CSPA question

[VashTheStampede 0]

Hello,

I've read through the CSPA sticky (which has a few broken links) among other CSPA articles and am still confused about something.

At the official USCIS Web page for CSPA the first sentence under eligibility criteria states that the person must:

• Must be the beneficiary of a pending or approved visa petition on or after August 6, 2002.

Does this essentially mean that CSPA will only apply to those whose visa applications were received on or after August 6, 2002? My grandfather first applied to petition my aunt back in 2000, and her priority date is November 2000. She has children who were included as derivative beneficiaries, both of whom were under 21 at that time. My aunt's priority date is now being served as of this month and we have begun the paperwork process with the NVC. We have designated an agent and received the immigrant visa application processing fee bill invoices for my aunt and her younger son, but the older son is not included.

My uncle spoke to the NVC on the phone and they repeatedly told him that the older son is over the age of 21 for the purposes of this application process. They were not clear as to why the younger son is being processed and the older one is not, even though both are currently over the age of 21, and were both under the age of 21 at the time of the priority date. They said all we could do was have my aunt discuss it with the consulate at the time of her interview.

If you have any insight on the situation or can clear up my CSPA question I'd greatly appreciate it.

[belinda63 3,030]

The quick and dirty way to calculate. The priority date is Nov 2000. When was the I-130 approved, i.e. the NOA-2 dated? The time from the NOA-1 until the NOA-2 is subtracted from the derivatives age to determine their CSPA age. If it took three years for the petition to be approved then any derivative aged 24 or younger would still be included. If the I-130 took one year to be approved any derivitave 22 and under would be included. This is why it is a good thing when these catagories of petitions take a long time to approve.

So take the NOA-2 date subtract from that the NOA-1 date and what you have is added to the age of 21.

[Hypnos 6,576]

http://www.immigrationlawadvisor.com/child_status_protection_act%20_faq.php seems to suggest that CSPA applies to your case if, on 6th August 2002, you were the beneficiary of a pending or approved immigrant petition, and (this is the important part) had not yet applied for either an immigrant visa overseas or adjustment of status within the US.

My reading is that CSPA would apply to you, because as of the date of enactment the beneficiary had not applied for AoS or an immigrant visa (because the priority date was not current).

You may find this CSPA calculator useful: http://www.**.com/immigrant-visa/cspa-calculator/

Edited October 15, 2013 by Captain Ewok

[aaron2020 11,651]

CSPA applies to this case.

Only the time it took USCIS to approve the I-130 is subtracted from a beneficiary's real age to determine the CSPA age. The time at the NVC is not subtracted.

You need to know when the I-130 was approved to do the calculations. Google "CSPA Calculator."

CSPA did not help the older child. His CSPA age is over 21. This child has aged out under CSPA.

CSPA helped the younger child because his CSPA age is below 21. This child has not aged out under CSPA and is an eligible derivative beneficiary.

[VashTheStampede 0]

Thanks guys. What do you think the best course of action would be to take from here? My family considered getting a lawyer to facilitate the process initially but I thought it seemed straightforward enough for us to handle. I feel like this is still doable on our own and hope to be able to complete the process in full without paying a lawyer, since we've already made it to this point on our own.

If I e-mail the NVC, what exactly should I say? My main concern is how long the NVC takes to respond. If I'm going to contact them I want to make sure I say everything I need to say since they've taken 2-3 weeks to respond to every e-mail I've sent to this point. I really want to get this right and get my cousin's name back in the process but don't know what I should say.

[VashTheStampede 0]

I think for a start I should give them a call. I'll have my uncle call again and give his credentials while I'm on the other phone so I can discuss this with them. I'll see if I can get them to explain exactly why my cousin is considered over 21 for the purposes of this visa application when CSPA says otherwise.

[Mellow 8]

I think for a start I should give them a call. I'll have my uncle call again and give his credentials while I'm on the other phone so I can discuss this with them. I'll see if I can get them to explain exactly why my cousin is considered over 21 for the purposes of this visa application when CSPA says otherwise.

