The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) has led to great results in creating more citizen opportunities for noncitizen children. But now the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) has provided further guidance on how age calculations should be executed. Follow along to find out how the USCIS updated the CSPA age calculation and how a proficient Baltimore County, Maryland citizenship lawyer at the Sheri Hoidra Law Office, LLC can help you better understand this.
What is the CSPA?
In 2002, Congress enacted the CSPA to protect certain children from “aging out” during the processing of their adjustment of status petitions. This Act was established because many applicants who were eligible for an adjustment of status were reaching the age of 21 during the USCIS’ processing backlogs.
Importantly, the CSPA does not change the definition of a child but rather establishes a unique age calculation method. And so, an applicant’s CSPA age is calculated by subtracting the number of days that the adjustment of status petition was pending with the USCIS from the actual age of the applicant on the date that their visa became available.
What is the USCIS update on the CSPA age calculation?
Put simply, the USCIS is offering new guidance on how to update when an immigrant visa number becomes available so that an applicant’s age can be more reasonably calculated.
First of all, the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin is the system that is used to determine when a visa number becomes available. This Bulletin consists of two charts: the Dates for Filing chart and the Final Action Date chart. With the previous guidance, the CSPA age calculation for an available visa number was based on the Final Action Date chart instead of the Dates for Filing chart. Evidently, this later date meant that more applicants were aging out during the processing of their adjustment of status petitions.
Now, the new guidance is that the Dates for Filing chart should be used to make CSPA age calculations. This earlier date means that applicants now have an increased opportunity for being granted an adjustment of status under their parent’s petition under a family-sponsored or employment-based visa.
This change is effective immediately. It is being applied to pending applications, meaning that applicants may now have their CSPA age calculation converted back down to under the age of 21. It is also being applied to applicants who have been previously denied an adjustment of status. Meaning, these applicants may now file a motion to reopen their application via Form I-290B, otherwise known as the Notice of Appeal or Motion.
For more information on this matter, schedule an initial consultation with a talented Baltimore County, Maryland immigration lawyer. We look forward to hearing from you.
