How Does CSPA Apply to F-3 and F-4 Preference Category Derivative Children?

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How does CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) Apply to Derivative Child of F-3 and F-4 Immigrant Visa Preference Categories?

Hi
I’m Immigration Attorney John Khosravi
Today I want to briefly discuss
The Child Status Protection Act or C-S-P-A
also known as CSPA
and how it affects people
in the F-3 or F-4 Categories
If you are in the F-3 Category
meaning the grandchild of a U.S. Citizen
who’s going to get their Green Card through their parents
or in the F-4 Category
when you are a niece or nephew of a U.S. Citizen
about to get a Green Card through your parents
if you “age out”, meaning go above the age of 21
you won’t be able to get the Green Card with them
However, they created the CSPA or Child Status Protection Act
so they could lower your age based on how long
the processing of the initial I-130 Petition took
so potentially your age could go under 21

For example, if the I-130 Petition was pending for 3 years
and the child is 22 by the time Green Card processing is ready
if you subtract the 3 years Application pending time
the age will be under 21
and they can adjust status
or get an Immigrant Visa with their parents
However, if they are 26
and you subtract the 3 years from their age
they are above the age of 21
and they can no longer come within their Parents’ Petition
In those kinds of cases, once the parent gets the Green Card
they have to file a new Petition for their children

Now there was a Court case in the early 2010s
that restricted the CSPA or Child Status Protection Act
to limit certain benefits that it had
for people that are in the F-3 or F-4 Categories
However, this did not limit the ability to subtract
the processing time for the initial I-130
from the age of the derivative children
to see if they fall under the 21-year-old threshold
This is really important to know
because a lot of people unfortunately
are not aware of this opportunity
and lose the ability to get their Green Card