RECORD IMPOUNDED NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-0577-16T1 M.J.L.G., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. G.R., Defendant-Respondent. IN THE MATTER OF O.N.R.L., Minor. Submitted November 8, 2017 – Decided November 27, 2017 Before Judges Carroll and Leone. On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Morris County, Docket No. FD-14-0554-16. Rutgers Child Advocacy Clinic and Kids in Need of Defense, attorneys for appellant (Randi Mandelbaum and Gilda Holguin, on the brief). Respondent has not filed a brief. PER CURIAM Plaintiff M.J.L.G. appeals a portion of the Family Part's July 28, 2016 order in this matter involving a minor from Honduras who now resides with plaintiff in New Jersey, and a September 15, 2016 order denying plaintiff's motion for reconsideration. In particular, plaintiff argues that the court erroneously failed to find that her son's reunification with his biological father was not viable due to abandonment and neglect, pursuant to the federal criteria for special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) status set forth in 8 U.S.C.A. § 1101(a)(27)(J) and 8 C.F.R. § 204.11(c). The court ruled it could not make this finding because it lacked personal jurisdiction over the father. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the court's determination that it lacked jurisdiction to decide this discrete issue, and remand this matter to the trial court to make the required finding. The legal context of this non-contested case is governed by the aforesaid federal provisions concerning SIJ status. Those provisions were recently explained in depth in H.S.P. v. J.K., 223 N.J. 196, 208-11 (2015). As H.S.P. notes, Congress amended the Immigration Act of 1990 by adopting the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), Pub. L. No. 110- 457, 122 Stat. 5044. The TVPRA allows an undocumented juvenile who is present in the United States to receive SIJ status if (i) [he] has been declared dependent on a juvenile court located in the United States or . . . such a court has legally . . . placed [him] under the custody of, an agency or department of a State, or an individual or 2 A-0577-16T1 entity appointed by a State or juvenile court located in the United States, and [his] reunification with 1 or both of the immigrant's parents is not viable due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found under State law; (ii) [a juvenile court determined] it would not be in the alien's best interest to be returned to the alien's or parent's previous country of nationality or country of last habitual residence; and (iii) . . . the Secretary of Homeland Security consents to the grant of special immigrant juvenile status[.] [8 U.S.C.A. § 1101(a)(27)(J).] The Immigration Act's implementing regulations further clarify ...
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