USCIS Updates Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) Age Calculation Rules for I-485 Adjustment of Status Applications
- DeHeng Immigration
- Aug 29, 2023
- 2 min read
On August 24, 2023, USCIS announced a policy update that clarifies the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age calculation rules for I-485 adjustment of status applications, as previously issued on February 14, 2023. This update benefits families whose children have aged out under the Final Action Date (Chart A) but not under the Filing Date (Chart B).
Background
On February 14, 2023, USCIS announced a policy change regarding CSPA age calculation for I-485 adjustment of status applicants. Under this new policy, the determining factor for whether a child has "aged out" shifted from the Final Action Date (Chart A) to the Filing Date (Chart B). Following this change, many children who had previously been determined to have aged out may now have a chance to continue with their applications.
According to the February 14 policy, applicants' children must file their I-485 application within one year of the Filing Date (Chart B) becoming current in order to successfully "lock in" their age. However, before the August 24 update, most applicants had already determined that their children's ages did not meet the age-out requirement under Chart A, or by the time the February 14 policy was announced, they had already exceeded the one-year "seek to acquire" deadline for filing the I-485, and thus could not benefit from the Chart B-based age-out protection.
Key Highlights of the Update
The August 24 policy update provides clarification on the above situation. The August 24 policy designates the February 14, 2023 Chart B-based age-out policy itself as an "extraordinary circumstance." This means that this "extraordinary circumstance" can excuse applicants who, due to the policy change, were unable to complete the "seek to acquire" requirement within the one-year window.
Therefore, applicants whose children were previously calculated to have aged out under the prior CSPA rules may now be eligible for CSPA age-out protection under the new policy.
We recommend that applicants with questions about whether their children have aged out consult with qualified legal counsel for a case-specific assessment.