§ 155.Jurisdiction of superior court to make judicial determinations regarding custody and care of children within federal Immigration and Nationality Act; Order of special immigrant juvenile status

Federal immigration law lets certain immigrant children petition U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for “special immigrant juvenile” status — a path toward lawful permanent residence for a child a state court has found can’t safely reunify with a parent. But that federal petition needs specific findings from a state court first. Section 155 gives California’s superior courts the authority to make them.

Any division of the superior court that handles dependency, custody, or care of children — juvenile, probate, or family court — can issue the order, for a child up to 21 years old, regardless of what kind of proceeding is already underway. On request, and if the evidence supports it (a declaration from the child alone can be enough), the court must make three findings, each tied to the facts and to California law: that the child was declared a dependent of the court or placed in the custody of a state agency or another court-appointed guardian; that reunifying the child with one or both parents isn’t viable because of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or something similar; and that returning the child to their home country, or the country where they last habitually lived, isn’t in the child’s best interest. The court can even backdate an order (nunc pro tunc) to when those findings could have been made, without needing to show a clerical error caused the delay.

The statute also protects the child’s privacy and keeps the proceeding from turning into an immigration fight. A court can’t consider, or even mention in its findings, why the child might want special immigrant juvenile status — the findings rest only on the child’s circumstances, not their motive for seeking immigration relief. Information about the child’s immigration status stays confidential, limited to the court, the child, the parties, their attorneys, and the child’s counsel or guardian, and the records can be sealed under the California Rules of Court. If a party asks for expedited handling and submits a proposed order, the court must issue a certified copy within three court days of the hearing or the submission, whichever comes later.

Section 155 doesn’t grant immigration status itself — only the federal government can do that. It gives the state court a defined role: making the predicate findings the federal process requires, without turning the state court proceeding into an immigration adjudication.