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. See Section G, Sought to Acquire Requirement [7 USCIS-PM A.7(G)]. 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. NVC accepted CPSA protection before priority date became current You (not your parent) should send a signed letter stating that you wish to opt out of the conversion from F2B to F1. Diversity immigrant visa (DV) derivatives; CSPA provisions vary based on the immigrant category of the applicant. That is accomplished by filing certain documents within one year of visa availability. To the extent that a provision in the USCIS Policy Manual conflicts with remaining AFM content or Policy Memoranda, the updated information in the USCIS Policy Manual prevails. You are 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available to you. Yes. 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. CSPA age is calculated by subtracting the number of days the petition was pending from the applicants age on the date an immigrant visa becomes available to the applicant. In order for a family-sponsored or employment-based preference or DV applicant to qualify for CSPA, the applicant must meet the following requirements: For family-sponsored (including VAWA)[26] and employment-based preference and DV categories, an adjustment applicants CSPA age is calculated by subtracting the number of days the petition on which the applicant seeks to adjust status was pending (pending time) from the applicants age on the date the immigrant visa becomes available to the applicant (age at time of visa availability). In order to establish extraordinary circumstances, the applicant must demonstrate that: The circumstances were not created by the applicant through his or her own action or inaction; The circumstances directly affected the applicants failure to seek to acquire within the 1-year period; and. [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 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. 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. [^ 39] See INA 203(h)(1)(A). You are only eligible for CSPA if you are the beneficiary of a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. See Subsection 4, Determining Age at Time of Visa Availability [7 USCIS-PM A.7(F)(4)]. Approval Date First, the date in the DOS Visa Bulletin for the prospective applicants country of chargeability and preference category may retrogress or move backwards. [^ 49] Though the CSPA technically requires DV derivatives to seek to acquire within 1 year, this requirement does not generally affect DV derivatives, as they are only eligible to receive a visa through the end of the specific fiscal year in which the principal applicant was selected under INA 203(c). To be CSPA qualified you must meet two criteria: Your "CSPA age" must be under 21 years old. 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. For derivative asylees, an adjustment applicants CSPA age is his or her age on the date the principal applicants Form I-589 is filed. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines a child as a person who is both unmarried and under 21 years old. 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]. VAWA self-petitioners and derivatives who do not qualify for CSPA may qualify for age-out relief under VTPVA. However, in December 2020, USCIS designates the Final Action Dates chart for use by prospective applicants in the employment-based preference categories. Certain provisions of the CSPA apply to some categories of immigrants but not others. 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. Therefore, the applicants CSPA age is under 21. A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. [^ 43] See 9 FAM 502.1-1(D)(6)(a)(3), Sought to Acquire LPR Status Provision. D on Lch Visa (Lch Phng Vn) v Lch M H S (6 Bc NVC) thng Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Motions to Reopen Following Matter of O. Vazquez. The core purpose of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)[1] was to alleviate the hardships faced by certain noncitizens who were previously classified as children for immigrant visa purposes, but who, due to the time required to adjudicate petitions, had turned 21 years old and consequently became ineligible to receive such immigrant visas. See INA 209(a)(1). Noncitizens must generally file motions to reopen within 30 days of the decision. For more information about K-1 and K-2 nonimmigrant visas, see the Fianc(e) Visas page. [^ 22] See INA 203(h)(1)(A). 3 USCIS-PM - Volume 3 - Humanitarian Protection and Parole, 4 USCIS-PM - Volume 4 - Refugees and Asylees. 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. [33] The date USCIS considers a visa available for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application according to the USCIS website and the Visa Bulletin is also the date USCIS considers a visa available for CSPA purposes if the petition is already approved. 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. [^ 9] Pending time may also include administrative review, such as motions and appeals, but does not include consular returns. 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. U.S. [^ 5] Eligible derivatives of special immigrants are covered by CSPA as their immigrant visas fall under the employment-based fourth preference visa category. 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. I would like an attorney to double check the CSPA age calculation and draft the letter with appropriate language. 