A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. It helps lock in the age and preserve the "child" status of both immediate relatives and those in the preference categories. The applicants CSPA age is calculated using the approved petition that forms the new basis of the adjustment of status application.[29]. [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. 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. When your stepparent files a Form I-130 for you, you become an immediate relative who can use the CSPA when applying for a Green Card. [7] CSPA only covers those immigrants explicitly listed in the statute; it does not apply to any other immigrants or nonimmigrants. 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. To create an account, you will need your passport. That is accomplished by filing certain documents within one year of visa availability. The historical versions are provided for research and reference purposes only. For purposes of adjustment of status of a derivative refugee, CSPA protection is not needed because a derivative refugee does not need to remain the child of the principal refugee in order to adjust status under INA 209. . [^ 39] See INA 203(h)(1)(A). Pending time includes administrative review, such as motions and appeals, but does not include consular returns. 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. CSPA may also still apply to a preference applicant whose immigrant petition was approved prior to August 6, 2002, and who did not have an adjustment application pending on August 6, 2002, but who subsequently applied for adjustment and was denied solely for aging out. [^ 35] USCIS typically designates one of the two charts within 1 week of the publication of the DOS Visa Bulletin. 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 approval notice will also show you which office approved your Form I-130. 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. However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify. L. 107-208 (PDF) (August 6, 2002). A visa is continuously available for accepting and processing an application for adjustment of status for a 1-year period if, during each month of that year, the applicant has a priority date that is earlier than the date for their country and category on the chart in the DOS Visa Bulletin designated by USCIS for such month. You must submit the correct filing fee for each form unless you are exempt or eligible for a fee waiver. [^ 38] There are two ways in which a visa may become unavailable for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application. The parent files an adjustment of status application based on the second Form I-140 and is approved. The applicant also files an adjustment of status application based on the second Form I-140. Looking for U.S. government information and services? The applicant must be unmarried at the time he or she seeks adjustment of status. 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)]. 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. [^ 22] See INA 203(h)(1)(A). 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. 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 NVC did its CSPA analysis when the priority date became current using Chart A, which was on Oct. 1, 2016. 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. 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. . See INA 204(a)(1)(I). 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. Instead, CSPA provides methods for calculating an applicants age for immigrant visa purposes. PDF National Visa Center / AILA DOS Liaison Committee Meeting November 3 [^ 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 RECAPTURE/RETAIN AND UTILIZE PRIORITY DATES 4 HOW TO RECAPTURE/RETAIN AND UTILIZE PRIORITY DATES | FEBRUARY 2022 CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) Calculator. Chapter 7 - Child Status Protection Act | USCIS You may check the Visa Bulletinto see if opting out of automatic conversion may result in a shorter waiting time for you. CHILD CITIZENSHIP ACT (CCA) If an American Citizen files an immigration petition for a child that is about to reach the age of 18, NVC sends the case to Post with an EXPEDITED . [^ 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). Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Only the applicants who are listed on the interview appointment letter issued by the NVC must appear to be interviewed at the scheduled time. [^ 31] For DVs, the qualifying petition is the DV Program electronic entry form. NVC accepted CPSA protection before priority date became current [16], While the child must have been unmarried in order to qualify for refugee derivative status, he or she does not need to remain unmarried in order to adjust status under INA 209.[18]. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. 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. As per CSPA calculator, his CSPA age remains under 21 till November 2017. 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. [^ 5] Eligible derivatives of special immigrants are covered by CSPA as their immigrant visas fall under the employment-based fourth preference visa category. 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. 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. [^ 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. 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 want to opt out of the automatic conversion, you must submit a written request to the USCIS office that approved your Form I-130. 7 USCIS-PM A.7 - Chapter 7 - Child Status Protection Act. 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. If a visa initially becomes available and then becomes unavailable[38] for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application before the potential adjustment applicant has filed an application, the applicants CSPA age is not locked in. 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. For DV applicants, the number of days the petition was pending is the period of time between the first day of the DV application period for the program year in which the principal applicant qualified and the date on which notifications that entrants have been selected become available. It appears that NVC generally does not issue fee bills to dependent children who have . Filing for adjustment or immigrant visas using CSPA 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. 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. See Chapter 9, Death of Petitioner or Principal Beneficiary [7 USCIS-PM A.9] for more information. 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. 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. Such provisions and details regarding eligibility are described in the following subsections. Unfortunately, the CSPA requires that if a child is eligible, the child must "seek to acquire" a visa within one year. Hi, Our case was approved 2 days after the childs 21 birthday. 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 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. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines a child as a person who is both unmarried and under 21 years old. The applicants CSPA age is calculated as follows: 21 years and 4 months - 6 months = 20 years and 10 months. [^ 52] This includes Form I-730 beneficiaries. CSPA. 