First, the date in the DOS Visa Bulletin for the prospective applicants country of chargeability and preference category may retrogress or move backwards. You are only eligible for CSPA if you are the beneficiary of a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. 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. For IRs and IR self-petitioners or derivatives under VAWA, a childs age is frozen on the date the Form I-130 or Form I-360 is filed, respectively. This page was not helpful because the content: Green Card for Employment-Based Immigrants, Green Card for Family Preference Immigrants, Green Card for an Immediate Relative of a U.S. Citizen, Fiscal Year 2023 Employment-Based Adjustment of Status FAQs, Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin, While Your Green Card Application Is Pending with USCIS, International Travel as a Permanent Resident, Rights and Responsibilities of a Permanent Resident, Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2, of the USCIS Policy Manual, Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. So long as the child was under 21 on the date of the interview, he or she will not age out of eligibility for derivative refugee status or adjustment of status. Limited CSPA Coverage for K-2 Nonimmigrants. [^ 38] There are two ways in which a visa may become unavailable for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application. The adjustment applicant must have had one of the following approved or pending on or after the CSPAs effective date: a qualifying Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130), Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Form I-360), or Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485); The applicant must have been under the age of 21 and unmarried at the time the qualifying Form I-130 or Form I-360 was filed; and, If the petitioner of a pending or approved IR spousal petition dies, the spousal Form I-130 automatically converts to a widow(er)s Form I-360. 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. Read Shimanto's reply, I posted the format there. The CSPA helps preserve the "under 21" age of many children who would otherwise have aged out under the prior law. (recent experience with CSPA). Even though visas are available to a principal applicant and derivative child based on their priority date and country of chargeability in both October and November, the derivative child does not apply for adjustment of status in October or November (while the principal does apply). 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. [^ 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)]. [49], Impact of Visa Unavailability on the 1-Year Sought to Acquire Requirement. CSPA applies to both noncitizens abroad who are applying for an immigrant visa through the Department of State (DOS) and noncitizens physically present in the United States who are applying for adjustment of status through USCIS. See INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(I) and INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(III). 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. If we approve a request to transfer the underlying basis of the pending adjustment of status application, calculate the CSPA age using the approved petition that forms the new basis of the adjustment application. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. [^ 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). (CSPA) you can "opt out" of conversion to the F1 visa category and remain an F2B visa applicant . You will need the ten (10) digit barcode number from your DS-260 confirmation page to book your appointments. However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify. For derivative refugees, an adjustment applicants CSPA age is his or her age on the date the principal applicants Form I-590 is filed. 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. . Motions to Reopen Following Matter of O. Vazquez. 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. Calculate your CSPA age as follows: 21 years and 4 months - 6 months = 20 years and 10 months. The DV Program registration period began on Oct. 1, 2012, and the DV selection Letter is dated May 1, 2013. 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. This is referred to as the sought to acquire requirement. [^ 11] See Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Pub. CSPA applies to both noncitizens abroad who are applying for an immigrant visa through the Department of State (DOS) and noncitizens physically present in the United States who are applying for adjustment of status through USCIS. 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. For more information on CSPA age calculation, see Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2 of the USCIS Policy Manual. * Got USCIS receipt notice on April 08, 2011. On that date, the child was 21 years and five months. 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. For DVs, the qualifying petition is the DV Program electronic entry form. [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]. L. 107-208 (PDF) (August 6, 2002). [^ 20] See Section C, Immediate Relatives [7 USCIS-PM A.7(C)], Section D, Derivative Asylees [7 USCIS-PM A.7(D)], and Section E, Derivative Refugees [7 USCIS-PM A.7(E)]. Based on the CSPA rule, she should be still qualified for F2A. You can find the receipt number on the receipt and approval notices. 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. The applicant already had a continuous 1-year period in which to seek to acquire. [^ 42] Submitting a Form DS-260 that covers only the principal applicant does not meet the sought to acquire requirement for a derivative child. 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. Diversity immigrant visa (DV) derivatives; CSPA provisions vary based on the immigrant category of the applicant. In September 2015, DOS and USCIS announced a revision to the Visa Bulletin, which created two charts of dates. 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. See Section G, Sought to Acquire Requirement [7 USCIS-PM A.7(G)]. CSPA does not change the definition of a child. 272, 362 (October 26, 2001). 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. 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. CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) Calculator. 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. CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) may allow some of those aged-out children to immigrate, depending upon various factors. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS 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]. 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. In order to include his or her child(ren) on the self-petition as derivatives, the child(ren) must be under the age of 21 and unmarried when the Form I-360 is filed, regardless of whether the child(ren) had a separate or approved Form I-130 when the Form I-360 was filed.[14]. The letter format is on this forum. 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. [^ 27] For CSPA purposes, the age at time of visa availability is the applicants age when USCIS considers the applicants visa available. A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. 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. 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. See AFM 21.2(e) (PDF, 1.82 MB), The Child Status Protection Act of 2002. [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. Family-Sponsored Preference Principals and Derivatives (including VAWA)[54]. This letter should also include your and your parents names and dates of birth and the receipt number for your Form I-130. [13], Similarly, the beneficiary of a pending or approved spousal Form I-130 may subsequently file a VAWA-based Form I-360. 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. 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)]. 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. If you have a pending adjustment application as a derivative child, and we grant the principal applicants request to transfer the underlying basis of their adjustment application to a different immigrant category based on another approvedpetition, then the date we receive the transfer request is the date we use to determine whether you meet the sought to acquire requirement. VAWA self-petitioners and derivatives who do not qualify for CSPA may qualify for age-out relief under VTPVA. Therefore, the applicants pending time is 7 months. The applicant must be unmarried at the time he or she seeks adjustment of status. The applicant must have had a qualifying Registration for Classification as a Refugee (Form I-590) or Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition (. Your petition was pending for 6 months. [^ 1] See Pub. 