A Review of the CSPA

Even though the CSPA became law 11 years ago, almost every week we receive questions from people who are sponsoring families with children over 21 years old. 

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) is a way that some children can qualify for an immigrant visa even after they have reached their 21st birthday. This situation usually involves the grandchildren or the nieces and nephews of US citizens. These F3 or F4 petitions were filed a long time ago and by now some of the children in the family have reached 21 years of age.

Another CSPA category is the minor children of US citizens. Their age is frozen on the day that the sponsor files the I-130 immigrant visa petition with CIS. For example, if they are 17 years old when the sponsor files the I-130, they will remain 17 years old no matter when they have the visa interview.

If a Permanent Resident becomes a US citizen while sponsoring his under-21 year old child, then the child’s age is frozen for CSPA as of the date of the sponsor’s naturalization.

For all other F2A, F3 and F4 cases, the CSPA allows the time a visa petition was pending to be subtracted from a child’s biological age. The CSPA age is determined by applicant’s age when the petition becomes current, minus the amount of time the petition was with CIS. The resulting age is frozen, no matter when the beneficiary is interviewed, IF (IF) the DS260 is submitted within one year of the petition becoming current.

For example, if it took CIS three years to approve the petition, then three years can be subtracted from the age of the child on the date that the child became eligible for an immigrant visa. The resulting CSPA age is frozen.

Who decides if the CSPA can apply to a child over 20? The National Visa Center (NVC) can do this before they send the petition to the US Consulate in Saigon. However, NVC usually leaves the decision up to the Consulate, so NVC does not include the name of the over-20 child when they schedule a visa interview appointment for the family.

Then it is up to the family to immediately contact the Consulate to ask them to confirm that their child is eligible for CSPA.

Some families are not familiar with the CSPA and they make the mistake of thinking that any child over 20 will not be eligible to go to the States with them. In fact, many children in the 21-23 year age range do have a chance of qualifying for the CSPA. Even some older children might qualify.

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Q.1. How can I know for sure if an over-20 child is eligible for CSPA?
A.1. If you are one of our clients, you can contact any of our offices in California or Saigon. We will do the CSPA calculation for you, and contact the Consulate if necessary. If you are not one of our clients, we will still be glad to do the CSPA calculation for you, at no charge.

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Q.2. What happens to children who are too old to qualify for the CSPA?
A.2 After their parents arrive in the US, the parents must file a new F2B petition for the child left behind in Vietnam. This means a separation of at least five years or more.
However, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear this matter on 10 December and we hope they will decide that the new F2B should get the priority date of the parents’ petition. That will mean no waiting time to bring the over-20 child to the US.

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Q.3. I’m a US citizen and I filed a petition for my unmarried daughter when she was 20 years old, so her age is now frozen in the IR-2 category. The problem is that she will give birth to a child next month. How can she bring the child with her to the US?
A.3. There is no visa category for the child of an IR-2 applicant. When your daughter turns 21, she can choose to be in the F1 category. That will allow her to bring her child with her, but it will also involve some waiting time till the F1 becomes current. 

 
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com
Immigration Support Services-Tham Van Di Tru

9070 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933 
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888 
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388 
Cty Rang Mi: 47 Phung Khac Khoan, Q1, HCM (848) 3914-7638