New USCIS Policy Update for Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) Age Calculation
New USCIS Policy Update for Child Status Protection Act: On February 14, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has updated its policy manual on the calculation of noncitizen’s age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) for immigration purposes.
What is the Child Status Protection Act?
Under the CSPA, children under the age of 21 are eligible for lawful permanent residency based on their parent’s approved visa petition. The CSPA helps protect children from “ageing out”, or losing their eligibility if they turn 21 during the immigration process.
Previous CSPA Policy vs. New Policy
Under the previous policy, USCIS only considered a visa available for CSPA purposes based on the Final Action Date chart, but now the Dates for Filing chart will also be used in the calculation of the noncitizen’s age. This change will provide more certainty to noncitizens about their eligibility to adjust their status and apply for employment and travel authorization. Noncitizens can file a motion to reopen their previously denied adjustment of status application within 30 days of the decision, or in some cases beyond 30 days if they can demonstrate reasonable delay.
This policy change will not prevent all children from aging out before a visa becomes available or from losing nonimmigrant status at the age of 21.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact us via email at info@poonahimmigrationlaw.com for further information.
Read More: USCIS Update
