However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify. Under these facts, the prospective applicant failed to seek to acquire permanent residence within 1 year of visa availability because the prospective applicant failed to apply for adjustment of status during the 1-year period between March 1, 2020, and March 1, 2021, when a visa was continuously available to file an adjustment of status application. On June 1, 2021, the visa becomes available again to the prospective applicant. The CSPA age is calculated based on the new visa availability date of October 1, 2021 (not October 1, 2020), and locked in as of that date provided that the visa remains available and the applicant seeks to acquire during that 1-year period. [^ 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. 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. Example: Visa Becomes Unavailable Before Filing. Apply for a U.S. Visa | Expedited/ Age Out/ Follow-T0-Join Cases [^ 43] See 9 FAM 502.1-1(D)(6)(a)(3), Sought to Acquire LPR Status Provision. A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. The DV Program registration period began on October 1, 2012, and the DV Selection Letter is dated May 1, 2013. In order to calculate an adjustment applicants CSPA age according to the formula above, the officer must first determine the age at time of visa availability. Looking for U.S. government information and services? 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. You will be notified once a decision is reached. CSPA went into effect on August 6, 2002. 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. A visa initially becomes available to the prospective applicant according to the Dates for Filing chart on October 1, 2020, which USCIS has designated for use in that month. A preference applicant whose visa became available on or after August 7, 2001 who did not seek to acquire within 1 year of such visa availability but who would have qualified for CSPA coverage had he or she applied, but for prior policy guidance concerning the CSPA effective date, may still apply for adjustment of status. [^ 20] See Section C, Immediate Relatives [7 USCIS-PM A.7(C)], Section D, Derivative Asylees [7 USCIS-PM A.7(D)], and Section E, Derivative Refugees [7 USCIS-PM A.7(E)]. However, USCIS may excuse the applicant from the requirement as an exercise of discretion if the applicant is able to establish that the failure to satisfy the sought to acquire requirement within 1 year was the result of extraordinary circumstances.[47]. If you were under the age of 21 at the time of your parents interview, your age is frozen as of that date and you will not age out. We approved the petition on Aug.1, 2016. * Got USCIS receipt notice on April 08, 2011. [^ 39] See INA 203(h)(1)(A). (CSPA) you can "opt out" of conversion to the F1 visa category and remain an F2B visa applicant . If the applicants CSPA age is over 21 at the time of subsequent visa availability, the applicant is no longer eligible for CSPA coverage. [39] This requirement does not apply to refugee derivatives, asylee derivatives, and IRs.[40]. Filing for adjustment or immigrant visas using CSPA 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. For derivative refugees, an adjustment applicants CSPA age is his or her age on the date the principal applicants Form I-590 is filed. The applicant also files an adjustment of status application based on the second Form I-140. PDF Cspa and Children of Lprs and Other Derivative Beneficiaries - Ilrc 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. Limited CSPA Coverage for K-4Nonimmigrants. [^ 49] Though the CSPA technically requires DV derivatives to seek to acquire within 1 year, this requirement does not generally affect DV derivatives, as they are only eligible to receive a visa through the end of the specific fiscal year in which the principal applicant was selected under INA 203(c). See Matter of O. Vazquez (PDF), 25 I&N Dec. 817 (BIA 2012). Based on the CSPA rule, she should be still qualified for F2A. This may be beneficial because . [27] The formula for calculating CSPA age is as follows: Age at time of visa availability - Pending time = CSPA Age, While an applicant must file an adjustment application or otherwise seek lawful permanent resident status in order to benefit from CSPA, the date the applicant files an adjustment application is not relevant for the CSPA age calculation.[28]. See INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(I) and INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(III). It is important to note that this NVC-generated assessment letter will not hold up the qualification of the case for appointment at post. The derivative applicants CSPA age is calculated using the petition underlying the principal beneficiarys adjustment of status application, in other words, the second Form I-140. CSPA may also still apply to a preference applicant whose immigrant petition was approved prior to August 6, 2002, and who did not have an adjustment application pending on August 6, 2002, but who subsequently applied for adjustment and was denied solely for aging out. Adjustment applicants are eligible for CSPA consideration if either the qualifying application (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485)) or one of the following underlying forms was filed or pending on or after the effective date: Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130); Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Form I-360); Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140); Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor (Form I-526); Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor (Form I-526E); Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal (Form I-589); Registration for Classification as a Refugee (Form I-590); or, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition (Form I-730). Does Sought to Acquire Requirement Apply? It appears that NVC generally does not issue fee bills to dependent children who have . 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. [^ 52] This includes Form I-730 beneficiaries. U.S. [^ 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. For DVs, the qualifying petition is the DV Program electronic entry form. Your mother filed a petition for you on Feb.1, 2016. * Child Status Protection Act Date Of Birth* Priority Date* Approval Date* Date when Petition Became Current * UNDERSTAND THE TERMS Priority Date It is the date when your Petition was filed. [^ 17] The date a Form I-590 is considered filed is the date of the principal refugee parents interview with a USCIS officer. How can I request NVC to consider my son's CSPA age and grant him immigrant visa as well? The petition had been pending for three months before it was approved, so that period of time can be subtracted from the child's age. To be CSPA qualified you must meet two criteria: Your "CSPA age" must be under 21 years old. This also applies to circumstances when USCIS approves a request to transfer the underlying basis of a pending adjustment of status application to a different immigrant category based on another approved petition. In most cases, you do not need a Form I-130 to get a Green Card if you are a K-2 nonimmigrant. Certain Preference Applicants Who Did Not Have an Adjustment Application Pending on the Effective Date. However, a transfer of underlying basis request can also result in potential derivative beneficiaries become eligible to adjust status as a derivative because their calculated CSPA age based on the petition is under 21 years of age. [^ 6] The CSPA protects a derivative refugee from aging out prior to his or her refugee admission, but such protection is not needed at the adjustment stage because a derivative refugee does not need to remain the spouse or child of the principal refugee in order to adjust status under INA 209. If we previously denied your adjustment of status application, but you believe your CSPA age calculation is under 21 under this policy guidance, you may file a motion to reopen your application using a Notice of Appeal or Motion (Form I-290B). [^ 29] A transfer request potentially affects the CSPA age calculation for the derivative beneficiaries. For more information about CSPA, see the following: An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, An official website of the United States government, To protect your privacy, please do not include any personal information in your feedback. 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. On April 1, 2021, a visa is no longer available to the prospective applicant. Once a Processing Complete Letter has been issued, NVC "closes" the file and places it in a queue for future use. The historical versions linked below reflect the pertinent policy in effect on that date and dates reflect when updates occurred. B BigJoe5 Registered Users (C) Jul 26, 2011 [^ 45] Applicants may file the Form I-824 concurrently with the adjustment application. Alert: On Feb. 14, 2023, USCIS issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to update when an immigrant visa becomes available for the purpose of calculating Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age for noncitizens seeking lawful permanent resident status in a preference category. [^ 51] In Matter of O. Vazquez, the 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. You are 21 years and 4 months old when USCIS considers an immigrant visa available to you. U.S. From the date of visa availability, and provided that the visa remains available for a continuous 1-year period, the applicant has 1 year to fulfill the sought to acquire requirement. [^ 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. This guidance becomes effective October 2, 2020. Ineffective assistance of counsel, when certain requirements are met. The applicant must have had a qualifying Registration for Classification as a Refugee (Form I-590) or Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition (.