Calculating CSPA Age and Visa Conversion F2A to IR2

[aspirant12 0]

I'm trying to calculate my CSPA age and I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.

This is the formula for CSPA age (according to https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-a-chapter-7)

Age at time of visa availability - Pending Time = CSPA Age

When my i130 was filed, I was 20 years 11 months old. But during this time, the F2A visa category was Current according to the Final Action Dates chart in the Visa Bulletin and has been current so far. So is my "Age at time of visa availability" 20 years 11 months? 
My i130 is not approved yet. Also, my father naturalized 2 months after filing my i130 petition. During these months, the PD was still current. Is my CSPA age when my father naturalized under 21? If so, does my F2A convert to IR2?

Edited July 2, 2020 by orange2341

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

The short answer is that because F2A was (and so far still is) current, your CSPA age froze when your father filed. (The technical answer is that CSPA age is calculated when a visa is available, which is the later of either priority date being current or petition being approved. So you technically don’t have the answer yet ... except ... the calculation is approval date less priority date so it will automatically put you right back there - IF F2 is still current when it’s approved.)

 

I don’t actually know if you can “port” a CSPA age to a different category though, which is your second question. Maybe someone else knows. (Usually when you change categories you maintain the priority date - but  I don’t know if you can change to a different under 21 category because of CSPA after you have actually turned 21.)
 

When did your dad file?

[aspirant12 0]

7 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

The short answer is that because F2A was (and so far still is) current, your CSPA age froze when your father filed. (The technical answer is that CSPA age is calculated when a visa is available, which is the later of either priority date being current or petition being approved. So you technically don’t have the answer yet ... except ... the calculation is approval date less priority date so it will automatically put you right back there - IF F2 is still current when it’s approved.)

 

I don’t actually know if you can “port” a CSPA age to a different category though, which is your second question. Maybe someone else knows. (Usually when you change categories you maintain the priority date - but  I don’t know if you can change to a different under 21 category because of CSPA after you have actually turned 21.)
 

When did your dad file?

My dad filed on 16th Sept 2019, a few days before my 21st birthday. So what you're saying is, whether my CSPA age was locked in when my i130 was filed depends on if the F2A visa category is still current when my i130 is approved?

And if it is still current, would my CSPA age be calculated as 20 years 11 months - time taken for i130 approval? Suppose it takes 10 months to approve, would my CSPA adjusted age be 20 years 1 month?

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

6 minutes ago, aspirant12 said:

My dad filed on 16th Sept 2019, a few days before my 21st birthday. So what you're saying is, whether my CSPA age was locked in when my i130 was filed depends on if the F2A visa category is still current when my i130 is approved?

And if it is still current, would my CSPA age be calculated as 20 years 11 months - time taken for i130 approval? Suppose it takes 10 months to approve, would my CSPA adjusted age be 20 years 1 month?

1. Yes. Example (if I understand it correctly) if priority date has retrogressed to say June 2016 when your petition is approved, then you will still not have a visa available and have to wait for your priority date to be current for a visa to be available. Your CSPA age will then be calculated as [age when date priority date is current] less [time to approval]. Because your dad filed so late, you only have a few weeks (days?) to play with before aging out. 

 

2. No, it can never be less than what the chronological age at the time of filing was. Your example is double counting the CSPA advantage. If it takes ten months to approve, you subtract ten months from your actual age at that date to get your CSPA age. 
 

Now - it occurs to me we are talking about all this as though you are still F2A, but as your dad has become a citizen you’d have to actually apply to retain that. In the absence of any more knowledgeable folk coming along to talk about whether you can port to ir2 or would be F1, I’d suggest a brief legal consultation might be in order to figure out the most favorable path for you.