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. 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. A preference applicant whose visa became available on or after August 7, 2001 who did not seek to acquire within 1 year of such visa availability but who would have qualified for CSPA coverage had he or she applied, but for prior policy guidance concerning the CSPA effective date, may still apply for adjustment of status. The prospective applicant decides not to apply for adjustment of status between October 1, 2020, and the end of January 2021. 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. In most cases, you do not need a Form I-130 to get a Green Card if you are a K-2 nonimmigrant. 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. 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. Review our. The NVC did its CSPA analysis when the priority date became current using Chart A, which was on Oct. 1, 2016. In order to warrant a favorable exercise of discretion, the circumstances must truly be extraordinary and beyond the adjustment applicants control. Does Sought to Acquire Requirement Apply? 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). [^ 17] The date a Form I-590 is considered filed is the date of the principal refugee parents interview with a USCIS officer. . 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. 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. [^ 40] VAWA preference cases are subject to the sought to acquire requirement, but VAWA IRs are not. See INA 209(a)(1). 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 parent files an adjustment of status application based on the second Form I-140 and is approved. See 9 FAM 502.6-4, Diversity Visa Processing. CSPA CALCULATOR Fill in the fields below for CSPA Calculator * Fields with *are required fields. U.S. 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 . 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. 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. [^ 39] See INA 203(h)(1)(A). You may check the Visa Bulletinto see if opting out of automatic conversion may result in a shorter waiting time for you. [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. 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]. Only the applicants who are listed on the interview appointment letter issued by the NVC must appear to be interviewed at the scheduled time. You will receive instructions concerning interview preparation in the appointment letter that you will receive from the NVC. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is revising its policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to align with the Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements Final Rule, published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020. The prospective applicant decides not to file for adjustment of status between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. [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. The CSPA went into effect on August 6, 2002. August 1, 2016 - February 1, 2016 = 6 months (or 182 days). 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. To benefit from the CSPA age determination, applicant must seek to acquire lawful permanent residence within 1 year of the visa becoming available. [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. While K nonimmigrants are not covered under CSPA, K-2 and K-4 nonimmigrants may benefit from CSPA under certain limited circumstances. 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). 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. You should not have your exam until your interview has been scheduled. Therefore, the applicants CSPA age is under 21. If the applicants CSPA age is over 21 at the time of subsequent visa availability, the applicant is no longer eligible for CSPA coverage. [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. Ineffective assistance of counsel, when certain requirements are met. Step 2: Creating A User Account and Scheduling Your Visa Appointment Go to www.ustraveldocs.com/pk/ and create a user account. [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. or NVC; pay the affidavit of support fee with the NVC; file the DS-260 . [7] CSPA only covers those immigrants explicitly listed in the statute; it does not apply to any other immigrants or nonimmigrants. In between we also sent an email to NVC to know the status of our CSPA application for which they replied on 22nd July 2016 like this Quote This case is currently under review for applicability of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). 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. 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. 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. As it takes a long time to get Greencard in many categories, many dependent children may age-out while waiting and are no longer be eligible as dependents to get a green card. Sample of CSPA aged appeal letter to NVC (The Child Status Protection Act) Emily Huynh 413 subscribers Subscribe 45 Share 2.5K views 2 years ago This video shows you how to write a letter. The visa remains available to the prospective applicant for accepting and processing their application according to the Dates for Filing chart (designated by USCIS) for 4 months, that is, through the end of January 2021. 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. Therefore, the applicants petition pending time is 6 months (or 182 days). CSPA. 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. L. 107-208 (PDF) - Child Status Protection Act, G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, I-140,Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor, I-589, Application for Asylum or Withholding of Removal, How to Use the USCIS Policy Manual Website (PDF, 2.99 MB). 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. Officers may use the USCIS webpage to track movement of dates over time but should confirm consequential dates in the relevant monthly bulletin and chart. Hi, Our case was approved 2 days after the childs 21 birthday. The widow(er)s children, if any, who are under the age of 21 and unmarried at the time of the petitioners death can be classified as derivatives on the automatically converted Form I-360 and therefore qualify for the CSPA. You (not your parent) should send a signed letter stating that you wish to opt out of the conversion from F2B to F1. 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. USCIS employees should not rely on the historical versions for current laws, precedent decisions, policies, directives, guidance, and procedures. DV applicants also use the DOS Visa Bulletin to determine visa availability. 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. Denials that were based on the failure to seek to acquire and issued prior to the decision in Matter of O. Vazquez[51] were proper based on the law in effect at the time of the decision. U.S. To create an account, you will need your passport. 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. See Section G, Sought to Acquire Requirement [7 USCIS-PM A.7(G)] for detailed information. The History tab was added to the USCIS Policy Manual on June 11, 2021, and provides historical versions on and after that date. 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. An applicant may only establish extraordinary circumstances due to ineffective assistance of counsel (the applicants legal representative or attorney) if he or she completes the following: The applicant must submit an affidavit explaining in detail the agreement that was entered into with counsel regarding the actions to be taken and what information, if any, counsel provided to the applicant regarding such actions; The applicant must demonstrate that he or she has made a good faith effort to inform counsel whose integrity or competence is being questioned of the allegations brought against him or her and that counsel has been given an opportunity to respond; and.