The Child Status Protection Act of 2002 (CSPA)

The Child Status Protection Act of 2002 was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 6, 2002 and became effective on that date.  The new law changes the process for determining whether a child has "aged out" (i.e., turned 21 years old before visa issuance or status adjustment) for the purpose of the issuance of visas and the adjustment of status of applicants in most immigrant categories.

The intent of this law is to preserve child status for certain children beneficiaries who “aged out,” particularly those who “aged out” because of delays in processing.  The CSPA applies to the following immigrant visa categories:

1. Children of American Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) (IR-2 and F2A principal applicants).

2. Derivatives in all family and employment based preference categories (F1, F3, F4, and E categories).The CSPA does not apply to V, K, or any other nonimmigrant visas.

The CSPA became effective as of August 6, 2002 and applies only if either:

1.The IV petition was approved on/after August 6, 2002, or

2. The applicant aged out on/after August 6, 2002 (taking any Patriot Act 45 day benefit into account), or

3. The applicant aged out before August 6, 2002 but applied for a visa before aging out and was refused under section 221(g).

If the petition was approved before August 6, 2002 and the applicant aged out before that date and either did not apply for a visa before that date or applied and was refused on age-out grounds, the CSPA does not apply.

If you believe that your child qualifies for benefits under the Child Status Protection Act, contact our Information Unit.

THE USA PATRIOT ACT OF 2001

On October 26, 2001 President George W. Bush signed the "Uniting and Strengthening America Act by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism" (USA PATRIOT Act) of 2001.The Patriot Act contains several provisions that will have an impact on general immigration matters and visa issuance.

Under Section 424(2) of the USA Patriot Act, any alien who is the beneficiary of a petition filed on or before September 11, 2001 and whose 21st birthday occurs after September 30, 2001 shall be considered to be a child for 45 days after the alien's 21st birthday. Thus, IV applicants who would otherwise lose status upon attaining age 21 but who meet the conditions of Section 424 may be issued visas up to 45 days after their 21st birthday.