Family & childrenPOLICY UPDATE
Age Calculation under Child Status Protection Act
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing 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 in certain situations.
Effective date and application
This guidance, contained in Volume 7 of the Policy Manual, is effective immediately
Key changes
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing 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 in certain situations.
- Explains that USCIS considers a visa available for purposes of CSPA age calculations at the same time USCIS considers a visa available for accepting and processing the adjustment of status application.
- Clarifies that the 1-year period during which a noncitizen must seek to acquire lawful permanent residence for CSPA starts when a visa becomes available for accepting and processing a potential adjustment of status application. However, USCIS may, in its discretion, take into account certain extraordinary circumstances for failure to seek to acquire lawful permanent residence within 1 year of visa availability.9
- Explains the effect of transferring the underlying basis of a pending adjustment of status application on CSPA age calculations and on the “sought to acquire” requirement.
