FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT C.J.L.G., A JUVENILE MALE, No. 16-73801 Petitioner, Agency No. v. A206-838-888 WILLIAM P. BARR, Attorney General, Respondent. OPINION On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Argued and Submitted En Banc December 10, 2018 San Francisco, California Filed May 3, 2019 Before: Sidney R. Thomas, Chief Judge, and Susan P. Graber, M. Margaret McKeown, William A. Fletcher, Richard A. Paez, Marsha S. Berzon, Johnnie B. Rawlinson, Consuelo M. Callahan, Sandra S. Ikuta, Jacqueline H. Nguyen and Andrew D. Hurwitz, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge Hurwitz; Concurrence by Judge Paez; Concurrence by Judge Berzon; Dissent by Judge Callahan 2 C.J.L.G. V. BARR SUMMARY * Immigration Granting C.J.L.G.’s petition for review of a Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision, the en banc court concluded that the Immigration Judge who ordered C.J. removed erred by failing to advise him about his apparent eligibility for Special Immigrant Juvenile (“SIJ”) status, and remanded. SIJ status provides a path to lawful permanent residency for at-risk children and requires a child to obtain a state-court order declaring him dependent or placing him under the custody of a court-appointed individual or entity. The state court must find that (1) “reunification with 1 or both . . . parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found under State law;” and (2) it would not be in the child’s “best interest to be returned to [his] parent’s previous country.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27)(J). After obtaining a state court order, the child must obtain the consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security to the granting of SIJ status by filing an I-360 petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). If USCIS grants the petition, the child may apply for adjustment of status, and a visa must be immediately available when he applies. The en banc court noted that, under 8 C.F.R. § 1240.11(a)(2), an IJ is required to inform a petitioner subject to removal proceedings of “apparent eligibility to * This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. C.J.L.G. V. BARR 3 apply for any of the benefits enumerated in this chapter,” and observed that this court’s case law provides that the “apparent eligibility” standard is triggered whenever the facts before the IJ raise a reasonable possibility that the petitioner may be eligible for relief. The en banc court concluded that the information presented during CJ’s proceedings made it reasonably possible that he could establish eligibility for SIJ status. In this respect, the en banc court concluded that (1) his mother’s comment that CJ’s father left her a long time ago and CJ’s statement that he had had no paternal contact for many years demonstrated that reunification with one parent might be impossible due to abandonment; and (2) the death threats CJ received from a gang in Honduras when he was ...
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