NVC accepted CPSA protection before priority date became current

[Juniper 62]

I am writing this as new information I learned with NVC and CPSA based upon my recent CEAC electronic submission of IV Fees, Application, Affidavit of Support and related civil and financial documents.

 

By research told me the NVC would only consider calculating and applying the CSPA age (for a unmarried child under 21 years visa) after the beneficiary's priority date became current and a visa was thus available.  The big problem was that NVC was automatically looking at the "over 21 years" current visa class availability (which is many years longer) if the principal applicant's real age was over 21 years.  And if the CSPA age was "under 21 years", I read how petitioners needed to learn to petition the NVC to get NVC to do their job and calculate the CSPA age when the "under 21 years" visa class availability was current.  Several petitioners commented on getting their congressmen involved with NVC.  It appeared that the NVC would only do the CSPA age calculation when the "under 21 years" visa class availability became current, not before.

 

So my recent CEAC electronic submission story with new information about NVC and CPSA follows:

1) The USCIS approved petition was for a F2A (or F22 - unmarried child under 21 years)

2) NVC CEAC created the case with a F22 visa classification shown on the status page.

3) Paid the fees and submitted all the forms.  Right after electronic submission of the IV Application that contained the principal applicant's birth date, I noticed that the NVC CEAC status page had changed the visa classification from F22 to F24 (unmarried son/daughter over 21 years) because indeed the principal applicant is over 21 years old.

4) Even after finishing the electronic submittal of documents, I was able to add two documents that explained that the CSPA age of the principal applicant is 8 months before 21 years at that moment in time ... and that there is an extremely high probability the principal applicant's priority date will become current before 8 months from that moment in time.  I asked for CSPA protection for the principal applicant and for the NVC CEAC visa class to be changed from F24 (over 21 years) to F22 (under 21 years).  I also wrote an email with the same requests via the askNVC webpage.

5) About 5 days later, I got an email back from the askNVC staff saying that my email was being sent to the correct department for further consideration.

6) About 4 days later without receiving any notification, I checked the the NVC CEAC status page and the visa class was put back to F22 (under 21 years) and all the electronically submitted documents were marked off as "Accepted".  This included the documents that asked for CSPA protection for the principal applicant. These CSPA related documents were made part of the case documents and "Accepted"

 

The really big improvement here compared to what my research was saying about NVC and CPSA protection is that the NVC has now officially given CPSA protection to my principal applicant BEFORE the priority date has become current.  Now, we have the NVC correctly watching the F22 class visa availability (as they should be) as our principal applicant's priority date becomes current for the F22 class in a short amount of time from now.  The day the principal applicant's priority date becomes current and the principal applicant's CSPA age is under 21 years, then the principal applicant's CSPA age becomes frozen for a year as the immigration visa process continues. 

 

So if you have a CSPA situation, it appears that NVC electronic system will work for us now when asking for CPSA protection before the priority date becomes current for the "under 21 years" visa classes.

[sushisheeshee 0]

On 11/15/2018 at 4:39 AM, Juniper said:

I am writing this as new information I learned with NVC and CPSA based upon my recent CEAC electronic submission of IV Fees, Application, Affidavit of Support and related civil and financial documents.

 

By research told me the NVC would only consider calculating and applying the CSPA age (for a unmarried child under 21 years visa) after the beneficiary's priority date became current and a visa was thus available.  The big problem was that NVC was automatically looking at the "over 21 years" current visa class availability (which is many years longer) if the principal applicant's real age was over 21 years.  And if the CSPA age was "under 21 years", I read how petitioners needed to learn to petition the NVC to get NVC to do their job and calculate the CSPA age when the "under 21 years" visa class availability was current.  Several petitioners commented on getting their congressmen involved with NVC.  It appeared that the NVC would only do the CSPA age calculation when the "under 21 years" visa class availability became current, not before.

 

So my recent CEAC electronic submission story with new information about NVC and CPSA follows:

1) The USCIS approved petition was for a F2A (or F22 - unmarried child under 21 years)

2) NVC CEAC created the case with a F22 visa classification shown on the status page.

3) Paid the fees and submitted all the forms.  Right after electronic submission of the IV Application that contained the principal applicant's birth date, I noticed that the NVC CEAC status page had changed the visa classification from F22 to F24 (unmarried son/daughter over 21 years) because indeed the principal applicant is over 21 years old.

