Visa Offers Path for Immigrant Youth in State Care

Here is another example of a young immigrant harmed by her mother's deportation and being placed in foster care. Now she has her green card.    - - Donna Poisl

By ASHLEY HOPKINSON

CUMMING, Ga. August 25, 2012 (AP) -- Maria Boudet has no memory of Mexico or how she came to the United States. What she does remember is the year she turned 16 and found out she was living in the country illegally.

Two years ago, her mother was deported, her brother was detained and she was put in foster care. A powerful reminder of all she lost and gained is printed on the top right corner of her green card: "SL6." That's the code for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS), the little-known program that allows Boudet and hundreds like her each year to live and work in the U.S. as a legal permanent resident.
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