New USCIS Guidelines on the Child Status Protection Act

2008-05-10T23:20:11Z

I get hopeful every time USCIS revises the guidelines for the Child Status Protection Act, which prevents the children of U.S. Citizen and Permanent Residents from aging-out under their immigrant visa petitions when they turn 21. Maybe, just maybe, I would no longer age-out under the I-130 immigrant petition filed on behalf of my parents back in 2000. The USCIS explains the new policy changes on its website:

Under prior policy guidance, USCIS considered an alien beneficiary of a visa petition that was approved before August 6, 2002 to be covered by the CSPA only if the beneficiary had filed an application for permanent residence (either adjustment of status or an immigrant visa) on or before August 6, 2002, and no final determination had been made on that application prior to August 6, 2002. This new policy extends CSPA coverage to aliens who had an approved visa petition prior to the enactment of CSPA but who did not have a pending application for permanent residence on the date of enactment of the CSPA.

It means that many DREAMers who have immigrant petitions like I-130 or I-140 filed on their behalf, may be eligible for residency with their parents even after they reach 21. Prior to this new guideline, CSPA only applied to the children of U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents.

However, the complicated mathematical formula of calculating the "CSPA age" remains intact under the new guidelines. Instead of simply employing a blanket rule that all children who have an immigrant petition filed on their behalf retain the benefits of that petition even after turning 21, USCIS has condemned us to this calculation:

1. Alien's Date of Birth:
2. Date Petition Filed:
3. Date Petition Approved:
4. Length of Time Petition Pending (#3 minus #2):
5. Date Petition Became Current:
6. Date Visa Became Available (Later of #3 or #5):
7. Age of Alien on Date Visa Became Available (#6 minus #1):
8. Age for CSPA purpose: Age at time Visa Became Available minus Length of Time Petition Pending (#7 minus #4):

Even immigration attorneys have a hard time figuring out what this means. And I probably still age-out under the complex calculations.

cspa at Brave New Films

New USCIS Guidelines on the Child Status Protection Act