4) Even after finishing the electronic submittal of documents, I was able to add two documents that explained that the CSPA age of the principal applicant is 8 months before 21 years at that moment in time ... and that there is an extremely high probability the principal applicant's priority date will become current before 8 months from that moment in time.  I asked for CSPA protection for the principal applicant and for the NVC CEAC visa class to be changed from F24 (over 21 years) to F22 (under 21 years).  I also wrote an email with the same requests via the askNVC webpage.

5) About 5 days later, I got an email back from the askNVC staff saying that my email was being sent to the correct department for further consideration.

6) About 4 days later without receiving any notification, I checked the the NVC CEAC status page and the visa class was put back to F22 (under 21 years) and all the electronically submitted documents were marked off as "Accepted".  This included the documents that asked for CSPA protection for the principal applicant. These CSPA related documents were made part of the case documents and "Accepted"

 

The really big improvement here compared to what my research was saying about NVC and CPSA protection is that the NVC has now officially given CPSA protection to my principal applicant BEFORE the priority date has become current.  Now, we have the NVC correctly watching the F22 class visa availability (as they should be) as our principal applicant's priority date becomes current for the F22 class in a short amount of time from now.  The day the principal applicant's priority date becomes current and the principal applicant's CSPA age is under 21 years, then the principal applicant's CSPA age becomes frozen for a year as the immigration visa process continues. 

 

So if you have a CSPA situation, it appears that NVC electronic system will work for us now when asking for CPSA protection before the priority date becomes current for the "under 21 years" visa classes.

Reading through this. I'm glad everything worked well!

Edited April 6, 2019 by sushisheeshee

[Juniper 62]

F2A visa became available with April Visa Bulletin.  NVC sent email on March 20th that they have scheduled an April 4th Embassy interview.  After interview CEAC status shows F2A visa "Issued" on April 5th.  Paid $220 immigrant fee on April 5th towards USCIS green card case just opened that day. 

 

Everything here went smoothly for this CSPA protected child visa.

[Cathy0028 2]

Hi Juniper,

 

We have the same issue. I just created a request at AskNVC to change my visa category. My priority date is current as of this month, April 2019. However, I'm still worried if I could still get a visa since I just raised my concern at NVC that my visa category was changed to F24 when it supposedly F22. 

 

I'm hoping that I could still get the visa but for now, I'm hoping for NVC to fix the issue and manually enter the CSPA on my application..

Edited April 10, 2019 by Cathy0028

[Juniper 62]

1 hour ago, Cathy0028 said:

Hi Juniper,

 

We have the same issue. I just created a request at AskNVC to change my visa category. My priority date is current as of this month, April 2019. However, I'm still worried if I could still get a visa since I just raised my concern at NVC that my visa category was changed to F24 when it supposedly F22. 

 

I'm hoping that I could still get the visa but for now, I'm hoping for NVC to fix the issue and manually enter the CSPA on my application..

If your CSPA age is under 21 using the CSPA calculator as of April 1st (for F2A visa) ... and you have already made your DS-260 application ... then that April 1st CSPA age will be frozen for a year as you pursue the visa process ... for the F2A visa.

 

Now it's just a matter of getting NVC to give your case the CSPA protection for F2A.  Give the Ask NVC process a couple of days, you will get a response.  My response was that my Ask NVC email was being sent to another department for further consideration.  Then two weeks later CEAC status turned back to F2A.  Since your F2A visa is available, I hope they hop right on this.  So in a couple of days, please report back on your progress.

Edited April 10, 2019 by Juniper

[Rahim shaha 0]

Man,can I know what kind of documents you uploaded to CEAC for CSPA protection

[Juniper 62]

24 minutes ago, Rahim shaha said:

Man,can I know what kind of documents you uploaded to CEAC for CSPA protection

Very simply through CEAC upload and the Ask NVC email portal, I sent a request for CSPA protection based on the CSPA calculation.  In my case, back in November 2018, I estimated the the F2A visa would become current in April 2019 and that my beneficiary had the highest probability of his CSPA age to be under 21 years at visa availability.   NVC agreed with my request and changed CEAC status back to F2A (F22) after about two weeks.  When March 20, 2019 came with the April bulletin already released with my beneficiary visa indeed becoming available,  NVC sent us that they scheduled a US Embassy interview for April 4th.  Just show NVC the facts with the CSPA calculator and request CSPA protection for your case.

