USCIS Ends Automatic Deportation Protection for Child Immigrants Awaiting Visa Backlog, Policy Takes Effect May 10

On May 10, 2026, USCIS rescinded the 2022 policy that automatically granted deferred action to Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJs) — children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned and have been adjudicated dependent by a state court. Since 2022, SIJ-approved children unable to immediately adjust status (due to visa backlogs in the EB-4 category that can stretch 8-10 years for Central American applicants) received automatic deportation protection and work authorization. Under the new USCIS policy memo (PM-602-0198, issued April 10), that automatic consideration is eliminated: children must now individually petition on Form G-325A and will face discretionary denial. Children who miss the window lose protection, and because the EB-4 backlog persists, many SIJ-approved children now face legal limbo during their entire remaining minority.

The USCIS policy change structurally weaponizes the EB-4 visa backlog — a government-created bottleneck — against the most vulnerable population in the immigration system: court-adjudicated abuse survivors who are children. The 2022 policy was created specifically because USCIS recognized that the backlog gap created irrational enforcement outcomes; rescinding it without fixing the backlog is a deliberate choice to use administrative delay as a deportation tool. This tracks with the broader pattern documented in the May 2026 Washington Post reporting on voluntary departure coercion: the administration is systematically using procedural leverage to force case abandonments (see 2026-05-08–washington-post-voluntary-departure-orders-80000-detention-coercion).