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. The applicant would have been considered under the age of 21 under applicable CSPA rules; The applicant applied for adjustment of status within 1 year of visa availability; and. In order to calculate an adjustment applicants CSPA age according to the formula above, the officer must first determine the age at time of visa availability. In other words, the applicants age is frozen on the date the Form I-589 is filed. Instead, the filing date (receipt date) is the appropriate date. If you are a family preference (including VAWA self-petition), employment-based preference, or diversity visa (DV) applicant, calculate your CSPA age by subtracting the number of days your petition was pending (pending time) from your age on the date an immigrant visa becomes available to you (age at time of visa availability). Child of LPR (F2A) Becomes Child of a U.S. Citizen (Immediate Relative). . Sample of CSPA aged appeal letter to NVC (The Child Status Protection In most cases, you do not need a Form I-130 to get a Green Card if you are a K-2 nonimmigrant. For example, the law allows unmarried children of U.S. citizens to remain immediate relatives if they are under 21 when the I-130 petition is filed. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating and incorporating relevant Adjudicators Field Manual (AFM) content into the USCIS Policy Manual. See9 FAM 502.6-4, Diversity Visa Processing. [21] Furthermore, the applicants eligibility depends not only on the CSPA age calculation but also on whether the applicant sought to acquire lawful permanent residence within 1 year of visa availability.[22]. 3) Paid the fees and submitted all the forms. Apply for a U.S. Visa | Expedited/ Age Out/ Follow-T0-Join Cases Adjustment applicants who fail to fulfill the sought to acquire requirement within 1 year of visa availability may still be able to benefit from CSPA if they can establish that their failure to meet the requirement was the result of extraordinary circumstances.[50]. A previously filed Form I-824 that was denied because the principal applicant's adjustment application had not yet been approved may serve as evidence of having sought to acquire. See 9 FAM 502.1-1(D)(6), Sought to Acquire LPR Status Provision, for more information regarding how overseas applicants may satisfy the sought to acquire requirement in the consular processing context. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) | USCIS [^ 4] 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. The applicants mother filed a petition on the applicants behalf on February 1, 2016. The NVC is not your "attorney", for free legal advice - Gurfinkel Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to incorporate changes resulting from the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. The DV Program registration period began on October 1, 2012, and the DV Selection Letter is dated May 1, 2013. 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. [^ 10] See Matter of Avila-Perez (PDF), 24 I&N Dec. 78 (BIA 2007). [^ 31] For DVs, the qualifying petition is the DV Program electronic entry form. For more information, see Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2, of the USCIS Policy Manual. [^ 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. Here are the details: * The child is studying in the U.S. His parents acquired permanent residency in 2011 and applied for an I-130 for him in 2011 when he was approx. However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify. 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. Hi, Our case was approved 2 days after the childs 21 birthday. [^ 41] See Chapter 3, Filing Instructions, Section B, Definition of Properly Filed [7 USCIS-PM A.3(B)]. PDF National Visa Center / AILA DOS Liaison Committee Meeting November 3 (recent experience with CSPA). [^ 36] See Chapter 6, Adjudicative Review, Section C, Verify Visa Availability, Subsection 5, Visa Retrogression [7 USCIS-PM A.6(C)(5)]. or NVC; pay the affidavit of support fee with the NVC; file the DS-260 . CSPA. [^ 35] USCIS typically designates one of the two charts within 1 week of the publication of the DOS Visa Bulletin. 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. 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. The priority date should not be used for purposes of determining CSPA eligibility. 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]. If an eligible applicant filed an adjustment of status application but later a visa is not available for issuance based on the DOS Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates chart for the applicants priority date, country of chargeability, and visa category, USCIS holds the application until the visa becomes available for issuance and the application can be adjudicated. Official websites use .gov Filing for adjustment or immigrant visas using CSPA [^ 38] There are two ways in which a visa may become unavailable for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application. CSPA does not change the requirement that the applicant must be unmarried in order to remain eligible for classification as a child for immigration purposes. An adjustment applicant may satisfy the sought to acquire requirement by any one of the following: Properly filing an Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485);[41], Submitting a completed Immigrant Visa Electronic Application (Form DS-260), Part I to the DOS;[42], Paying the immigrant visa fee to DOS;[43], Paying the Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA (Form I-864) review fee to DOS (provided the applicant is listed on the Affidavit of Support);[44] or, Having a properly filed Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition (Form I-824) filed on the applicants behalf. Example: Visa Becomes Unavailable Before Filing. CSPA letter to NVC required - VisaJourney The applicants age is frozen on the date of the refugee parents interview. [^ 29] A transfer request potentially affects the CSPA age calculation for the derivative beneficiaries. 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. 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. 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]. 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. See 9 FAM 502.6-4, Diversity Visa Processing. 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. 