[Cathy0028 2]

16 hours ago, Juniper said:

If your CSPA age is under 21 using the CSPA calculator as of April 1st (for F2A visa) ... and you have already made your DS-260 application ... then that April 1st CSPA age will be frozen for a year as you pursue the visa process ... for the F2A visa.

 

Now it's just a matter of getting NVC to give your case the CSPA protection for F2A.  Give the Ask NVC process a couple of days, you will get a response.  My response was that my Ask NVC email was being sent to another department for further consideration.  Then two weeks later CEAC status turned back to F2A.  Since your F2A visa is available, I hope they hop right on this.  So in a couple of days, please report back on your progress.

Hi Juniper,

 

Thank you for your reply.

I'm hoping that they would really freeze my CSPA age within 1 year, because someone told us that I may be encounter the so called "age out" next month, (May 2019) that's why we are worried. 

 

But thanks for the information you shared. My worries have lessen 😉 I'll just be positive that NVC will send a reply to my email that the issue has been fixed sooner, so we could request to expedite my application. 

 

🥰🥰🥰

Edited April 11, 2019 by Cathy0028

[Juniper 62]

2 hours ago, Cathy0028 said:

Hi Juniper,

 

Thank you for your reply.

I'm hoping that they would really freeze my CSPA age within 1 year, because someone told us that I may be encounter the so called "age out" next month, (May 2019) that's why we are worried. 

 

But thanks for the information you shared. My worries have lessen 😉 I'll just be positive that NVC will send a reply to my email that the issue has been fixed sooner, so we could request to expedite my application. 

 

🥰🥰🥰

The Dept of State has a Foreign Affairs Manual "FAM" that routinely gets updated over the years.  Please google "lock-in CSPA age" your will find many attorneys' interpretation of the FAM regarding this subject.

 

Here is an example:

• Lock-in CSPA Age. To be effective, the child must “seek to acquire” permanent residence within one year of a visa becoming available.  This locks or freezes the child’s CSPA age if a visa is available at the tie these steps are taken and ensures that the child will not age out before the final adjudication of the immigrant visa or adjustment of status.

• How to Lock-in. Previously, the Foreign Affairs Manual (“FAM”) offered three primary ways to lock-in a child’s age.  9 FAM 42.42 N12.6 advised:
  • File Form DS-260, but allowed submission of Form DS-230, the form that preceded the online DS-260;
  • File Form I-824 if the principal applicant adjusted status in the U.S. and the derivative child seeks a visa to follow to join; or
  • File Form I-485 adjustment of status if both the principal applicant and the derivative child are in the U.S. and eligible to do so. Filing Form I-485 for the principal alone will not lock in the child’s age.
  • Guidance from the State Department also indicated that payment of the consular visa fee alone was sufficient (of course one can’t pay the fee, unless a Fee bill is issued and in many instances DOS would not issue a fee bill). The issuance of fee bills was random and unpredictable.

So, assuming you have already submitted your DS-260 because you are working with the NVC now, you have satisfied the "How to Lock-In" part by "seek to acquire" permanent residence.  If the beneficiary CSPA age is under 21 when F2A visa becomes available and you have filed DS-260, the child beneficiary's CSPA age freezes on the 1st day of the month that the F2A visa becomes available (giving you one year to complete the visa acquisition process).

[Cathy0028 2]

Hi Juniper,

I forgot to tell you that I have sent an email at ExpediteNVC@state.gov before I created an inquiry at AskNVC.
 

They replied:
 

"Good Day,

 

The National Visa Center (NVC) received your inquiry regarding the immigrant visa petition: MNL2019xxxxxx filed by PETITIONER'S name on behalf of Cathy0028.

 

You should submit non-expedite related general inquiries and updates to the NVC at https://secureforms.travel.state.gov/ask-nvc.php. Please include the following information on all correspondence to the NVC:

 

Name of the person submitting the inquiry

NVC case number or USCIS receipt number

Petitioner's name

Principal Applicant's name and date of birth"

 

 

I followed their instruction to create an inquiry at AskNVC, at the same time, I replied to their email.