Can you give us the exact dates so we can help in calculating the CSPA age.

Priority date =

Date of approval =

Birth date of son 1

Birth date of son 2

[VashTheStampede 0]

Can you give us the exact dates so we can help in calculating the CSPA age.

Priority date = November 29, 2000

Date of approval = November 15, 2004

Birth date of son 1 = June 1984

Birth date of son 2 = January 1989

The NVC began serving priority dates of prior to January 2001 as of the beginning of this month. In other words a visa number became available as of August 1, 2013.

Edited August 8, 2013 by VashTheStampede

[aaron2020 11,651]

The NVC began serving priority dates of prior to January 2001 as of the beginning of this month. In other words a visa number became available as of August 1, 2013.

It took USCIS about 4 years to approve the I-130, so subtract 4 years to get their CSPA ages.

For the 29 years old son, his CSPA age is 25 so he aged out and does not qualify for a visa.

For the 24 years old son, his CSPA age is 20 and he is eligible for a visa.

[Mellow 8]

The NVC began serving priority dates of prior to January 2001 as of the beginning of this month. In other words a visa number became available as of August 1, 2013.

You should get the visa before January 2014 so your second son will be CSPA eligible coz he's going to age out in Jan 2014.

[aaron2020 11,651]

You should get the visa before January 2014 so your second son will be CSPA eligible coz he's going to age out in Jan 2014.

Once the PD becomes current, the child's CSPA age is locked in. The child will not age out as long as the DS-230 is filed.

The visas could even be issued after Jan 2014.

Jan 2014 is not important.

[Hypnos 6,576]

You must seek to acquire permanent resident status within one year of the priority date becoming current or you lose eligibility under CSPA.

[VashTheStampede 0]

I understand very clearly now, thank you guys. I am really new to this process as I had nothing to do with the original petitioning process at all and only begun helping when they recently received the forms for further processing.

The one piece of information that I was missing that made the process confusing was the approval date. It was just today that my uncle showed me the NOA document that was received in 2004 stating that my aunt's visa application was approved. Now that I have those dates the CSPA age calculations make a lot of sense and I understand why my older cousin is considered to be aged out. I also understand that my younger cousin's age becomes locked on the date the priority date becomes current and that he has one year to file for permanent residence status.

At this point is there anything that can be done for my cousin to have a chance to come over some time in the future? I appreciate all of the help you guys have given so far. If you have the slightest idea of whether I can do anything else to give my cousin a chance at ever coming over here I'd really appreciate it.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Once your aunt becomes a green card holder she can file a fresh I-130 in the F2B preference (unmarried child over 21 of a permanent resident). The current wait time for this category is almost 8 years, if not from Mexico or the Philippines.

It's possible that if immigration reform legislation passes Congress this year then this will provide relief. The Senate's version did provide several ways for priority dates to be retained for subsequent filings (effectively giving people credit for the time they have spent waiting in one category when they then have to file for another). Obviously it's a big "if" whether Congress will even pass such legislation, and whether the sections pertaining to retaining earlier priority dates will make it to the final version.

[Mellow 8]

I understand very clearly now, thank you guys. I am really new to this process as I had nothing to do with the original petitioning process at all and only begun helping when they recently received the forms for further processing.

The one piece of information that I was missing that made the process confusing was the approval date. It was just today that my uncle showed me the NOA document that was received in 2004 stating that my aunt's visa application was approved. Now that I have those dates the CSPA age calculations make a lot of sense and I understand why my older cousin is considered to be aged out. I also understand that my younger cousin's age becomes locked on the date the priority date becomes current and that he has one year to file for permanent residence status.

At this point is there anything that can be done for my cousin to have a chance to come over some time in the future? I appreciate all of the help you guys have given so far. If you have the slightest idea of whether I can do anything else to give my cousin a chance at ever coming over here I'd really appreciate it.

Let the parent file a petition for the age-out son as soon as she becomes LPR. Son should not marry before parent becomes US citizen. Or son can try applying for H1B visa if he is a bachelor degree holder.