[^ 1] See Pub. [^ 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. However, we called NVC and was told that she was moved to F2B. [20] Instead of freezing the age of the applicant on the filing date, as is the case with IRs, CSPA provides a formula by which the preference applicants CSPA age is calculated in a manner that takes into account the amount of time the qualifying petition was pending. [49], Impact of Visa Unavailability on the 1-Year Sought to Acquire Requirement. 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. 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 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. 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 prospective applicant decides not to apply for adjustment of status between October 1, 2020, and the end of January 2021. [^ 9] Pending time may also include administrative review, such as motions and appeals, but does not include consular returns. 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. 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. The applicants calculated CSPA age must be under 21 years old; The applicant must have sought to acquire lawful permanent residence within 1 year of visa availability, absent extraordinary circumstances. 7 USCIS-PM B - Part B - 245(a) Adjustment, 7 USCIS-PM L - Part L - Refugee Adjustment. The applicants CSPA age is calculated using the approved petition that forms the new basis of the adjustment of status application.[29]. For a motion filed more than 30 days after the denial, if the noncitizen demonstrates that the delay was reasonable and was beyond their control, we may, in our discretion, excuse the untimely filing of the motion. [^ 15] See Part M, Asylee Adjustment, Chapter 2, Eligibility Requirements, Section C, Derivative Asylee Continues to be the Spouse or Child of the Principal Asylee [7 USCIS-PM M.2(C)]. 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. 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. If we previously denied your adjustment of status application, but you believe your CSPA age calculation is under 21 under this policy guidance, you may file a motion to reopen your application using a Notice of Appeal or Motion (Form I-290B). 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). [^ 28] See Section G, Sought to Acquire Requirement [7 USCIS-PM A.7(G)] for detailed information. 7 USCIS-PM A.7 - Chapter 7 - Child Status Protection Act. For more information on K-4 visas, see the K-3/K-4 Nonimmigrant Visas page. The History tab was added to the USCIS Policy Manual on June 11, 2021, and provides historical versions on and after that date. However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify. 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. [^ 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). [^ 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. You may check the Visa Bulletinto see if opting out of automatic conversion may result in a shorter waiting time for you. 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. . A visa subsequently becomes available again on October 1, 2021, based on the Dates for Filing chart, which USCIS has designated for use in that month. It is important to note that this NVC-generated assessment letter will not hold up the qualification of the case for appointment at post. The applicant also files an adjustment of status application based on the second Form I-140. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Instead, CSPA provides methods for calculating an applicants age for immigrant visa purposes. In order to warrant a favorable exercise of discretion, the circumstances must truly be extraordinary and beyond the adjustment applicants control. Therefore, the applicants petition pending time is 6 months (or 182 days). 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. 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. The letter format is on this forum. Limited CSPA Coverage for K-2 Nonimmigrants. 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. The month . 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]. * 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. Review our. Since your age freezes on the date your stepparent files the Form I-130, you may benefit from the CSPA as long as your stepparent files the Form I-130 before your 21st birthday. Family-Sponsored Preference Principals and Derivatives (including VAWA)[54]. USCIS denied the adjustment application solely because the applicant had aged out. CSPA age is frozen on the date the Form I-360 is filed or the date the Form I-130 is automatically converted to a widow(er)s Form I-360. 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. This guidance becomes effective October 2, 2020. Note:Certain forms, including Form I-290B, have a filing fee. Calculate your CSPA age as follows: 21 years and 4 months - 6 months = 20 years and 10 months. See INA 209(a)(1). 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. You are 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available to you. [7] CSPA only covers those immigrants explicitly listed in the statute; it does not apply to any other immigrants or nonimmigrants. 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 applicant is 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available. See Matter of O. Vazquez (PDF), 25 I&N Dec. 817 (BIA 2012). L. 107-208 (PDF) (August 6, 2002). Motions to Reopen Following Matter of O. Vazquez. [^ 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. 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. U.S. 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. To create an account, you will need your passport. The applicants age is frozen on the date of the refugee parents interview. See Subsection 4, Determining Age at Time of Visa Availability [7 USCIS-PM A.7(F)(4)]. [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. [^ 46] If a derivative child has a pending adjustment application and USCIS approves the principal applicants request to transfer the underlying basis of their adjustment application to a different immigrant category based on another approved petition, then the date that the transfer request is received by USCIS is the date used to determine whether the derivative child met the sought to acquire requirement. 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. 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 content has been superseded by the current version available in the Guidance tab. It appears that NVC generally does not issue fee bills to dependent children who have . U.S. You (not your parent) should send a signed letter stating that you wish to opt out of the conversion from F2B to F1. From the date of visa availability, and provided that the visa remains available for a continuous 1-year period, the applicant has 1 year to fulfill the sought to acquire requirement. The CSPA helps preserve the "under 21" age of many children who would otherwise have aged out under the prior law. [15], CSPA allows children who turn 21 years old after a refugee application is filed but prior to adjudication to continue to be classified as children and remain eligible for derivative refugee status. 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. [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. The applicant must have had a qualifying Registration for Classification as a Refugee (Form I-590) or Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition (. The applicants mother filed a petition on the applicants behalf on February 1, 2016. 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. 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. Looking for U.S. government information and services? U.S. 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. 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. If the adjustment applicant was under the age of 21 at the time the petition was filed or automatically converted, the applicant is eligible for CSPA and will not age out. 3 USCIS-PM - Volume 3 - Humanitarian Protection and Parole, 4 USCIS-PM - Volume 4 - Refugees and Asylees. 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.