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Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) amended the Immigration Nationality Act (INA) by changing who qualifies as a child for purposes of immigration. This permits certain beneficiaries (see the glossary for a definition of the term "beneficiary") to retain classification as a "child," even if he or she has reached the age of 21.
Age Out
A "child" is defined as an individual who is unmarried and under the age of 21. Before CSPA took effect on August 6, 2002, a beneficiary who turned 21 at any time prior to receiving permanent residence could not be considered a child for immigration purposes. This situation is described as "aging out." Congress recognized that many beneficiaries were aging out because of large backlogs and long processing times for visa petitions. CSPA is designed to protect a beneficiary's immigration classification as a child when he or she ages out due to excessive processing times. CSPA can protect "child" status for family-based immigrants, employment-based immigrants, and some humanitarian program immigrants (refugees, asylees, VAWA).
How to Qualify for CSPA
| Immediate Relative | Preference Classification for Permanent Residence or Derivative |
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If the petition (Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative) was filed by a U.S. citizen parent for his or her child, the beneficiary’s age “freezes” on the date of filing. If the petition (Form I-130) was filed by a permanent resident parent and the parent naturalizes before the beneficiary turns 21, the beneficiary's age "freezes" on the date the petitioner naturalized. |
CSPA allows the time a visa petition was pending to be subtracted from the beneficiary’sbiological age at the time of visa availability sothat the applicant is not penalized for the time inwhich USCIS did not adjudicate the petition. |
Eligibility Criteria
- Must be the beneficiary of a pending or approved visa petition on or after August 6, 2002.
- The beneficiary must not have had a final decision on an application for adjustment of status or an immigrant visa before August 6, 2002.
The child must "seek to acquire" permanent residence within 1 year of a visa becoming available. USCIS interprets "seek to acquire" as having a Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, filed on the child's behalf or the filing of a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, or submit Form DS-230, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration from the Department of State. The date of visa availability means the first day of the first month a visa in the appropriate category was listed as available in the Department of State's visa bulletin or the date the visa petition was approved, whichever is later.
Note: Individuals may be eligible to apply for permanent residence under CSPA after 1 year of a visa becoming available if all of the following are true:
- They are a beneficiary of a visa petition that was approved prior to August 6, 2002;
- They had not received a final decision on an application for permanent residence based or immigrant visa on that visa petition prior to August 6, 2002;
- The visa became available on or after August 7, 2001;
- They met all of the other eligibility requirements for CSPA (see above)
The CSPA applies in other circumstances, including divorces, asylum and refugee status.
The CSPA applies to all pending or approved petitions as long as a final determination has not been made on the beneficiary's immigrant visa or adjustment of status application.
