Chart 2: Specific Consent for Children in the Custody of the Federal Government

Note: Additional information is available in pop-up boxes by clicking on the boxes with bold red titles.

Note: This Specific Consent chart was created before the January 1, 2008 U.S. District court decision in Perez-Olano v. Chertoff, which states that DHS specific consent for children in federal custody is only required before a juvenile court determines custody status or placement. The impact of this decision is currently unclear; when more is known, these materials will be updated. (For more on this issue, see the National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children’s SIJS resource library, which includes the court decision and a January 30, 2008, USCIS letter explaining that following the District Court's decision, they are "enjoined from requiring specific consent where a minor only seeks state court jurisdiction for a SIJ predicate order.”)