Will Your Child Age Out? Understand the CSPA Before It’s Too Late

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) is a federal law passed in 2002. Its purpose is to protect certain children from losing immigration eligibility due to delays in USCIS processing or visa availability.

Normally, U.S. immigration law defines a "child" as someone who is:

• Under 21 years old, and
• Unmarried

When a child turns 21 before their green card is processed, they’re said to “age out.” This often pushes them into a different, slower visa category or disqualifies them entirely. CSPA helps by "freezing" or adjusting the child's age so they can still be considered under 21.

The CSPA applies to:

• Children of U.S. citizens
• Children of lawful permanent residents (LPRs)
• Derivative children on family-based, employment-based, diversity visa, asylum, or refugee cases
• VAWA applicants in certain situations

The rules are slightly different depending on which immigration category you fall into.

Children of U.S. citizens benefit from the most generous version of CSPA. Here's how it works:

• If a U.S. citizen files a Form I-130 for their unmarried child under 21, the child’s age is locked in on the date USCIS receives the petition.
• Even if the child turns 21 while the case is processing, they remain eligible as an immediate relative as long as they stay unmarried.

Example: John is 20 years and 11 months old when his U.S. citizen mother files an I-130 for him. He turns 21 the next month. Thanks to CSPA, his age is frozen. He continues to be treated as under 21 and can adjust status as an immediate relative.

Naturalization Twist: If a lawful permanent resident parent files an I-130 and later naturalizes, the child’s CSPA age can be locked in on the date of naturalization — but only if the child is under 21. There’s a debate about whether this “age” means biological age or CSPA-adjusted age, and court rulings differ by region.

CSPA gets more complicated for children of LPRs, or children included as derivatives on other petitions.

Here’s how to calculate CSPA age for these children:

• Step 1: Identify the child’s age on the date a visa becomes available
• Step 2: Subtract the time the petition was pending (from receipt to approval)

Formula: CSPA Age = Age on Visa Availability Date – Time Petition Was Pending

To benefit from the CSPA, the adjusted age must be under 21, and the child must seek to acquire permanent residence within one year of visa availability.

USCIS now uses only the Final Action Dates chart to determine when a visa is available for CSPA age calculation. This aligns with how the Department of State calculates visa availability for consular processing.

What this means: If your application was filed on or after August 15, 2025, your child’s CSPA age is based on the Final Action Date, not the earlier Dates for Filing. This makes it harder to qualify.

Even if your child qualifies under the CSPA formula, they must also “seek to acquire” permanent resident status within one year of visa availability.

In other words, they must apply for the green card. Acceptable actions include:

• Filing Form I-485 (adjustment of status)
• Filing Form DS-260 (immigrant visa application)
• Filing Form I-824 (action on approved application)

In some cases, extraordinary circumstances may excuse late filings. Examples may include illness, legal disability, or bad advice from a lawyer.

Understanding how the CSPA works in real-life situations can make a complicated law much easier to grasp. Below are a few examples that illustrate how age calculations, visa availability dates, and timing decisions can affect a child’s ability to immigrate. These scenarios reflect common cases and highlight why every detail, including timing and filing strategy, matters.

Children who file VAWA self-petitions (Form I-360) may be eligible up to age 25, if abuse was a central reason for not filing earlier. They can also retain their status as immediate relatives if the petition was filed while they were under 21, even if adjudication happens later.

The Child Status Protection Act can be a powerful safeguard. It helps many children stay eligible for immigration, but it’s not automatic. You must carefully:

• Track visa availability
• Calculate age using the new USCIS rules
• Act within one year of eligibility

With the August 2025 rule change, it’s more important than ever to use the correct chart when calculating your child’s eligibility. If your child is near or over 21, don’t delay.