In United States immigration law, a child is generally defined as an unmarried person under the age of 21. However, due to backlogs in the immigration system, there have been many cases of children aging out while waiting for their visas to be processed. The Child Status Protection Act helps keep families together, which is especially important considering the often unpredictable nature of immigration law. To learn more about this act and your rights, reach out to a Queens family immigration lawyer today.

What’s the Child Status Protection Act?

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) is a law in the United States that helps protect certain children from aging out of eligibility for immigration benefits. As established, a “child” for immigration purposes is a person who is unmarried and under the age of 21. Green cards and other visas can take many months or even years to be processed and approved. In the past, there was a significant number of immigrants who applied as children but aged out before they could secure their status.

The purpose of this act is to address this issue faced by certain foreign individuals who were at one point classified as children for immigration purposes but who turned 21 before their petition was approved and therefore became ineligible. The Child Status Protection Act freezes a child’s age to allow them to maintain child status even after they turn 21.

An individual’s CSPA age can be calculated by determining how long it took from the date the petition was received by the USCIS to the date the petition was approved, and subtracting that number from the age the individual is on the date the visa becomes available.

Who is Protected by the CSPA?

This law can be beneficial in protecting immigrants, but it is crucial that you understand whether or not it applies to you. Below are the individuals who are protected by the CSPA.

  • Immediate relatives including derivatives of widow(er)s
  • Family-sponsored preference principal applicants and derivative applicants
  • Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners and derivative applicants
  • Employment-based preference derivative applicants
  • Diversity Immigrant Visa derivative applicants
  • Derivative refugees
  • Derivative asylees

Anyone who falls into one or more of the above categories is eligible for CSPA protection. However, they must also have filed immigration paperwork on or after the date that the CSPA was enacted. One of the following forms must have been filed on or after August 6, 2002 for the individual to maintain their child status.

  • Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
  • Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
  • Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant
  • Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker
  • Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur
  • Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal
  • Form I-590, Registration for Classification as a Refugee
  • Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition

Understanding your legal rights and options is imperative when attempting to keep your family together. Reach out to a skilled lawyer at Monica Saran-Nace, P.C. today.