If an unaccompanied child has SIJS (a duly filed I-360 as an unaccompanied child) and a priority date before January 1, 2025, the child is now eligible to file for a green card this month, even if the I-360 is still pending. The October 2026 visa bulletin moved the line forward, but this window may close on October 31. A pending green card application gives the child far more protection, and the application for permanent residence should be filed immediately before potential retrogression of the visa bulletin.
Deferred action no longer comes automatically with an approved I-360, and the wait for a green card is often three or four years. Without deferred action, a child with SIJS is at risk of being detained like anyone else without status.
What You’ll Learn
- Whether a child’s SIJS priority date qualifies under this month’s visa bulletin
- Why the October filing window may close on October 31, and why the medical exam makes the timing tight
- What changed with SIJS deferred action, and why children with an approved I-360 are now at risk
- What a pending green card application does for your child, including in immigration court
- What happens to a SIJS work permit when deferred action ends
- Whether a child can file with a pending I-360, travel abroad, or keep eligibility after turning 21
SIJS Visa Bulletin for October 2026 at a Glance
| SIJS (EB-4), all countries | October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Final action date | December 15, 2022 |
| Dates for filing | January 1, 2025 |
| Chart USCIS accepts for green card filing | Dates for filing |
| Who can file now | Priority date before January 1, 2025 |
| Filing window | Through October 31. November not yet announced. |
We update this page every month, once the State Department publishes the new visa bulletin and USCIS says which chart it accepts. Last checked: October 10, 2026.
What the October SIJS Visa Bulletin Changed
The visa bulletin is the monthly chart that tells you whether an unaccompanied child with a pending I-360 can apply for a green card. This month’s visa bulletin moved forward enormously for the I-360 unaccompanied child category, so many children who are waiting for their priority date to become current are eligible RIGHT NOW to file for permanent residence.
The new cutoff is January 1, 2025. If the child’s SIJS priority date (the date the I-360 petition was filed) is before that date, the child can apply for permanent residence now. Filing does not mean the green card is granted right away, but a pending permanent residence application is an important protection at this time.
The child does not need an approved I-360 to file. As long as the priority date is current, a family can file for permanent residence even while the I-360 is still pending. USCIS confirms that the green card application can be filed together with the I-360 or while it is pending.
The Bottom Line: If a child's priority date is before January 1, 2025, that child can file for permanent residence now. Double-check the date, and if the child is eligible, file before October 31.
Why the SIJS Visa Bulletin Window May Close on October 31
Nobody will know what November brings until the November visa bulletin is published. In October, USCIS uses the “dates for filing” chart for this category, and that is where the January 1, 2025 cutoff comes from.
We expect November may switch back to the final action date, which has a date about two years earlier. In the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the final action date is December 15, 2022; if the November Visa Bulletin only allows for filing permanent residence on he final action date, children with a priority date from December 15, 2022 through December 31, 2024 would have to wait again, possibly for quite some time. As a result, if eligible, it is critical to file the permanent residence application in October, if at all possible.
The medical exam makes the timeline even tighter. Part of the green card filing is an immigration medical exam (Form I-693), and it has to be submitted together with the application. We have been seeing delays in getting these exams.
If someone calls us on October 27, we may not be able to help in time, unless the November bulletin does not move backwards much. This is our expectation, not a certainty. We hope this is not the only window. But the numbers moved forward a lot, and we think they may move backwards.
Key Insight: If it takes three weeks to get an immigration medical, you are practically at October 31 already. Families need to act right now.
SIJS Deferred Action No Longer Comes With an Approved I-360
Deferred action is an acknowledgment by the U.S. government that a person is not a priority for deportation. It used to come automatically: when the I-360 was approved, the child was put in deferred action. That is no longer the case.
Families now have to ask for deferred action separately, and in our cases, USCIS is not granting it. Children with approved I-360s are going through a wait of often three or four years without deferred action, which means they can be picked up, arrested, and deported while they wait for eligibility for permanent residence.
For children who do have deferred action, it offers some protection, but not absolute protection. Individuals with deferred action are supposed to be a lower priority for removal, and they have work authorization and a stronger claim to safety. But deferred action does not guarantee safety.
The difference shows up most sharply if a child is detained. A child with active deferred action has a much stronger argument in a habeas corpus petition, a court filing that challenges the detention itself. Without deferred action, that argument is weaker.
There is also a renewal problem. We have not had a client’s deferred action revoked early, but many children are not getting renewals. When a renewal is not granted, the protection simply runs out.
Key Insight: Without deferred action, a child with SIJS is in the same position as anyone else without status: at risk of being detained during a wait that is often three or four years.
Why Waiting Is Riskier for SIJS Kids Now
Check-ins and court dates used to be the routine while waiting for eligibility to file for permanent residence. At this time, children are being ordered removed if in removal proceedings or even being picked up. ICE is detaining people at their check-ins, and children with SIJS are being treated as a priority for deportation.
Earlier administrations did not do this. A child who had committed a crime or another serious violation was always at risk. However, children with a pending or approved I-360, even if working without permission or being here without status, were not a priority for enforcement action. Previously, children with an approved I-360 (the SIJS petition), or even children still in the process, were not treated as priorities for removal. If the process took years, the government generally left them alone during the pendency of the process.
That was an acknowledgment that the immigration law provided a pathway and had determined that the United States wished to help unaccompanied children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned, whose best interest was determined by a Family Court to remain in the United States. Despite the legally enacted laws and regulations, the government position is very different right now. Indeed, the removal of children is now a priority.