 

I replied:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for replying.
We have sent an email to this department as we are looking forward to expedite the process of my application.

Name of Beneficiary: Cathy0028

Date of Birth: 00-00-00

Name of Petitioner: Anonymous

NVC Case Number: MNL2019xxxxxx

 

I, Cathy0028 was petitioned under the Philippines F2A quota and has a priority date of February 24, 2017.  The Philippines F2A quota is now up to March 1, 2017, and I am now eligible on the quota. Unfortunately, I am about to aged out on May 23, 2019 pursuant to the provisions of the Child Status Protection Act. This must need to see about expediting my interview at the U.S. consulate in Manila, Philippines.

I am just concerned because I checked the CEAC website, and it shows the Visa Category as F24 (unmarried children over 21 of lawful permanent residents) and indicates that due to numerical limitations on immigrant visa issuance, this petition is not eligible for further processing at this time.  Pursuant to the Child Status Protection Act, I should still be under the F22 Visa Category (unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents) until at least May 23, 2019 - as per our immigration lawyer.
 

We are requesting to expedite the processing of this case. Failure to do so will result in having to wait several more years in order to obtain my permanent resisidency.
 

 

 

And after 3 days of waiting, ExpediteNVC replied to my email TODAY:

 

"Good Day,

 

The National Visa Center (NVC) received your inquiry regarding the immigrant visa petition: MNL2019xxxxxx filed by (Petitioner's Name) on behalf of Cathy0028.

 

Your request for the expeditious processing of this immigrant visa petition is currently under review.  You will be informed of the results when the review is completed.

 

Case Number:                  MNL2019xxxxxx

Petitioner's Name:           Anonymous

Principal Applicant's Name:  Cathy0028

Preference Category:          F2B

Your Priority Date:           24Feb2017

Foreign State Chargeability:  PHILIPPINES
 

Is it possible that "your request for the expeditious processing of this immigrant visa petition is currently under review" is the reply that we are waiting for? For them to change the visa category and also to expedite my application? Like they are now really working to reslove the issue?
 

Please reply your thoughts. 🥰

[Juniper 62]

5 hours ago, Cathy0028 said:

Is it possible that "your request for the expeditious processing of this immigrant visa petition is currently under review" is the reply that we are waiting for? For them to change the visa category and also to expedite my application? Like they are now really working to reslove the issue?
 

Please reply your thoughts. 🥰

This email response from AskNVC is the email that is saying the correct department ar NVC is now considering CPSA protection for your case.

 

In my case, in about 2 weeks without any other email response, the CEAC status website visa class changed back to F22 (F2A). Then 3 weeks later got an email stating our case was "documentarily qualified" for F22 back in November 2018 before visa was available in April 2019.

 

 

"Like they are now really working to reslove the issue?"

YES, Congratulations !!!

Edited April 13, 2019 by Juniper

[Juniper 62]

17 minutes ago, Juniper said:

This email response from AskNVC is the email that is saying the correct department ar NVC is now considering CPSA protection for your case.

 

In my case, in about 2 weeks without any other email response, the CEAC status website visa class changed back to F22 (F2A). Then 3 weeks later got an email stating our case was "documentarily qualified" for F22 back in November 2018 before visa was available in April 2019.

 

 

"Like they are now really working to reslove the issue?"

YES, Congratulations !!!

Even though you got the actual email response back from ExpediteNVC, they asked you to make the non-expedite request through AskNVC (which you did do then), and that process through AskNVC to request for CSPA protection is your most important step to get your request to the correct department at NVC.

 

I am just trying to say that this is really not an "expediting of the visa process" because it is more like "getting NVC to do their job" process.  When NVC does their job to give you CSPA protection with a F22 CSPA Age Lock-In date of April 1st (because you filed the DS-260), then the visa process continues normally towards your case getting an Embassy interview scheduled. 

 

So the AskNVC email is how CSPA protection should be requested.

[Cathy0028 2]

Hi Juniper, 

 

I received an email from NVC saying that my case is under review for cspa applicability.

