Filed 9/2/21 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION ONE Guardianship of S.H.R. B308440 ___________________________________ (Los Angeles County S.H.R., Super. Ct. No. 19AVPB00310) Petitioner and Appellant, v. JESUS RIVAS et al., Objectors and Respondents. APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Scott J. Nord, Judge Pro Tempore. Affirmed. Horvitz & Levy, Jason R. Litt, David S. Ettinger, Anna J. Goodman; Immigrant Defenders Law Center, Bhairavi Asher and Abigail Ward Lloyd for Petitioner and Appellant. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Rex S. Heinke, Jessica M. Weisel, and Joshua D. Tate for Public Counsel as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Petitioner and Appellant. No appearance for Objectors and Respondents. S.H.R. filed petitions in the superior court for the appointment of a guardian of his person (the guardianship petition; Prob. Code, § 1510.1) and for judicial findings that would enable him to petition the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to classify him as a special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) under federal immigration law (the SIJ petition; Code Civ. Proc.,1 § 155). The court denied the SIJ petition and denied the guardianship petition as moot. As we explain below, S.H.R. had the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence the facts supporting SIJ status. Because the trial court found his evidence did not support the requested findings, S.H.R. has the burden on appeal of showing that he is entitled to the SIJ findings as a matter of law. For the reasons discussed below, he has not met his burden. We therefore affirm the order denying the SIJ petition. Because the denial of the SIJ petition rendered the guardianship petition moot, we also affirm the order denying that petition. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS In the Immigration Act of 1990 and subsequent amendments, Congress established the SIJ classification of immigrants and a path “to protect abused, neglected, and abandoned unaccompanied minors through a process that allows them to become permanent legal residents.” (In re Y.M. (2012) 207 Cal.App.4th 892, 915; see 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101(a)(27)(J), 1153(b)(4), 1255(a) & (h); Bianka M. v. Superior Court (2018) 5 Cal.5th 1004, 1012−1013.) The USCIS may consent to grant 1Subsequent unspecified statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure. 2 SIJ status to an unmarried immigrant under 21 years of age if the immigrant is in the custody of an individual appointed by a state court with jurisdiction to determine the custody and care of juveniles, and that court makes two findings: (1) reunification with one or both of the immigrant’s parents “is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found under [s]tate law”; and (2) it is not in the immigrant’s best interest to return to his or her home country or the home country of his or her parents. (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J) & (b)(1); see 8 C.F.R. § 204.11(a) (2021); Eddie E. v. Superior Court (2013) 223 Cal.App.4th 622, 627−628.) In 2014, the California …
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