Pro Bono and Special Immigrant Juveniles: Best Practices for Family Court Practitioners

Between January 1 and July 7, 2014, nearly 2300 unaccompanied, undocumented minor children were placed in Virginia with sponsors, usually family members. As a result, Virginia ranks as the state with the fifth highest number of undocumented child placements, behind only Texas, California, Florida, and New York. These numbers will only increase in the coming months as the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement works to satisfy critical shelter needs.

Some of these children qualify for “special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS)”undefinedan immigration status conferred by the federal government if the state court makes certain factual findings. Because the state court is the designated fact-finder in the federal law that created this immigration status, and in light of the large numbers of undocumented children presently residing in Virginia, it is critical that Virginia practitioners in J&DR courts receive education and instruction about the parameters, scope and procedures underlying this important federal immigration benefit. Moreover, volunteer lawyers are needed to file the state court proceedings and receive the appropriate predicate order required by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services.

This CLE program will provide attendees with an understanding of the provisions of the federal law governing special immigrant juvenile status; appropriate pleadings and forms required for these state court proceedings; instruction about handling these state court proceedings; and connection with a pro bono network that can identify appropriate cases for family lawyers and partner them with experienced immigration attorneys.

Attendees are asked to certify during registration that they will accept one pro bono referral to represent an unaccompanied, undocumented youth in J&DR court proceedings.

This training is sponsored by the Virginia State Bar Access to Legal Services Committee, the Legal Aid Justice Center, Ayuda, and the Poarch Law Firm.

Approved for 2.0 hours MCLE credit and 2.0 hours GAL CLE credit.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

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