 

"Dear Sir/Madam:

 

This case is currently under review for applicability of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).  You will be notified once a decision is reached.  Please be advised that there is no timeframe for this process.  Please do not contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate General, as they will be unable to provide you with further information."

 

 

I don't know until when should I wait until they notify me. But our immigration lawyer mentioned that there's no other way for me to lock in my cspa age, not unless NVC will fix my CSPA age and apply it properly.

 

 

 

On 4/13/2019 at 10:44 PM, Juniper said:

This email response from AskNVC is the email that is saying the correct department ar NVC is now considering CPSA protection for your case.

 

In my case, in about 2 weeks without any other email response, the CEAC status website visa class changed back to F22 (F2A). Then 3 weeks later got an email stating our case was "documentarily qualified" for F22 back in November 2018 before visa was available in April 2019.

 

 

"Like they are now really working to reslove the issue?"

YES, Congratulations !!!

Thank you..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Juniper,

I forgot to tell you that I have sent an email at ExpediteNVC@state.gov before I created an inquiry at AskNVC.
 

They replied:
 

"Good Day,

 

The National Visa Center (NVC) received your inquiry regarding the immigrant visa petition: MNL2019xxxxxx filed by PETITIONER'S name on behalf of Cathy0028.

 

You should submit non-expedite related general inquiries and updates to the NVC at https://secureforms.travel.state.gov/ask-nvc.php. Please include the following information on all correspondence to the NVC:

 

Name of the person submitting the inquiry

NVC case number or USCIS receipt number

Petitioner's name

Principal Applicant's name and date of birth"

 

 

I followed their instruction to create an inquiry at AskNVC, at the same time, I replied to their email.

 

I replied:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for replying.
We have sent an email to this department as we are looking forward to expedite the process of my application.

Name of Beneficiary: Cathy0028

Date of Birth: 00-00-00

Name of Petitioner: Anonymous

NVC Case Number: MNL2019xxxxxx

 

I, Cathy0028 was petitioned under the Philippines F2A quota and has a priority date of February 24, 2017.  The Philippines F2A quota is now up to March 1, 2017, and I am now eligible on the quota. Unfortunately, I am about to aged out on May 23, 2019 pursuant to the provisions of the Child Status Protection Act. This must need to see about expediting my interview at the U.S. consulate in Manila, Philippines.

I am just concerned because I checked the CEAC website, and it shows the Visa Category as F24 (unmarried children over 21 of lawful permanent residents) and indicates that due to numerical limitations on immigrant visa issuance, this petition is not eligible for further processing at this time.  Pursuant to the Child Status Protection Act, I should still be under the F22 Visa Category (unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents) until at least May 23, 2019 - as per our immigration lawyer.
 

We are requesting to expedite the processing of this case. Failure to do so will result in having to wait several more years in order to obtain my permanent resisidency.
 

 

 

And after 3 days of waiting, ExpediteNVC replied to my email TODAY:

 

"Good Day,

 

The National Visa Center (NVC) received your inquiry regarding the immigrant visa petition: MNL2019xxxxxx filed by (Petitioner's Name) on behalf of Cathy0028.

 

Your request for the expeditious processing of this immigrant visa petition is currently under review.  You will be informed of the results when the review is completed.

 

Case Number:                  MNL2019xxxxxx

Petitioner's Name:           Anonymous

Principal Applicant's Name:  Cathy0028

Preference Category:          F2B

Your Priority Date:           24Feb2017

Foreign State Chargeability:  PHILIPPINES
 

Is it possible that "your request for the expeditious processing of this immigrant visa petition is currently under review" is the reply that we are waiting for? For them to change the visa category and also to expedite my application? Like they are now really working to reslove the issue?
 

Please reply your thoughts. 🥰

[Juniper 62]

5 hours ago, Cathy0028 said:

Hi Juniper, 

 

I received an email from NVC saying that my case is under review for cspa applicability.

This is great news.  Your case now goes to the correct NVC department to make the CSPA decision.  In the big picture, 2 to 3 weeks more waiting is a short time for immigration success.  Check the CEAC case status page for a change of visa class back to F22 (F2A).  I never got official email when they changed it in our case.  Just watched CEAC.  Whatever happens let us know.  Just relax because you have done what you need to do for CSPA protection for your case.