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. [^ 23] Qualifying underlying forms include Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130); Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Form I-360);Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (Form I-140); Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor (Form I-526); and Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor (Form I-526E). 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. The date a Form I-590 is considered filed is the date of the principal refugee parents interview with a USCIS officer. Quote Tweet #9 01-15-2003, 12:35 AM Hello Everybody, Regarding "Child Status protection act" (CSPA) On "Retention of priorty of date" in F4- F3 categories. Thinking the NVC was acting on the case, the family sat back and waited for further word. 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. Unfortunately, the CSPA requires that if a child is eligible, the child must "seek to acquire" a visa within one year. [^ 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)]. PDF how to recapture/retain and utilize priority dates | February 2022 - ILRC . Requesting NVC for IV fee invoice for child because case might apply CSPA [^ 40] VAWA preference cases are subject to the sought to acquire requirement, but VAWA IRs are not. The visa remains available to the prospective applicant through March 2021, that is, for a continuous 1-year period of visa availability. In order to warrant a favorable exercise of discretion, the circumstances must truly be extraordinary and beyond the adjustment applicants control. 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. However, if your stepparent and your K-1 nonimmigrant parent did not marry within 90 days (a requirement for getting a Green Card based on K-1 and K-2 nonimmigrant status), your stepparent might choose to file a Form I-130 for you. 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. 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. Examples of extraordinary circumstances that may warrant a favorable exercise of discretion include, but are not limited to: Serious illness or mental or physical disability of the applicant during the 1-year period; Legal disability, such as instances where the adjustment applicant suffered from a mental impairment, during the 1-year period; Instances where a timely adjustment application was rejected by USCIS as improperly filed and was returned to the applicant for corrections where the deficiency was corrected and the application re-filed within a reasonable period thereafter; Death or serious illness or incapacity of the applicants attorney or legal representative or a member of the applicants immediate family; and. Officers should review the USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin webpage to determine whether the applicant had a prior 1-year period of visa availability to file for adjustment of status. CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) may allow some of those aged-out children to immigrate, depending upon various factors. You will be notified once a decision is reached. . Limited CSPA Coverage for K-4Nonimmigrants. 1 USCIS-PM B - Part B - Submission of Benefit Requests, 7 USCIS-PM A - Part A - Adjustment of Status Policies and Procedures, 7 USCIS-PM F - Part F - Special Immigrant-Based (EB-4) Adjustment, 7 USCIS-PM M - Part M - Asylee Adjustment, 11 USCIS-PM A - Part A - Secure Identity Documents Policies and Procedures. CSPA went into effect on August 6, 2002. A written request to transfer the underlying basis of the adjustment of status application also will meet the sought to acquire requirement, if we receive the request within 1 year of an immigrant visa becoming available in the new preference category. [19], CSPA applies differently to family-sponsored and employment-based preference and DV adjustment applicants than it does to refugee, asylee, and IR adjustment applicants. When the visa becomes available again, the applicants CSPA age is calculated based on the new visa availability date. The applicant must indicate whether a complaint has been filed with the appropriate disciplinary authorities about any violations of counsels legal or ethical responsibilities, or explain why a complaint has not been filed. National Visa Center (NVC) Immigrant Visa Backlog Report Last updated February 2023 Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the Department of State's ability to process immigrant visa applications. See Section G, Sought to Acquire Requirement [7 USCIS-PM A.7(G)] for detailed information. This technical update replaces all instances of the term foreign national with alien throughout the Policy Manual as used to refer to a person who meets the definition provided in INA 101(a)(3) [any person not a citizen or national of the United States]. The CSPA went into effect on August 6, 2002. 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. Review our. The CSPA was enacted to preserve child status for certain beneficiaries who would otherwise "age out" (turn 21 years old before they could be issued a visa) due to administrative delays in visa processing. The employer rescinds the parents job offer, but the parent receives a job offer from a second employer. PDF Cspa and Children of Lprs and Other Derivative Beneficiaries - Ilrc Looking for U.S. government information and services? 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. Step 2: Creating A User Account and Scheduling Your Visa Appointment Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/pk/ and create a user account. [3] CSPA does not alter this definition. When an applicant seeks to acquire after the 1-year period of visa availability has elapsed and does not provide an explanation or evidence of extraordinary circumstances, the officer issues a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) to give the applicant an opportunity to rebut the apparent ineligibility. However, USCIS considers untimely motions to reopen for denials issued after the Matter of O. Vazquez precedent (June 8, 2012), but only if the denial was based solely on the adjustment applicants failure to seek to acquire within 1 year.