Rhode Island General Laws Title 14. Delinquent and Dependent Children § 14-1-5.2. Expanded jurisdiction for special immigrant juvenile status findings

(a) The family court shall have jurisdiction to make factual findings under this section and to award legal custody or appoint a legal guardian of a person under the age of twenty-one (21) years to be used solely in conjunction with a petition to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for designation of the minor child as having special immigrant juvenile status (herein this section referred to as “SIJS”) under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J) including, but not limited to, determinations regarding the following:

(b) For purposes of this section, the term “child” shall include any unmarried person under twenty-one (21) years of age who files a petition for relief under this section.

(c) The family court shall have original or continuing jurisdiction to make the findings set forth in subsection (a) of this section for any petitioner who is under the age of twenty-one (21) at the time of filing, regardless of whether the petitioner has reached the age of eighteen (18) before the court issues its findings.

(d) A petition for factual findings under this section may be filed as an independent action or in conjunction with any other proceeding over which the family court has jurisdiction including, but not limited to, guardianship, child custody, adoption, and dependency matters.

(e) The court's jurisdiction to issue findings under this section shall be solely for the purposes of making the necessary factual determinations to support a petition for SIJS and shall not confer any independent immigration status.