Age Out
Under the immigration laws, a child is defined as an unmarried person under the age of 21. In accordance with previous immigration laws, children who turn 21 before their applications for adjustment of status or applications for immigration visa are adjudicated are "Aged Out", and lose their eligibility for a green card, which they would have had, had they not attained the age of 21.
However, the "Child Status Protection Act" (CSPA) has changed the scenarios of "Age Out" preventing these children applicants from "aging out" under certain circumstances.
Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
The CSPA was signed into law on August 6, 2002. It applies to immigrant visa cases initiated after that date but has a more limited applicability to cases that were already in progress on August 6, 2002.
CSPA was enacted to address the problem of minor children losing their eligibility for immigration benefits because they had aged-out or turned 21 years old as a result of processing delays on the part of the Immigration Service or the Department of State. It was not intended to benefit an applicant who aged-out due to the unavailability of a visa number.
Qualification
1. The petition was approved on or after August 6, 2002; or the applicant aged-out on or after August 6, 2002.
2. The applicant pursued an immigration visa within one year of visa availability.
CSPA Determination Computation
Step 1: Figure out the age of applicant when a visa number became available: The Date of Visa Number Availability minus the applicant's Birth Date.
Step 2: Figure out the time the case was pending with the Immigration service: Visa Petition Approval Date minus Visa Petition Filing Date.
Step 3: Figure out the CSPA Age: Age of Applicant when a visa number became available minus the time the case was pending with the Immigration service.
If applicant's computed CSPA age is below 21 years, the applicant would qualify for age-out protection under the Act.