CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) may allow some of those aged-out children to immigrate, depending upon various factors. Therefore, the date the visa is considered available for family and employment-based preference applicants is the later of these two dates: The first day of the month of when USCIS considers a visa available for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application for that immigrant preference category and priority date. 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. August 1, 2016 - February 1, 2016 = 6 months (or 182 days). Once a Processing Complete Letter has been issued, NVC "closes" the file and places it in a queue for future use. Thinking the NVC was acting on the case, the family sat back and waited for further word. The historical versions linked below reflect the pertinent policy in effect on that date and dates reflect when updates occurred. [^ 41] See Chapter 3, Filing Instructions, Section B, Definition of Properly Filed [7 USCIS-PM A.3(B)]. 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. 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. In order to protect children from aging out of their cases at age 21, CSPA may extend the eligibility of the applicant, should the applicant meet the CSPA requirements. If a continuous 1-year period of visa availability elapsed and the applicant did not seek to acquire during the 1-year period, the applicant cannot benefit from the age-out protections of the CSPA. Approval Date 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. On that date, the child was 21 years and five months. 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 other words, the applicants age is frozen on the date the Form I-589 is filed. L. 106-386 (PDF) (October 28, 2000). 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. CSPA. You are 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available to you. If someone applies for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status as a child but turns 21 before being approved for LPR status (also known as getting a Green Card), that person can no longer be considered a child for immigration purposes. 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. Based on the CSPA rule, she should be still qualified for F2A. 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. (CSPA) you can "opt out" of conversion to the F1 visa category and remain an F2B visa applicant . U.S. [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. 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. 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. 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. [^ 27] For CSPA purposes, the age at time of visa availability is the applicants age when USCIS considers the applicants visa available. The applicant may file an untimely motion to reopen or reconsider without a filing fee if: Special rules apply in cases where an adjustment applicant would otherwise age out on or after August 6, 2002. [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. Ineffective assistance of counsel, when certain requirements are met. 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. [^ 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. [^ 11] See Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Pub. 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. Official websites use .gov On June 1, 2021, the visa becomes available again to the prospective applicant. 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. The DV Program registration period began on October 1, 2012, and the DV Selection Letter is dated May 1, 2013. 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). 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]. That is accomplished by filing certain documents within one year of visa availability. If you do not know which USCIS office approved your Form I-130, you may call our USCIS Contact Center. 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. 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). U.S. Example: Visa Becomes Unavailable Before Filing. [^ 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)]. 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. 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. 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. See INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(I) and INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(III). Only the applicants who are listed on the interview appointment letter issued by the NVC must appear to be interviewed at the scheduled time. See Subsection 4, Determining Age at Time of Visa Availability [7 USCIS-PM A.7(F)(4)]. 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. 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. This content has been superseded by the current version available in the Guidance tab. (CSPA), visa applicants can "opt out" of conversion to the F1 visa category and remain an F2B visa applicant. 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. 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. [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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. [^ 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. For more information, see Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2, of the USCIS Policy Manual. See AFM 21.2(e) (PDF, 1.82 MB), The Child Status Protection Act of 2002. To find remaining AFM content, see the crosswalk (PDF, 350.49 KB)between the AFM and the Policy Manual. For more information on CSPA age calculation, see Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2 of the USCIS Policy Manual. You will need the ten (10) digit barcode number from your DS-260 confirmation page to book your appointments. Your petition was pending for 6 months. 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. The CSPA went into effect on August 6, 2002. 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. . . U.S. NVC may add a child to the fee bill if the child's CSPA age is under 21 on the first day of visa availability, or may defer to the consulate to make the decision to add a CSPA-age-adjusted child as a derivative. We approved the petition on Aug.1, 2016. Applicants who will follow to join the principal applicant later will be interviewed separately. Review our. 