SIJ Status Clarificaiton

[Charles C 0]

My young friend ("Alex") has an approved I-360 Asylum petition. (He turns 13 at the end of 2020.)

We have an I-797 Approval Notice for him.

Alex has a Priority Date of 03/01/2019

Since he is classified as a SIJ (Special Immigrant-Juvenile), he is in the queue for a EB-4 visa.

Further, he is from Honduras, so he is in the EB-4 queue for that country which is not current. The Final Action date for Honduras EB-4 is currently 05/01/2018. (As of Dec 2020)

So... we are unable to submit an I-485 Application for Permanent Residence until the Final Action date for his class and country.

 

QUESTIONS

1. What is Alex's current legal status? Is he now a legal permanent resident (LPR)? I see in the USCIS Policy Manual, Chapter 7, the following language at the end of the section on Approval:

"The applicant becomes an LPR as of the date of approval of the adjustment application."

2. Prior to being able to file an I-485, is there any other documentation we should have to prove his status (We have the I-797, but that is all.)

3. Is there any way for him to receive travel permission prior to getting the I-485 and submitting an I-131?

4. Any other thoughts or suggestions?

[designguy 1,179]

1) He is not yet an LPR. He is whats called in an "Authorized Stay". It's kind of a limbo state.  The USCIS policy section you are referencing applies to approval of an adjustment of status (ie I-485 approval)

2) The documentation proving the approved I-360 would be sufficient 

3) He won't be able to apply for the travel permission until he is eligible to file the I-485.

4) Just keep checking the visa bulletin to see the movement of the EB4 dates for Honduras. One point of clarity you should also check this site (https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/visa-availability-priority-dates/adjustment-of-status-filing-charts-from-the-visa-bulletin). This site will let you know what dates you can use to FILE the application. For example it currently states: 

 

Quote

For Employment-Based Preference Filings:
For all employment-based preference categories, you must use the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for December 2020

 

This means that you can use the "Dates for Filing" chart in the visa bulletin to determine when you can mail the I-485 application to USCIS. At the moment the EB4 Filing Dates for Honduras is May 1 2018. This date will be earlier than the final action date so make sure you keep an eye on that one to know when to file!

[Boiler 45,657]

Why does he need travel permission, seems odd for a 14 year old in this Covid era.

 

Would he not need a passport and parental permission?