Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). U.S. That is accomplished by filing certain documents within one year of visa availability. For derivative refugees, an adjustment applicants CSPA age is his or her age on the date the principal applicants Form I-590 is filed. 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. 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. 3 USCIS-PM - Volume 3 - Humanitarian Protection and Parole, 4 USCIS-PM - Volume 4 - Refugees and Asylees. A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. August 1, 2016 - February 1, 2016 = 6 months (or 182 days). Secure .gov websites use HTTPS 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. If an applicant has multiple approved petitions, the applicants CSPA age is calculated using the petition that forms the underlying basis for the adjustment of status application. 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. The parent files an adjustment of status application based on the second Form I-140 and is approved. 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). 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. Review our. 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. [7] CSPA only covers those immigrants explicitly listed in the statute; it does not apply to any other immigrants or nonimmigrants. He said we need to write a letter to tell them why we believe. If you do not meet the sought to acquire requirement, we may use our discretion to excuse you from this requirement, if you can establish that your failure to meet this requirement was the result of extraordinary circumstances. 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. Only the applicants who are listed on the interview appointment letter issued by the NVC must appear to be interviewed at the scheduled time. Calculate your CSPA age as follows: 21 years and 4 months - 6 months = 20 years and 10 months. The applicants CSPA age is calculated as follows: 21 years and 4 months - 6 months = 20 years and 10 months. 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. [46], Actions an applicant might take prior to filing an adjustment application, such as contacting an attorney or organization about initiating the process for obtaining a visa that has become available or applying for permanent residence, are not equivalent to filing an application and do not fulfill the sought to acquire requirement. 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. The applicant also files an adjustment of status application based on the second Form I-140. 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. The prospective applicant decides not to apply for adjustment of status between October 1, 2020, and the end of January 2021. So my recent CEAC electronic submission story with new information about NVC and CPSA follows: 1) The USCIS approved petition was for a F2A (or F22 - unmarried child under 21 years) 2) NVC CEAC created the case with a F22 visa classification shown on the status page. L. 107-56 (PDF), 115 Stat. The DV Program registration period began on October 1, 2012, and the DV Selection Letter is dated May 1, 2013. CSPA provides that the age of the child will be frozen in each of the following 3 circumstances: 1) If the US citizen parent submits an I-130 visa petition for a child prior to his or her 21st birthday. [^ 38] There are two ways in which a visa may become unavailable for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application. In order to qualify as a stepchild, the marriage between your U.S. citizen stepparent and your K1 nonimmigrant parent must have occurred before your 18th birthday. The approval notice will also show you which office approved your Form I-130. 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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 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 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. [^ 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. [^ 13] A child of a widow(er) who is ineligible to be included as a derivative may be eligible for consideration under INA 204(l) or humanitarian reinstatement under 8 CFR 205.1(a)(3)(i)(C)(2). The resulting age is known as the applicants CSPA age.. When a visa becomes unavailable to the noncitizen before a continuous 1-year period has elapsed, the applicant has another 1-year period to seek to acquire when the visa once again becomes available for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application. [^ 29] A transfer request potentially affects the CSPA age calculation for the derivative beneficiaries. This guidance is effective immediately and applies to adjustment of status applications we adjudicate on or after Feb. 14, 2023. USCIS employees should not rely on the historical versions for current laws, precedent decisions, policies, directives, guidance, and procedures. 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. The applicant is 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available. CSPA. 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. This may be beneficial because . 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. [^ 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. [13], Similarly, the beneficiary of a pending or approved spousal Form I-130 may subsequently file a VAWA-based Form I-360. [^ 45] Applicants may file the Form I-824 concurrently with the adjustment application. 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. CSPA allows children who turn 21 years old after an asylum application is filed but prior to adjudication to continue to be classified as children and remain eligible for derivative asylum status and adjustment of status. [^ 22] See INA 203(h)(1)(A). See Matter of O. Vazquez (PDF), 25 I&N Dec. 817 (BIA 2012). 7 USCIS-PM B - Part B - 245(a) Adjustment, 7 USCIS-PM L - Part L - Refugee Adjustment. If you do not know which USCIS office approved your Form I-130, you may call our USCIS Contact Center. This guidance becomes effective October 2, 2020. 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. 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. 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. See AFM 21.2(e) (PDF, 1.82 MB), The Child Status Protection Act of 2002. Age at Time of Visa Availability - Pending Time = CSPA Age. The applicant must have had a qualifying petition. 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. B BigJoe5 Registered Users (C) Jul 26, 2011 In most cases, you do not need a Form I-130 to get a Green Card if you are a K-2 nonimmigrant. [32], Determining When an Applicant May File an Adjustment Application and When a Visa is Available for the CSPA Age Calculation. To be CSPA qualified you must meet two criteria: Your "CSPA age" must be under 21 years old. I would like an attorney to double check the CSPA age calculation and draft the letter with appropriate language. The second employer files a new Form I-140 for the parent, and the applicant is listed as a derivative on this second approved Form I-140. Diversity immigrant visa (DV) derivatives; CSPA provisions vary based on the immigrant category of the applicant. [12] The widow(er)s child(ren), if any, must be under the age of 21 and unmarried at the time of the petitioners death to be classified as derivatives on the automatically converted Form I-360, regardless of whether the child(ren) had a separate pending or approved Form I-130 at the time of the petitioners death. You will need the ten (10) digit barcode number from your DS-260 confirmation page to book your appointments. 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). [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. [49], Impact of Visa Unavailability on the 1-Year Sought to Acquire Requirement. The letter format is on this forum. 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. 5 There are exceptions to this rule for VAWA self -petitioners, and qualifying self petitioning widow(er)s of U.S. citizens. 