The applicant is 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available. If your LPR parent filed a Form I-130 for you as his or her child and then your parent became a U.S. citizen before you turned 21, your age freezes on the date your parent became a citizen. The petition had been pending for three months before it was approved, so that period of time can be subtracted from the child's age. If the petitioner of a pending or approved immediate relative spousal petition dies, their spouses Form I-130 automatically converts to a widow(er)s Form I-360. If you want to opt out of the automatic conversion, you must submit a written request to the USCIS office that approved your Form I-130. So long as the child was under 21 on the date of the interview, he or she will not age out of eligibility for derivative refugee status or adjustment of status. 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. [32], Determining When an Applicant May File an Adjustment Application and When a Visa is Available for the CSPA Age Calculation. The DOS Visa Bulletin contains a clear warning to applicants to consult with the USCIS website for guidance on whether to use the Dates for Filing chart or Final Action Dates chart. Under Section 424 of the USA PATRIOT Act, if a qualifying form was filed before September 11, 2001, then the applicant is afforded an additional 45 days of eligibility.[11]. The letter format is on this forum. Instead, CSPA provides methods for calculating an applicants age for immigrant visa purposes. [36], The applicants CSPA age is determined based on how long the applicants underlying petition was pending and the applicants age when a visa became available to the applicant or the petition is approved, whichever is later. * Child Status Protection Act Date Of Birth* Priority Date* Approval Date* Date when Petition Became Current * UNDERSTAND THE TERMS Priority Date It is the date when your Petition was filed. [7] CSPA only covers those immigrants explicitly listed in the statute; it does not apply to any other immigrants or nonimmigrants. See INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(I) and INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(III). If you were under the age of 21 at the time of your parents interview, your age is frozen as of that date and you will not age out. One year later, in December 2021, a visa once again becomes available to the derivative child based on the Dates for Filing chart, which USCIS has designated for use in that month, and the derivative child files an application for adjustment of status. [^ 6] The CSPA protects a derivative refugee from aging out prior to his or her refugee admission, but such protection is not needed at the adjustment stage because a derivative refugee does not need to remain the spouse or child of the principal refugee in order to adjust status under INA 209. [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. You become an immediate relative and will not age out. It is important to note that this NVC-generated assessment letter will not hold up the qualification of the case for appointment at post. For more information, see Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2, of the USCIS Policy Manual. Unfortunately, the CSPA requires that if a child is eligible, the child must "seek to acquire" a visa within one year. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating and incorporating relevant Adjudicators Field Manual (AFM) content into the USCIS Policy Manual. See INA 209(a)(1). Review our. Hi, Our case was approved 2 days after the childs 21 birthday. The noncitizen cannot benefit from the age-out protections of the CSPA. The following table outlines immigrant categories covered by CSPA, methods by which CSPA age is calculated, whether the sought to acquire requirement applies, and references to legal authorities and additional guidance. Legal Authorities and Additional Guidance, CSPA age is frozen on the date the principal refugee parents Form I-590 is filed (the date of the parents interview with USCIS). If you are an immediate relative, a VAWA self-petitioning abused spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, or a derivative child of a VAWA self-petitioning abused spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, your age is frozen on the date the Form I-130 or Form I-360 is filed. See Matter of O. Vazquez (PDF), 25 I&N Dec. 817 (BIA 2012). The historical versions linked below reflect the pertinent policy in effect on that date and dates reflect when updates occurred. Applicants who will follow to join the principal applicant later will be interviewed separately. [^ 19] See Part L, Refugee Adjustment, Chapter 2, Eligibility Requirements, Section F, Special Considerations for Refugee Adjustment of Status Applicants, Subsection 2, Child Status Protection Act Provisions [7 USCIS-PM L.2(F)(2)]. Sample of CSPA aged appeal letter to NVC (The Child Status Protection You can find the receipt number on the receipt and approval notices. Since October 2015, the Visa Bulletin has featured two charts per immigrant preference category: USCIS designates one of the two charts for use by applicants each month. CSPA may still apply for a preference applicant who did not have an adjustment application pending on August 6, 2002, and who did not timely seek to acquire. This technical update clarifies thatcertain child beneficiaries of family-sponsored immigrant visa petitions who are ineligible for the Child Status Protection Act may continue their adjustment of status application if the petition is automatically converted to an eligible category. When a lawful permanent resident (LPR) files a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative for his or her child or unmarried son or daughter, the petition is classified as a family second preference case. Seek or sought to acquire is used as shorthand in this chapter to refer to this requirement. [^ 24] See Section B, Child Status Protection Act Applicability [7 USCIS-PM A.7(B)] for more information on effective date. [^ 29] A transfer request potentially affects the CSPA age calculation for the derivative beneficiaries. Adjustment applicants are eligible for CSPA consideration if either the qualifying application (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485)) or one of the following underlying forms was filed or pending on or after the effective date: Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130); Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Form I-360); Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140); Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor (Form I-526); Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor (Form I-526E); Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal (Form I-589); Registration for Classification as a Refugee (Form I-590); or, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition (Form I-730). If you are a K-4 nonimmigrant, you are eligible for CSPA because you will apply for a Green Card as an immediate relative based on a Form I-130 filed by your U.S. citizen stepparent. Ineffective assistance of counsel, when certain requirements are met. [^ 20] See Section C, Immediate Relatives [7 USCIS-PM A.7(C)], Section D, Derivative Asylees [7 USCIS-PM A.7(D)], and Section E, Derivative Refugees [7 USCIS-PM A.7(E)]. [^ 5] Eligible derivatives of special immigrants are covered by CSPA as their immigrant visas fall under the employment-based fourth preference visa category. D on Lch Visa (Lch Phng Vn) v Lch M H S (6 Bc NVC) thng [^ 43] See 9 FAM 502.1-1(D)(6)(a)(3), Sought to Acquire LPR Status Provision. See INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(I) and INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(III). For IRs and IR self-petitioners or derivatives under VAWA, a childs age is frozen on the date the Form I-130 or Form I-360 is filed, respectively. The visa remains available to the prospective applicant through March 2021, that is, for a continuous 1-year period of visa availability. 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. NVC will send another invoice for both of your child once the visa date/priority date confirmed that they are qualified for CSPA. This situation is commonly referred to as aging out and often means that these applicants would have to file a new petition or application, wait even longer to get a Green Card, or may no longer be eligible for a Green Card. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) | USCIS PDF how to recapture/retain and utilize priority dates | February 2022 - ILRC If we approve a request to transfer the underlying basis of the pending adjustment of status application, calculate the CSPA age using the approved petition that forms the new basis of the adjustment application. The approval notice will also show you which office approved your Form I-130. Sample of CSPA aged appeal letter to NVC (The Child Status Protection Act) Emily Huynh 413 subscribers Subscribe 45 Share 2.5K views 2 years ago This video shows you how to write a letter. The delay was reasonable under the circumstances. You must check the. However, a transfer of underlying basis request can also result in potential derivative beneficiaries become eligible to adjust status as a derivative because their calculated CSPA age based on the petition is under 21 years of age. He said we need to write a letter to tell them why we believe. However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify. A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Note: If an applicant has multiple approved petitions, calculate the applicants CSPA age using the petition that forms the underlying basis for the adjustment of status application. How to request NVC to apply CSPA to my immigration case so my - Avvo Note:Certain forms, including Form I-290B, have a filing fee. [^ 35] USCIS typically designates one of the two charts within 1 week of the publication of the DOS Visa Bulletin. 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. Unlike derivative refugees, you must be unmarried in order to qualify for a grant of derivative asylum and to qualify for a Green Card under INA section 209. [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 revising its policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to align with the Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements Final Rule, published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020. While you must be unmarried to qualify for admission into the U.S. as a derivative refugee, you do not need to remain unmarried in order to qualify for a Green Card under INA section 209. . [^ 26] In addition to CSPA protections, VAWA self-petitioners and derivatives who turn 21 prior to adjusting status may be eligible for age-out protections provided in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTPVA) of 2000, Pub. Limited CSPA Coverage for K-2 Nonimmigrants. The applicant must be unmarried at the time he or she seeks adjustment of status. When considering a claim of extraordinary circumstances, the officer should weigh the totality of the circumstances and the connection between the circumstances presented and the failure to meet the sought to acquire requirement within the 1-year period, as well as the reasonableness of the delay. It appears that NVC generally does not issue fee bills to dependent children who have . You will need the ten (10) digit barcode number from your DS-260 confirmation page to book your appointments. F-4 CSPA beneficiary - Immigration forums for visa, green card [^ 17] The date a Form I-590 is considered filed is the date of the principal refugee parents interview with a USCIS officer. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS An applicant may only establish extraordinary circumstances due to ineffective assistance of counsel (the applicants legal representative or attorney) if he or she completes the following: The applicant must submit an affidavit explaining in detail the agreement that was entered into with counsel regarding the actions to be taken and what information, if any, counsel provided to the applicant regarding such actions; The applicant must demonstrate that he or she has made a good faith effort to inform counsel whose integrity or competence is being questioned of the allegations brought against him or her and that counsel has been given an opportunity to respond; and. U.S. See9 FAM 502.6-4, Diversity Visa Processing. As mentioned in the assessment letter, applicants should bring any completed joint-sponsor . [^ 48] For DVs, the date a visa is considered available is the first day on which the principal applicants rank number is current for visa processing. Therefore, the applicants petition pending time is 6 months (or 182 days). I suggest you gather up the relevant documents (particularly the I-130 receipt and I-130 approval notice) and get a lawyer to send a letter to the NVC that demonstrates your CSPA calculation, asserts your eligibility to stay in F2A and urges them to forward your case to the consulate for final processing. U.S. Immediate relatives(including derivatives of widow(er)s); Family-sponsored preference principal applicants and derivative applicants; Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners and derivative applicants; Employment-based preference derivative