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. [^ 38] There are two ways in which a visa may become unavailable for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application. See Section G, Sought to Acquire Requirement [7 USCIS-PM A.7(G)] for detailed information. [^ 36] See Chapter 6, Adjudicative Review, Section C, Verify Visa Availability, Subsection 5, Visa Retrogression [7 USCIS-PM A.6(C)(5)]. The CSPA age associated with the petition does not change after the filing of the adjustment of status application and is frozen through the final adjudication, regardless of when a visa is authorized for issuance based on the Final Action Dates chart.[37]. 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. [^ 22] See INA 203(h)(1)(A). [^ 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. 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. [13], Similarly, the beneficiary of a pending or approved spousal Form I-130 may subsequently file a VAWA-based Form I-360. To create an account, you will need your passport. 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. See Chapter 9, Death of Petitioner or Principal Beneficiary [7 USCIS-PM A.9] for more information. [^ 10] See Matter of Avila-Perez (PDF), 24 I&N Dec. 78 (BIA 2007). CSPA CALCULATOR Fill in the fields below for CSPA Calculator * Fields with *are required fields. [^ 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. He said we need to write a letter to tell them why we believe. 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. 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). [^ 29] A transfer request potentially affects the CSPA age calculation for the derivative beneficiaries. For example, the law allows unmarried children of U.S. citizens to remain immediate relatives if they are under 21 when the I-130 petition is filed. 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. [^ 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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS The applicant already had a continuous 1-year period in which to seek to acquire. [^ 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. Since October 2015, the Visa Bulletin has featured two charts per immigrant preference category: USCIS designates one of the two charts for use by applicants each month. 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. CSPA age is frozen on the date the principal asylee parents Form I-589 is filed. 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. 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]. 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). U.S. See Matter of O. Vazquez (PDF), 25 I&N Dec. 817 (BIA 2012). While K nonimmigrants are not covered under CSPA, K-2 and K-4 nonimmigrants may benefit from CSPA under certain limited circumstances. 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. Examples of extraordinary circumstances that may warrant a favorable exercise of discretion include, but are not limited to: Serious illness or mental or physical disability of the applicant during the 1-year period; Legal disability, such as instances where the adjustment applicant suffered from a mental impairment, during the 1-year period; Instances where a timely adjustment application was rejected by USCIS as improperly filed and was returned to the applicant for corrections where the deficiency was corrected and the application re-filed within a reasonable period thereafter; Death or serious illness or incapacity of the applicants attorney or legal representative or a member of the applicants immediate family; and. An applicant is listed as a derivative on an approved Form I-140 filed by their parents employer. A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. As a K-2 nonimmigrant (child of a K-1 nonimmigrant who is the fianc(e) of a U.S. citizen), you typically get a Green Card based on your admission into the U.S. with a K-2 visa and your K-1 parents marriage to the U.S. citizen petitioner within 90 days of being admitted to the U.S. As long as you were under 21 when you were admitted to the United States as a K-2 nonimmigrant, you will not age out of eligibility for a Green Card. [^ 43] See 9 FAM 502.1-1(D)(6)(a)(3), Sought to Acquire LPR Status Provision. See INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(I) and INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(III). Secure .gov websites use HTTPS 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. 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. [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]. 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 historical versions are provided for research and reference purposes only. Unmarried Son or Daughter of LPR (F2B) Becomes Unmarried Son or Daughter of U.S. Citizen (F1). The applicant must have had a qualifying petition. 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. Looking for U.S. government information and services? It is meant to insure that sons and daughters can immigrate to the US together with their parents. The applicants underlying petition was pending for 6 months. The applicants age is frozen on the date of the refugee parents interview. 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. How can I request NVC to consider my son's CSPA age and grant him immigrant visa as well? The DV Program registration period began on Oct. 1, 2012, and the DV selection Letter is dated May 1, 2013. 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. 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. A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. or NVC; pay the affidavit of support fee with the NVC; file the DS-260 . For DVs, the qualifying petition is the DV Program electronic entry form. 3 USCIS-PM - Volume 3 - Humanitarian Protection and Parole, 4 USCIS-PM - Volume 4 - Refugees and Asylees. [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. [^ 53] For more detailed guidance on CSPA applicability and VAWA, see INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i) and Age-Out Protections Afforded Battered Children Pursuant to The Child Status Protection Act and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (PDF, 104.96 KB), issued August 17, 2004. NVC is asking us to pay IV Application Processing Fees on ceac.state.gov but it only displays names of my husband and I on ceac.state.gov.