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. U.S. The date of visa availability is the date of petition approval or the first day of the month of the DOS Visa Bulletin that indicates availability for that immigrant preference category and priority date according to the chart USCIS designated that month for accepting and processing the adjustment of status application, whichever is later. The CSPA helps preserve the "under 21" age of many children who would otherwise have aged out under the prior law. If a VAWA self-petitioner was the beneficiary of a previously filed Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130), the VAWA self-petitioner and the VAWA self-petitioners derivatives CSPA age is calculated using the date the Form I-360 was filed because this is the petition through which they are seeking adjustment of status. The month . The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) was enacted in order to keep immigrant families intact despite family-based and employment-based waiting times which can be long. For more information, see Part F, Special Immigrant-Based (EB-4) Adjustment [7 USCIS-PM F]. The Child Status Protection Act, or CSPA, was enacted in 2002 in an effort to prevent certain children from aging out while they wait to immigrate on a family-based petition. If you are a derivative asylee, your CSPA age is your age on the date your principal asylee parent or Form I-730 petitioner filed his or her Form I-589. [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. B BigJoe5 Registered Users (C) Jul 26, 2011 [35] Applicants must check the USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin webpage to see which chart to use in determining when they may file adjustment of status applications. The applicant already had a continuous 1-year period in which to seek to acquire. [^ 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. You become an immediate relative and will not age out. You are only eligible for CSPA if you are the beneficiary of a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. So, both you and your brother do qualify for CSPA, you need to write a letter to NVC stating that you and your brother may qualify for CSPA status so please review the situation, Once NVC reviews the case, they will send invoice for you and your brother. 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. At that point, USCIS would calculate CSPA age based on the derivatives age on December 1, 2021 (not October 1, 2020). Officers should follow guidance in 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. I would like an attorney to double check the CSPA age calculation and draft the letter with appropriate language. [49], Impact of Visa Unavailability on the 1-Year Sought to Acquire Requirement. 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 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. Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur; Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2 of the USCIS Policy Manual, Form DS-260, Immigrant Visa Electronic Application, Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, Green Card for Fianc(e) of U.S. Citizen page, USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Adjustment of Status, Part A, Adjustment of Status Policies and Procedures, Chapter 7, Child Status Protection Act. Looking for U.S. government information and services? In order for family-sponsored and employment-based preference and DV adjustment applicants to benefit from the CSPA age calculation, they must seek to acquire lawful permanent residence within 1 year of when a visa becomes available for accepting and processing a potential adjustment of status application. 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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS If someone applies for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status as a child but turns 21 before being approved for LPR status (also known as getting a Green Card), that person can no longer be considered a child for immigration purposes. Based on the CSPA rule, she should be still qualified for F2A. Hello there, Congratulations, you and your brother both qualify for CSPA, what you should do is when you send supporting documents for your parents to the NVC, send a letter to the NVC with your and your brother's name, date of birth and ask NVC to review the file since you may qualify for CSPA. [10], Certain Preference Applicants with No Adjustment Application Pending on the Effective Date. However, USCIS may excuse the applicant from the requirement as an exercise of discretion if the applicant is able to establish that the failure to satisfy the sought to acquire requirement within 1 year was the result of extraordinary circumstances.[47]. In order for the immigrant visa to be considered available for CSPA purposes, two conditions must be met: The visa must be available for the immigrant preference category and priority date. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. See INA 204(a)(1)(I). 5 There are exceptions to this rule for VAWA self -petitioners, and qualifying self petitioning widow(er)s of U.S. citizens. HOW TO RECAPTURE/RETAIN AND UTILIZE PRIORITY DATES 4 HOW TO RECAPTURE/RETAIN AND UTILIZE PRIORITY DATES | FEBRUARY 2022 The History tab was added to the USCIS Policy Manual on June 11, 2021, and provides historical versions on and after that date. 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. [^ 41] See Chapter 3, Filing Instructions, Section B, Definition of Properly Filed [7 USCIS-PM A.3(B)]. Step 2: Creating A User Account and Scheduling Your Visa Appointment Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/pk/ and create a user account. The derivative may be eligible to retain the priority date from the first Form I-140, but the CSPA calculation uses the second petition, because this is the petition through which the principal beneficiary obtained adjustment of status and that forms the basis for the applicants adjustment of status application. The applicant is 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available. Read Shimanto's reply, I posted the format there. Does Sought to Acquire Requirement Apply? This chapter primarily focuses on the impact of CSPA on adjustment applicants, though the same principles generally apply to noncitizens seeking an immigrant visa through DOS.[8]. 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. You are 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available to you. If the petitioner naturalizes (becomes a U.S. citizen) before the child or unmarried son or daughter gets a Green Card, the petition is converted to either an immediate relative or family first preference case. 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. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), to include how USCIS calculates age under certain contexts and what actions satisfy the sought to acquire requirement. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Chapter 8 - Inapplicability of Bars to Adjustment, Volume 1 - General Policies and Procedures, Volume 9 - Waivers and Other Forms of Relief, Volume 11 - Travel and Identity Documents, Volume 12 - Citizenship and Naturalization, Part A - Adjustment of Status Policies and Procedures, Part F - Special Immigrant-Based (EB-4) Adjustment, Part A - Secure Identity Documents Policies and Procedures, Volume 3 - Humanitarian Protection and Parole. You will be notified once a decision is reached. 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. 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. [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. Ineffective assistance of counsel, when certain requirements are met. However, you may choose to opt out of the automatic conversion and stay in second preference classification (F2B) if the waiting time for the second preference visa is shorter than the waiting time for the first preference visa. This technical update to Volume 7 includes references to the EB-5 visa program and Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, and clarifications regarding the Child Status Protection Act eligibility of derivative applicants of the VAWA-based Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. In these circumstances, you are not eligible for and do not need CSPA in order to get a Green Card.