applicants; Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) derivative applicants; Form I-590, Registration for Classification as a Refugee; or, The first day of the month of when USCIS considers a visa available for filing an adjustment of status application based on your immigrant preference category, country of chargeability, and priority date. The CSPA does not solve the problem of "age outs" for all children of LPRs and other derivative beneficiaries. This page was not helpful because the content: Chapter 9 - Death of Petitioner or Principal Beneficiary, Chapter 10 - Legal Analysis and Use of Discretion, Part I - Adjustment Based on Violence Against Women Act, Part J - Trafficking Victim-Based Adjustment, Part Q - Rescission of Lawful Permanent Residence, Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin, Age-Out Protections Afforded Battered Children Pursuant to The Child Status Protection Act and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, How to Use the USCIS Policy Manual Website, Appendix: 2020 Fee Rule Litigation Summary. or NVC; pay the affidavit of support fee with the NVC; file the DS-260 . [^ 41] See Chapter 3, Filing Instructions, Section B, Definition of Properly Filed [7 USCIS-PM A.3(B)]. The applicant also files an adjustment of status application based on the second Form I-140. Example: Visa Becomes Unavailable Before Filing. Commonplace circumstances, such as financial difficulty, minor medical conditions, and circumstances within the applicants control (such as when to seek counsel or begin preparing the application package), are not considered extraordinary. This also applies to circumstances when USCIS approves a request to transfer the underlying basis of a pending adjustment of status application to a different immigrant category based on another approved petition. 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]. If your LPR parent filed a Form I-130 for you as an unmarried son or daughter (second preference classification) and then your parent became a U.S. citizen, you normally would automatically convert to a first preference classification as the unmarried son or daughter of a U.S. citizen (F1). You are only eligible for CSPA if you are the beneficiary of a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. If the prospective applicant has a priority date in their country of chargeability and preference category that is later than the Final Action Date, then a visa is no longer available to them for accepting and processing their application during the given month. 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. Motions to Reopen Following Matter of O. Vazquez. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) Alert: On Feb. 14, 2023, USCIS issued 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 for noncitizens seeking lawful permanent resident status in a preference category. For more information on K-4 visas, see the K-3/K-4 Nonimmigrant Visas page. You will receive instructions concerning interview preparation in the appointment letter that you will receive from the NVC. It is important to note that while USCIS designates one of the charts for use by applicants each month for accepting and processing adjustment of status applications, the Final Action Dates chart always governs when a visa is authorized for issuance to an applicant. Therefore, the date the visa is considered available for family and employment-based preference applicants is the later of these two dates: The first day of the month of when USCIS considers a visa available for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application for that immigrant preference category and priority date. Once a Processing Complete Letter has been issued, NVC "closes" the file and places it in a queue for future use. The DV Program registration period began on Oct. 1, 2012, and the DV selection Letter is dated May 1, 2013. How can I request NVC to consider my son's CSPA age and grant him immigrant visa as well? As it takes a long time to get Greencard in many categories, many dependent children may age-out while waiting and are no longer be eligible as dependents to get a green card. The History tab was added to the USCIS Policy Manual on June 11, 2021, and provides historical versions on and after that date. Denials that were based on the failure to seek to acquire and issued prior to the decision in Matter of O. Vazquez[51] were proper based on the law in effect at the time of the decision. CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) Calculator - Immihelp 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. Such retrogression can affect either chart in the Visa Bulletin and may result in a visa becoming unavailable to the prospective applicant for accepting and processing their application. [34] DOS publishes a new Visa Bulletin on a monthly basis. Certain Preference Applicants Who Did Not Have an Adjustment Application Pending on the Effective Date. Generally, in order to qualify, the derivative refugee must be listed as a child on the principal applicants Form I-590 prior to a final decision. See Matter of O. Vazquez (PDF), 25 I&N Dec. 817 (BIA 2012). [^ 27] For CSPA purposes, the age at time of visa availability is the applicants age when USCIS considers the applicants visa available. If you were under the age of 21 at the time the petition was filed, you are eligible for CSPA and will not age out. First, the date in the DOS Visa Bulletin for the prospective applicants country of chargeability and preference category may retrogress or move backwards. NVC may add a child to the fee bill if the child's CSPA age is under 21 on the first day of visa availability, or may defer to the consulate to make the decision to add a CSPA-age-adjusted child as a derivative. 6 USCIS-PM G.1 - Chapter 1 - Purpose and Background, 6 USCIS-PM G.2 - Chapter 2 - Eligibility Requirements, 7 USCIS-PM A.3 - Chapter 3 - Filing Instructions, 7 USCIS-PM A.6 - Chapter 6 - Adjudicative Review, 7 USCIS-PM B.2 - Chapter 2 - Eligibility Requirements, 7 USCIS-PM B.8 - Chapter 8 - Inapplicability of Bars to Adjustment. INA 201(f) - Rules for determining whether certain aliens are immediate relatives, INA 203(h) - Rules for determining whether certain aliens are children, INA 207(c)(2)(B) - Admission by Attorney General of refugees; criteria; admission status of spouse or child; applicability of other statutory requirements; termination of refugee status of alien, spouse, or child, INA 208(b)(3)(B) - Continued classification of certain aliens as children, INA 209(a)(1) - Inspection and examination by Department of Homeland Security, INA 209, 8 CFR 209 - Adjustment of status of refugees and asylees, Pub.