Manatt Files Amicus Brief Supporting Challenge to SIJS Fee Waiver Ban

Manatt Partner and Associate filed an amicus brief on behalf of the California Immigration Project (CIP) and seven legal services organizations in support of plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment in Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights et al. v. Mullin et al., pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The amicus brief urges the court to set aside U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) categorical ban on need-based fee waivers for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) petitions. The organizations argue that the policy creates significant barriers for vulnerable children and young adults who have been abused, neglected or abandoned and rely on SIJS as a pathway to legal protection.

Drawing on the firsthand experiences of legal services providers nationwide, the brief describes how many SIJS petitioners lack the financial resources, bank accounts or payment instruments necessary to satisfy the $250 filing fee. It further details how payment processing issues and rejected transactions can delay or prevent timely filings, with especially severe consequences for petitioners approaching the age-out deadline for SIJS eligibility.

The brief also explains how legal aid organizations have increasingly been forced to absorb petition fees and related costs, diverting limited resources away from other services for vulnerable communities. According to the amici, a need-based fee waiver process would remove these barriers while preserving the substantive requirements for SIJS classification.

Read the full brief .