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. [39] This requirement does not apply to refugee derivatives, asylee derivatives, and IRs.[40]. 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. The priority date should not be used for purposes of determining CSPA eligibility. 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. On that date, the child was 21 years and five months. USCIS Changes CSPA Age Calculation | Catholic Legal Immigration Network 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. Depending on the facts of the particular case, a derivative beneficiary may become ineligible to adjust status as a derivative as a result of a transfer request because their new calculated CSPA age is no longer under 21 years of age. You will receive instructions concerning interview preparation in the appointment letter that you will receive from the NVC. 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. When the visa becomes available again, the applicants CSPA age is calculated based on the new visa availability date. VAWA self-petitioners and derivatives who do not qualify for CSPA may qualify for age-out relief under VTPVA. To benefit from the CSPA age determination, applicant must seek to acquire lawful permanent residence within 1 year of the visa becoming available. See 9 FAM 502.6-4, Diversity Visa Processing. The prospective applicant decides not to file for adjustment of status between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Noncitizens must generally file motions to reopen within 30 days of the decision. Sample of CSPA aged appeal letter to NVC (The Child Status Protection [^ 17] The date a Form I-590 is considered filed is the date of the principal refugee parents interview with a USCIS officer. NVC will send another invoice for both of your child once the visa date/priority date confirmed that they are qualified for CSPA. The visa remains available to the prospective applicant through March 2021, that is, for a continuous 1-year period of visa availability. [^ 2] The situation in which noncitizens can no longer be classified as children for immigrant visa purposes due to turning 21 is commonly referred to as aging out.. Calculate your CSPA age as follows: 21 years and 4 months - 6 months = 20 years and 10 months. Furthermore, the fact of being or having been a child is common to all applicants seeking protection under the CSPA and does not constitute extraordinary circumstances. The formula for determining the length of time the petition was pending is as follows: Approval Date - Filing Date = Pending Time. Therefore, it is always in the applicants best interest to apply for adjustment of status as soon as possible when a visa first becomes available according to the chart designated by USCIS so as to lock in the applicants CSPA age. 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. DV applicants also use the DOS Visa Bulletin to determine visa availability. 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). [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. Limited CSPA Coverage for K-2 Nonimmigrants. In order to warrant a favorable exercise of discretion, the circumstances must truly be extraordinary and beyond the adjustment applicants control. [34] DOS publishes a new Visa Bulletin on a monthly basis. [^ 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. [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]. You can find the receipt number on the receipt and approval notices. U.S. Applicants must file the Notice of Appeal or Motion (Form I-290B) with the proper fee and should present their claim that the finding in Matter of O. Vazquez constitutes changed circumstances justifying the reopening of the adjustment application. In order to benefit from CSPA as a family preference (including VAWA self-petition), employment-based preference, or DV applicant, you must seek to acquire lawful permanent resident status within 1 year of when a visa becoming available to you for filing an adjustment of status application. First, the date in the DOS Visa Bulletin for the prospective applicants country of chargeability and preference category may retrogress or move backwards. 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. * Got USCIS receipt notice on April 08, 2011. 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. 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. 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. See INA 209(a)(1). 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]. In these circumstances, you are not eligible for and do not need CSPA in order to get a Green Card. CSPA age is frozen on the date the Form I-130 is filed (or the Form I-360 is filed for VAWA self-petitioners and derivatives). 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. At that point, USCIS would calculate CSPA age based on the derivatives age on December 1, 2021 (not October 1, 2020). Family-Sponsored Preference Principals and Derivatives (including VAWA)[54]. 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. USCIS approved the petition on August 1, 2016. [^ 1] See Pub. The derivative applicants CSPA age is calculated using the petition underlying the principal beneficiarys adjustment of status application, in other words, the second Form I-140. The applicants mother filed a petition on the applicants behalf on February 1, 2016. PDF how to recapture/retain and utilize priority dates | February 2022 - ILRC [^ 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). 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. 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. 21 years 9 months old. In September 2015, DOS and USCIS announced a revision to the Visa Bulletin, which created two charts of dates. In other words, the applicants age is frozen on the date the Form I-589 is filed. U.S. 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. The History tab was added to the USCIS Policy Manual on June 11, 2021, and provides historical versions on and after that date. Age at Time of Visa Availability - Pending Time = CSPA Age. [27] The formula for calculating CSPA age is as follows: Age at time of visa availability - Pending time = CSPA Age, While an applicant must file an adjustment application or otherwise seek lawful permanent resident status in order to benefit from CSPA, the date the applicant files an adjustment application is not relevant for the CSPA age calculation.[28]. More Immigration US visas Immigrant visas (CSPA), visa applicants can "opt out" of conversion to the F1 visa category and remain an F2B visa applicant. CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) may allow some of those aged-out children to immigrate, depending upon various factors. CSPA: Ten Fact Scenarios That May Surprise You As that process is ongoing, USCIS has moved any remaining AFM content to its corresponding USCIS Policy Manual Part, in PDF format, until relevant AFM content has been properly incorporated into the USCIS Policy Manual. 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. CSPA letter to NVC required - VisaJourney 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. [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. Official websites use .gov Approval Date [^ 10] See Matter of Avila-Perez (PDF), 24 I&N Dec. 78 (BIA 2007). NVC | Interview Appointment - Mygcvisa 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.
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