The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on August 8th that starting from August 15, 2025, there will be adjustments to the calculation of age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). Whether filing for adjustment of status within the US or applying for an immigrant visa through the State Department from abroad, the “Final Action Dates Chart” from the State Department visa bulletin will be used to calculate the “aging out” period.
The agency is currently updating its Policy Manual to clarify that when calculating age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), the availability of visas will be based on the Final Action Dates Chart specified in the Department of State Visa Bulletin.
According to the announcement, the new guidelines will apply to applications filed on or after August 15, 2025. The age calculation policy published on February 14, 2023, will apply to pending adjustment of status applications filed with USCIS before August 15, 2025, as individuals may have already followed that policy when submitting their applications.
The announcement states that this policy update aims to ensure that both USCIS and the State Department use the Final Action Dates Chart in the visa bulletin to calculate CSPA age and determine when visas can be issued.
This action aims to establish a uniform method for calculating CSPA age for foreign nationals applying for adjustment of status and immigrant visas, as a policy from February 14, 2023, had previously led to inconsistencies in treatment between foreign nationals applying for adjustment of status within the US and those applying for immigrant visas from overseas.
In general, unmarried children of foreign nationals must be under 21 years of age to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the US based on family-based, employment-based, or diversity visa applications submitted and approved by their parents. If they reach the age of 21 or age out during the immigration process, they generally no longer qualify to immigrate to the US based on their parents’ applications.
The announcement explains that the CSPA was enacted by Congress to protect certain foreign children from losing eligibility for lawful permanent resident status based on approved visa applications. The CSPA provides a method for calculating the age of foreign children that takes into account the time when immigrant visa quotas are “available” for allocation.
“If a foreign national is adjusting status based on a family-based, employment-based, or diversity visa application, they must seek to acquire lawful permanent residency within one year of visa availability to benefit from the CSPA age calculation provisions,” the announcement states.
According to the announcement, if foreign nationals can demonstrate that their failure to apply for permanent residency within one year of visa availability was due to “exceptional circumstances”, they may be considered to have satisfied the requirement of having “sought to acquire”. If foreign nationals can prove that their failure to apply for status adjustment before August 15, 2025, within the effective period of the policy from February 14, 2023, was due to exceptional circumstances, USCIS will calculate the CSPA age based on the February 14, 2023 policy.
The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) was passed on August 6, 2002, with the aim of protecting children from aging out due to delays in immigration processing, thus preventing them from enjoying certain immigration benefits. The law allows certain individuals in the process of immigrating to be treated as “children” even if they have turned 21 before their application is processed.