[Cathy0028 2]

Hi Juniper, 

 

I received an email from NVC saying

"The U.S. Embassy/Consulate General in MANILA, PHIL approved your request for expedited processing of your immigrant visa application. The National Visa Center sent your immigrant visa application to the U.S. Embassy/Consulate General in MANILA, PHIL for their action. The Embassy/Consulate General will contact you soon to schedule a visa interview.

If you have questions about your visa interview, please visit the U.S. Embassy/Consulate General's website at https://usembassy.gov.

Regards,
National Visa Center,
U.S. Department of State
http://nvc.state.gov/ask"

 

And the status at NVC everytime I am logging in that it is already "In Transit".

 

 

Now, I'm just waiting for the email they will send  regarding the appointment. But regarding with the CSPA protection, it is now back yo F22 Category. All thanks to you!!! You're such a great help! ❤️

 

Warm Regards,

Cathy

 

On 4/13/2019 at 10:44 PM, Juniper said:

This email response from AskNVC is the email that is saying the correct department ar NVC is now considering CPSA protection for your case.

 

In my case, in about 2 weeks without any other email response, the CEAC status website visa class changed back to F22 (F2A). Then 3 weeks later got an email stating our case was "documentarily qualified" for F22 back in November 2018 before visa was available in April 2019.

 

 

"Like they are now really working to reslove the issue?"

YES, Congratulations !!!

Thank you..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Juniper,

I forgot to tell you that I have sent an email at ExpediteNVC@state.gov before I created an inquiry at AskNVC.
 

They replied:
 

"Good Day,

 

The National Visa Center (NVC) received your inquiry regarding the immigrant visa petition: MNL2019xxxxxx filed by PETITIONER'S name on behalf of Cathy0028.

 

You should submit non-expedite related general inquiries and updates to the NVC at https://secureforms.travel.state.gov/ask-nvc.php. Please include the following information on all correspondence to the NVC:

 

Name of the person submitting the inquiry

NVC case number or USCIS receipt number

Petitioner's name

Principal Applicant's name and date of birth"

 

 

I followed their instruction to create an inquiry at AskNVC, at the same time, I replied to their email.

 

I replied:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for replying.
We have sent an email to this department as we are looking forward to expedite the process of my application.

Name of Beneficiary: Cathy0028

Date of Birth: 00-00-00

Name of Petitioner: Anonymous

NVC Case Number: MNL2019xxxxxx

 

I, Cathy0028 was petitioned under the Philippines F2A quota and has a priority date of February 24, 2017.  The Philippines F2A quota is now up to March 1, 2017, and I am now eligible on the quota. Unfortunately, I am about to aged out on May 23, 2019 pursuant to the provisions of the Child Status Protection Act. This must need to see about expediting my interview at the U.S. consulate in Manila, Philippines.

I am just concerned because I checked the CEAC website, and it shows the Visa Category as F24 (unmarried children over 21 of lawful permanent residents) and indicates that due to numerical limitations on immigrant visa issuance, this petition is not eligible for further processing at this time.  Pursuant to the Child Status Protection Act, I should still be under the F22 Visa Category (unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents) until at least May 23, 2019 - as per our immigration lawyer.
 

We are requesting to expedite the processing of this case. Failure to do so will result in having to wait several more years in order to obtain my permanent resisidency.
 

 

 

And after 3 days of waiting, ExpediteNVC replied to my email TODAY:

 

"Good Day,

 

The National Visa Center (NVC) received your inquiry regarding the immigrant visa petition: MNL2019xxxxxx filed by (Petitioner's Name) on behalf of Cathy0028.

 

Your request for the expeditious processing of this immigrant visa petition is currently under review.  You will be informed of the results when the review is completed.

 

Case Number:                  MNL2019xxxxxx

Petitioner's Name:           Anonymous

Principal Applicant's Name:  Cathy0028

Preference Category:          F2B

Your Priority Date:           24Feb2017

Foreign State Chargeability:  PHILIPPINES
 

Is it possible that "your request for the expeditious processing of this immigrant visa petition is currently under review" is the reply that we are waiting for? For them to change the visa category and also to expedite my application? Like they are now really working to reslove the issue?
 

Please reply your thoughts. 🥰