filing deadline or predict how long a case will take. If a young person is approaching a birthday or has an active court matter, request an individual review promptly.
The two tracks, side by side
Track A · New Jersey
Superior Court, Family Part
The state-court side addresses a real custody, placement, dependency, or similar child-welfare matter under New Jersey law. The judge may also make factual findings that can support a later SIJ petition.
1
Start with the family-court case
The correct filing depends on the young person’s circumstances and whether another Family Part matter already exists. New Jersey Directive 04-25 explains current filing requirements for requests for an SIJS predicate order.
2
Support the requested findings
The record may need to explain custody or court dependency, why reunification with one or both parents is not viable because of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis under state law, and why return to the relevant country is not in the young person’s best interest.
3
Obtain a complete signed order
The order should reflect the relief and findings the judge actually made, with a factual and legal basis. A form or proposed order does not become a court decision merely because someone fills it out.
Result: a New Jersey order concerning the young person and, when supported, SIJS-related findings. The order is important evidence, but it is not a visa, green card, work permit, or grant of immigration status.
Track B · Federal immigration
USCIS and visa availability
The federal side asks USCIS for SIJ classification and, when legally available, may later include an application for permanent residence. USCIS reviews the state order but makes the federal immigration decisions.
1
File Form I-360 with USCIS
The SIJ petition generally includes the qualifying state-court order and supporting materials. USCIS reviews federal eligibility, the order, its factual basis, and whether the request for SIJ classification is bona fide.
2
Separate approval from visa availability
Approval of Form I-360 grants SIJ classification; it does not by itself grant permanent residence. SIJ cases use the employment-based fourth-preference visa category, so the Visa Bulletin can affect when the next step is available.
3
Review adjustment of status
When a visa is available, a separate Form I-485 process may be possible if the young person satisfies the applicable requirements. Admissibility, immigration-court jurisdiction, prior filings, arrests, travel, and other history require individual review.
Result: USCIS may approve or deny SIJ classification and may later decide a separate adjustment application. Neither an I-360 approval nor a current priority date guarantees permanent residence.
What must stay coordinated
Facts
Names, relationships, residences, parental history, custody facts, and dates should be accurate and consistent across the state and federal records.
Orders
The federal filing needs the complete signed state order, not merely a draft, minute entry, incomplete page, or unsigned proposed form.
Procedures
Service on parents, notice, hearings, translations, filing location, and existing family cases can affect the New Jersey process. USCIS has separate forms, rules, notices, and evidence requirements.
Other immigration cases
Removal proceedings, an existing order, detention, asylum, a family petition, or another USCIS case can change who has authority over later steps and how the matters should be sequenced.
Documents an attorney may ask to review
For the New Jersey track
Birth and identity records for the young person
Proof showing where the young person lives and who provides care
Existing custody, guardianship, child-protection, or Family Part papers
Information needed to locate and serve each parent
School, medical, support, communication, or other records relevant to care and parental history
Complete certified translations when required
For the federal track
The complete signed state-court order and related pleadings
Passport, entry, identity, and immigration records that are available
USCIS receipts, notices, prior applications, and work-permit records
Immigration-court, ICE, or prior removal papers
Arrest, charge, or court-disposition records, if any
A safe mailing plan and a way to preserve every notice
What is New Jersey Form 13321?
CN 13321 is the New Jersey Courts Verified Complaint for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Predicate Order. Directive 04-25 explains that the form was created for self-represented litigants and provides minimum information for the complaint. It does not decide whether the facts satisfy New Jersey or federal law, replace required service, create custody by itself, or guarantee that a judge will enter the requested findings. The court may require more information.
AG Law Firm’s Family Part scope
AG Law Firm handles the New Jersey custody or predicate-order work connected to SIJS and coordinates it with the immigration process. The firm does not advertise general divorce, support, or unrelated custody representation. If another family dispute is involved, the legal team must first determine whether it fits this limited SIJS-related scope.
State scheduling, filing type, service, parental location, contested facts, missing records, translation, an existing family case, USCIS processing, visa availability, and immigration-court posture can all change the sequence. A generic number could create false confidence. The safer step is to review the young person’s current age, next birthday, living arrangement, state-court history, immigration record, and available documents together.
This information is general and is not legal advice. It does not determine whether a young person qualifies, whether a New Jersey court has authority, what filing is appropriate, or when a visa may become available. Court forms, procedures, immigration policies, and the Visa Bulletin can change. Every state and federal matter requires individual legal review.