Immigration Court is thus not a safe place for these children. Immigration judges have been stymied in their ability to grant adjournments, close cases, or take them off the docket. Thus, if a child is in removal proceedings, even with an approved I-360, but the priority date is still far away, a judge will not pause the case long enough for that date to become current.
We also expect that the older priority dates may not stay available for young people much longer. If the child is in court or has check-ins, the child is at risk. Apply for permanent residence as soon as you can.
The Bottom Line: Judges will not adjourn a case long enough for a far-away priority date to become current. If the child is eligible, apply for permanent residence now.
What Filing the Green Card Application Does for an Unaccompanied Child
Although a pending green card application is not a guarantee of safety, it is a hugely different legal position with many more protections than not having an application for permanent residence filed.
An immigration judge can decide the pending application for permanent residence. That is a much safer situation than facing court with no application on record or facing a situation with only prospective eligibility sometime in the future.
Without pending relief, an immigration judge can enter an order of removal – that order will stymie an application for permanent residence.
Where the child’s case stands decides where the application goes:
| Your child’s situation | Who decides the green card application |
| No case in immigration court | USCIS, the standard way |
| Open case in immigration court | The immigration judge, not USCIS |
| Court case closed | USCIS filing may be possible |
Judges rarely close cases right now. But a few judges still will close a case if the child is eligible for permanent residence now, so it is possible to ask. A few courts retain a status docket, which can also take the removal case off the active docket. It depends on the judge and the court.
SIJS Work Permit: What Happens When It Expires
For a child who has not applied for a green card yet, the SIJS work permit is based on deferred action. If the deferred action is still valid, the child can apply to renew the work permit. If the deferred action has expired, the work permit will not be renewed. This is another reason to file for permanent residence the moment the child becomes eligible.
The family can ask again for a renewal of the deferred action, but that decision is up to the government. Once the work permit expires, the child is no longer allowed to work in the United States.
Filing for permanent residence opens a second path to obtain a work permit. A pending green card application lets the child apply for a work permit in a different category, one that does not depend on deferred action. That matters most when the deferred action and the work permit have both ended.
If the current work permit still has a long time left, the child does not necessarily need a new one yet. Work permits are taking longer than they used to, and wait times are extremely unpredictable.
SIJS Visa Bulletin Month by Month
| Visa bulletin | Final action date | Dates for filing | Chart USCIS accepted | Who could file |
| August 2026 | October 15, 2022 | January 1, 2023 | Final action dates | Priority date before October 15, 2022 |
| September 2026 | December 15, 2022 | January 1, 2023 | Final action dates | Priority date before December 15, 2022 |
| October 2026 | December 15, 2022 | January 1, 2025 | Dates for filing | Priority date before January 1, 2025 |
October’s jump in the filing date is what opened this window: two years of priority dates became eligible to file in a single month. We add a new row each month.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current SIJS priority date cutoff?
For October 2026, the cutoff for filing is January 1, 2025. If your child’s SIJS priority date is before that date, your child can file for a green card now. The final action date, which controls when a green card can actually be approved, is December 15, 2022. We update these dates every month when the new visa bulletin is published.
How long is the wait for a SIJS green card?
An approved I-360 does not mean an immediate green card. The law allows only a limited number of children to apply for permanent residence, so children go on a waiting list. That wait is often three or four years right now. During that time, a child can be picked up, arrested, and deported.
Can my child file for a green card while the I-360 is still pending?
Yes. The child can file for a green card while the I-360 is still pending, as long as the priority date is current. I-360 approval is not a prerequisite. Filing does not mean the green card is granted right away. Double-check the priority date first, and if your child is eligible, file before October 31.
Does filing for a green card (adjustment of status) protect my child from deportation?
There is no blanket guarantee. But a pending application puts the child in a much better position than having nothing filed. Even if your child is detained, an immigration judge can decide the pending application for permanent residence. It is a completely different, and much safer, situation. If your child is eligible, apply as soon as you can.
What happens if the child turns 21 while waiting for the green card?
The child does not lose the chance at a green card. Their age is preserved for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) purposes. USCIS says that if the child was under 21 on the date the I-360 was properly filed, it will not deny the green card application because of your child’s current age.
Can the child travel abroad while the green card application is pending?
Traveling right now is dangerous. The child first needs an advance parole, which is permission to leave the U.S. and come back. Advance parole is taking quite some time, and right now it is rarely granted. If it is granted, there is an extra and quite substantial fee. USCIS also generally treats a pending green card application as abandoned if the applicant leaves the U.S. without advance parole. Travel is also dangerous in that travel, even with an approved parole, is considered to trigger unlawful presence bars.
Can SIJS deferred action be taken away before it expires?
Yes. Deferred action makes a child safer, not fully safe. We have not had a client’s deferred action revoked early, but many children are not getting renewals, so the protection simply runs out. Nationally, DHS ended deferred action for at least 990 SIJS recipients in 2025, up from about 100 a year in the three years before, according to New York Focus.
Need Immigration Help?
If your child has SIJS and a priority date before January 1, 2025, contact us now so there is time to get the medical exam done and file before October 31.
This article is provided for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice nor does it create an attorney–client relationship with Oltarsh & Associates, P.C. or any of its lawyers, employees and/or agents. Laws and policies change, and information here may not reflect the most current legal developments. You can contact us about your specific situation.
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