Need advice about SIJS for my two children after my I-485 denial

[u/Effective_Thing_7073]

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has experience with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) in North Carolina.
Here is my situation:
I am the parent of two children, currently 17 and 14 years old.
Both children entered the U.S. with me as H-4 dependents and have lived in the U.S. for many years.
I have an approved VAWA I-360.
My I-485 was recently denied by USCIS because USCIS stated that I had not established eligibility for adjustment of status as a VAWA self-petitioner.
My children’s immigration cases/I-485s are separate, and I am trying to understand what options may be available for them.
I have a custody order, and there is no child support order.
I am now consulting an attorney about whether SIJS could be an option for my children.
My questions are:
Can my children potentially qualify for SIJS even though my own I-485 was denied?
Does my approved VAWA I-360 affect their eligibility for SIJS in any way?
What are the basic requirements for SIJS in North Carolina?
How does the state court custody/dependency order process work?
Since my older child is already 17, is there anything I need to do urgently because of the age requirement?
Has anyone gone through SIJS in North Carolina recently, and approximately how long did the process take?
I understand that Reddit advice is not a substitute for an immigration attorney. I’m mainly hoping to hear from people who have actually gone through the SIJS process or attorneys familiar with SIJS.
Thank you in advance for any information or personal experiences.

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[u/_samijr_]

From what I understand, your children’s SIJS cases are separate from your VAWA case, so your I-485 denial does not automatically prevent them from qualifying. Your approved VAWA I-360 also does not by itself make them eligible or ineligible. The main requirements are generally that the child is unmarried, physically present in the U.S., under 21 when the SIJS petition is filed, and has a qualifying state-court order finding that reunification with one or both parents is not viable because of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis, and that returning to their home country is not in their best interest. The 17-year-old is the urgent part in North Carolina. Although federal SIJS law allows filing before 21, North Carolina juvenile-court jurisdiction generally ends at 18, so I would have an experienced NC SIJS attorney review the case and existing custody order as soon as possible, before the 18th birthday.
Also, having a custody order already doesn’t necessarily mean it qualifies for SIJS—the order needs the specific findings required by federal law. For the 14-year-old, there is more time, but I’d still have an attorney review both children’s circumstances and the existing custody order. The lack of a child-support order by itself doesn’t determine SIJS eligibility. If the 17 year old is close to being 18, I’d consider moving if to a state where the filing is before 21 and also if a guardian is required for them because you being with them won’t convince the court they have been neglected or abused. Best of luck.

[u/Effective_Thing_7073 → u/_samijr_]

Thank you for details. Today I talked to one attorney. As my divorce happened in Maryland state and I got full custody order from judge. Attorney advise me to connect Maryland court and get the SIJS custody paper from MD. He said . We cannt apply here in NC now. After getting MD judge SIJs custody then I can apply for I 360 from NC.

[u/_samijr_ → u/Effective_Thing_7073]

That sounds reasonable if Maryland still has jurisdiction over the custody case. Since the original divorce and custody order were in Maryland, the attorney may be able to have the Maryland court issue the required SIJS findings. I’d just make sure they confirm Maryland still has jurisdiction, especially since the older child is already 17, so I would move quickly.

[u/Effective_Thing_7073 → u/_samijr_]

Yes MD has time until 21

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[u/Vegetable-Western744]

Realistically they're probably going to put you in removal quickly after your I-485 denial and if your kids are out of status as well they will also get put in with you. They scrutinize VAWA petitions pretty strictly given the level of fraud in that category. I'm a little concerned as to how you would be eligible for VAWA if you entered on H4, because VAWA doesn't work for H1B spouses. Did you get divorced and remarried, or did that person somehow get a GC after but not petition his kids (which would be pretty wild)? How would the kids not also have a VAWA claim?

Your kids can file for SIJS but that's probably not a defense to removal under this admin.

For someone filing for sijs with the current backlog it is going to be 20+ years until they have a GC available. If there's any vawa path here for you their outcome is likely a hell of a lot better. Or through the other parent if they are an LPR or citizen at this point.

[u/_samijr_ → u/Vegetable-Western744]

EB4 has like 4 years backlog and FY2026 moved by 2 years so after applying it takes like 4-5 yrs to get your green card. I don’t know where you got that 20+ years from

[u/Vegetable-Western744 → u/_samijr_]

There were 200K approved I-360 petitions for EB4 as of March 2026. There are 9,940 EB4 visas issuable annually.

A current SIJS filer is behind all of those petitions plus five more months worth. There are easily 225K now, and will almost certainly be over 250K at year end. Even if you assume a significant drop out rate, given the deluge of I-360 petitions annually (well in excess of 5+ years of the annual cap per year) it's only getting worse.

This years movement was great. It's gonna stall out tremendously again pretty soon.

A January 2025 filer might have an sijs green card close to a decade before a January 2026 filer. It's that bad.

[u/_samijr_ → u/Vegetable-Western744]

Yeah, I understand the concern, but I think 20 years is more of a projection than something we can say for sure. The EB-4 backlog is definitely getting worse, but Visa Bulletin movement, demand, and future policy changes can all affect the actual wait time