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. CSPA applies only to the following people: If you are applying for a Green Card based on one of the categories above, you are eligible for CSPA consideration if either your qualifying Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, or one of the following underlying forms was filed or pending on or after Aug.6, 2002: If you are a derivative refugee, your CSPA age is your age on the date your principal refugee parent or Form I-730 petitioner filed his or her I-590, which is the date of his or her interview with a USCIS officer. 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]. 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. Applicants cannot rely on the DOS Visa Bulletin alone because the Visa Bulletin merely publishes both charts; it does not state which chart can be used to determine when to file an adjustment of status application. [^ 51] In Matter of O. Vazquez, the BIA ruled that extraordinary circumstances could warrant the exercise of discretion to excuse an applicant who failed to meet the sought to acquire requirement during the 1-year period. 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)]. 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 NVC did its CSPA analysis when the priority date became current using Chart A, which was on Oct. 1, 2016. CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) may allow some of those aged-out children to immigrate, depending upon various factors. However, the derivative refugee 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-590. [^ 8] For information about the impact of CSPA on applicants for an immigrant visa, see 9 FAM 502.1-1(D), Child Status Protection Act. For DV derivative applicants, the number of days the petition was pending is the period of time between the start of the DV Program registration period and the date of the DV selection letter. 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. * Got USCIS receipt notice on April 08, 2011. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The CSPA helps preserve the "under 21" age of many children who would otherwise have aged out under the prior law. [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. 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. 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. 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. On February 1, 2021, a visa is no longer available to the prospective applicant under either chart and therefore, the prospective applicant is no longer eligible to file an adjustment of status application. 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. [^ 42] Submitting a Form DS-260 that covers only the principal applicant does not meet the sought to acquire requirement for a derivative child. (CSPA), visa applicants can "opt out" of conversion to the F1 visa category and remain an F2B visa applicant. 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. [^ 35] USCIS typically designates one of the two charts within 1 week of the publication of the DOS Visa Bulletin. [^ 7] See Section H, Summary of Child Status Protection Act Applicability [7 USCIS-PM A.7(H)] for a condensed guide to basic provisions for each category of CSPA-eligible immigrants. Certain provisions of the CSPA apply to some categories of immigrants but not others. The CSPA went into effect on August 6, 2002. 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. Certain Preference Applicants Who Did Not Have an Adjustment Application Pending on the Effective Date. 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. CSPA applies only to those applicants specified in the statute: Family-sponsored preference principals and derivatives; Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners and derivatives;[4], Employment-based preference derivatives;[5]. In these circumstances, you are not eligible for and do not need CSPA in order to get a Green Card. The month . 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. 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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Further, the CSPA provisions pertaining to preference immigrants, including petitions by LPR parents, the are most complex part of this law (in comparison, the CSPA's application to children of U.S. citizens is much more 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. 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. [^ 30] While the priority date is often the same as the filing date (also referred to as the receipt date), there are instances in which the priority date is not the same, such as in employment-based cases based on the filing of a labor certification. 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. 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. The applicant must have been under the age of 21 and unmarried at the time the qualifying Form I-590 was filed. [9], CSPA does not apply to adjustment applications that were subject to a final determination prior to the effective date. [^ 11] See Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Pub. 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. 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. Review our. [^ 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. The applicants age is frozen on the date of the refugee parents interview. Transferring to a new basis will result in a new calculated CSPA age, as the amount of time the petition was pending will change as will the derivative beneficiarys age at the time of visa availability. [^ 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. The applicants CSPA age is calculated using the approved petition that forms the new basis of the adjustment of status application.[29]. Step 2: Creating A User Account and Scheduling Your Visa Appointment Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/pk/ and create a user account. 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. 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. 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). . See INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(I) and INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(III). Official websites use .gov In order to qualify as a stepchild, the marriage between your U.S. citizen stepparent and your K3 nonimmigrant parent must have occurred before your 18th birthday. 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). [^ 37] In order to qualify under CSPA, the applicant must also remain unmarried through final adjudication and must have sought to acquire lawful permanent residence within 1 year of visa availability. 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]. [^ 52] This includes Form I-730 beneficiaries. For derivative asylees, an adjustment applicants CSPA age is his or her age on the date the principal applicants Form I-589 is filed. For more information, see Part F, Special Immigrant-Based (EB-4) Adjustment [7 USCIS-PM F]. (recent experience with CSPA). 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. The CSPA does not solve the problem of "age outs" for all children of LPRs and other derivative beneficiaries. Limited CSPA Coverage for K-2 Nonimmigrants. 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. As per CSPA calculator, his CSPA age remains under 21 till November 2017. [10], Certain Preference Applicants with No Adjustment Application Pending on the Effective Date. 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. In order to warrant a favorable exercise of discretion, the circumstances must truly be extraordinary and beyond the adjustment applicants control. [^ 50] In Matter of O. Vazquez, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled that extraordinary circumstances could warrant the exercise of discretion to excuse an applicant who failed to meet the sought to acquire requirement during the 1-year period.
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