Second, while the dates in the Visa Bulletin for the prospective applicants country of chargeability and preference category may not retrogress, USCIS may designate the Final Action Dates chart for use during a given month after having designated the Dates for Filing chart for use during the preceding month. [31] In other words, the pending time is the period of time between the start of the DV Program registration period to the date of the DV Selection Letter. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise The CSPA age is calculated based on the new visa availability date of October 1, 2021 (not October 1, 2020), and locked in as of that date provided that the visa remains available and the applicant seeks to acquire during that 1-year period. For family and employment-based preference adjustment applicants, the length of time a petition was pending (pending time) is the number of days between the date that it is properly filed (filing date)[30] and the approval date. For more information about applying for a Green Card as a K-1 or K-2 nonimmigrant, see the Green Card for Fianc(e) of U.S. Citizen page. The derivative child does not have an available visa based on the Final Action Dates chart in December 2020, and cannot apply during that month. [45], USCIS also considers a written request to transfer the underlying basis of the adjustment of status application to satisfy the sought to acquire requirement if the request is received within 1 year of an immigrant visa becoming available in the new preference category. The applicants underlying petition was pending for 6 months. If the adjustment applicant was under the age of 21 at the time the petition was filed or automatically converted, the applicant is eligible for CSPA and will not age out. The DV Program registration period began on October 1, 2012, and the DV Selection Letter is dated May 1, 2013. If the applicant does not seek to acquire within 1 year of visa availability although the visa was available for a continuous 1-year period, the applicant cannot benefit from the age-out protections of the CSPA. Fortunately, her PD is current that month too. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) | USCIS For information regarding implementation, see Appendix: 2020 Fee Rule Litigation Summary. If the visa does not remain continuously available for accepting and processing the application, and becomes unavailable again, the period starts anew once the visa becomes available again. [48] From the date of visa availability, family-sponsored and employment-based preference and DV adjustment applicants have 1 year in which to seek to acquire permanent resident status in order to qualify for CSPA coverage. If a continuous 1-year period of visa availability elapsed and the applicant did not seek to acquire during the 1-year period, the applicant cannot benefit from the age-out protections of the CSPA. A preference applicant whose visa became available on or after August 7, 2001 who did not seek to acquire within 1 year of such visa availability but who would have qualified for CSPA coverage had he or she applied, but for prior policy guidance concerning the CSPA effective date, may still apply for adjustment of status. Since the prospective applicant only had 4 months of time in which to seek to acquire during the initial period of availability, the prospective applicant has a full 1-year period beginning October 1, 2021, in which the prospective applicant may seek to acquire. How can I request NVC to consider my son's CSPA age and grant him immigrant visa as well? However, if the qualifying underlying form was approved prior to the effective date, an applicant who applies for adjustment of status after the effective date may still qualify for CSPA coverage. For more information, see Part F, Special Immigrant-Based (EB-4) Adjustment [7 USCIS-PM F]. For more information about CSPA, see the following: An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, An official website of the United States government, To protect your privacy, please do not include any personal information in your feedback. Therefore, the applicants CSPA age is under 21. A visa initially becomes available to the prospective applicant according to the Final Action Dates chart on March 1, 2020, which USCIS designated for use in that month. You must submit the correct filing fee for each form unless you are exempt or eligible for a fee waiver. Applicants can determine when to file for adjustment of status by referring first to the USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin webpage and then to the DOS Visa Bulletin. CSPA does not change the definition of a child. VAWA self-petitioners and derivatives who age out before adjusting status are considered self-petitioners for preference status, and derivatives retain the priority date of their parents Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Form I-360) VAWA self-petition. [2], Section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines a child as a person who is unmarried and under 21 years old. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to update when an immigrant visa becomes available for the purpose of calculating Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age in certain situations. Since your age freezes on the date the Form I-130 is filed, you benefit from the CSPA as long as your stepparent files the Form I-130 before your 21st birthday. Congress recognized that many children were aging out due to large USCIS processing backlogs, so it enacted the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) to protect certain children from aging out. Family-Sponsored Preference Principals and Derivatives (including VAWA)[54]. APPLICATION OF THE CHILD STATUS PROTECTION ACT TO THE CHILDREN OF U.S. CITIZEN PETITIONERS 2 APPLICATION OF THE CSPA TO THE CHILDREN OF U.S. CITIZEN PETITIONERS | DECEMBER 2018 B. Child's Age Frozen on the Date of the Parent's Naturalization The CSPA also amended Section 201 of the INA to provide that if a permanent resident parent who had filed a visa You become an immediate relative and will not age out. However, the derivative asylee may overcome this by providing evidence establishing the parent-child relationship, including evidence of the childs age, and a reasonable explanation as to why the derivative was not included on the principals Form I-589. U.S. In other words, the applicants age is frozen on the date the Form I-589 is filed. Apply for a U.S. Visa | Expedited/ Age Out/ Follow-T0-Join Cases However, CSPA does not change the requirement that you must be unmarried in order to remain eligible for classification as a child. The date a Form I-590 is considered filed is the date of the principal refugee parents interview with a USCIS officer. [^ 53] For more detailed guidance on CSPA applicability and VAWA, see INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i) and Age-Out Protections Afforded Battered Children Pursuant to The Child Status Protection Act and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (PDF, 104.96 KB), issued August 17, 2004. The adjustment applicant must have had one of the following pending on or after the CSPAs effective date: a qualifying Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition (, The applicant must have been under the age of 21 and unmarried at the time the principal asylum applicants. CSPA Guide, Child Status Protection Act, CSPA Formula - Shusterman Law The priority date should not be used for purposes of determining CSPA eligibility. Based on the CSPA rule, she should be still qualified for F2A. The CSPA age associated with the petition does not change after the filing of the adjustment of status application and is frozen through the final adjudication, regardless of when a visa is authorized for issuance based on the Final Action Dates chart.[37]. [^ 32] The rank number is the number following the two-letter region code and should correspond with cut-off numbers available in the DOS Visa Bulletin. How to request NVC to apply CSPA to my immigration case so my - Avvo The length of time a petition was pending (pending time) is the number of days between the date that it is properly filed (filing date) and the approval date. Review our. For a motion filed more than 30 days after the denial, if the noncitizen demonstrates that the delay was reasonable and was beyond their control, we may, in our discretion, excuse the untimely filing of the motion. In order to protect children from aging out of their cases at age 21, CSPA may extend the eligibility of the applicant, should the applicant meet the CSPA requirements. The applicant may file an untimely motion to reopen or reconsider without a filing fee if: Special rules apply in cases where an adjustment applicant would otherwise age out on or after August 6, 2002. Noncitizens must generally file motions to reopen within 30 days of the decision. Review our. 1 USCIS-PM - Volume 1 - General Policies and Procedures, 7 USCIS-PM - Volume 7 - Adjustment of Status, 9 USCIS-PM - Volume 9 - Waivers and Other Forms of Relief, 10 USCIS-PM - Volume 10 - Employment Authorization, 11 USCIS-PM - Volume 11 - Travel and Identity Documents, 12 USCIS-PM - Volume 12 - Citizenship and Naturalization. HOW TO RECAPTURE/RETAIN AND UTILIZE PRIORITY DATES 4 HOW TO RECAPTURE/RETAIN AND UTILIZE PRIORITY DATES | FEBRUARY 2022 CSPA applies to both noncitizens abroad who are applying for an immigrant visa through the Department of State (DOS) and noncitizens physically present in the United States who are applying for adjustment of status through USCIS. The NVC did its CSPA analysis when the priority date became current using Chart A, which was on Oct. 1, 2016. Under these facts, the prospective applicant failed to seek to acquire permanent residence within 1 year of visa availability because the prospective applicant failed to apply for adjustment of status during the 1-year period between March 1, 2020, and March 1, 2021, when a visa was continuously available to file an adjustment of status application. 7 USCIS-PM A.7 - Chapter 7 - Child Status Protection Act. If we transfer your underlying basis, calculate your CSPA age using your age at the time your immigrant visa becomes available, minus the time the petition that forms the new basis of your adjustment of status application was pending. [10], Certain Preference Applicants with No Adjustment Application Pending on the Effective Date.