cspa letter to nvc cspa letter to nvc

The applicants underlying petition was pending for 6 months. [10], Certain Preference Applicants with No Adjustment Application Pending on the Effective Date. U.S. [^ 40] VAWA preference cases are subject to the sought to acquire requirement, but VAWA IRs are not. The DOS Visa Bulletin contains a clear warning to applicants to consult with the USCIS website for guidance on whether to use the Dates for Filing chart or Final Action Dates chart. Examples of extraordinary circumstances that may warrant a favorable exercise of discretion include, but are not limited to: Serious illness or mental or physical disability of the applicant during the 1-year period; Legal disability, such as instances where the adjustment applicant suffered from a mental impairment, during the 1-year period; Instances where a timely adjustment application was rejected by USCIS as improperly filed and was returned to the applicant for corrections where the deficiency was corrected and the application re-filed within a reasonable period thereafter; Death or serious illness or incapacity of the applicants attorney or legal representative or a member of the applicants immediate family; and. If we approve a request to transfer the underlying basis of the pending adjustment of status application, calculate the CSPA age using the approved petition that forms the new basis of the adjustment application. In order to benefit from CSPA as a family preference (including VAWA self-petition), employment-based preference, or DV applicant, you must seek to acquire lawful permanent resident status within 1 year of when a visa becoming available to you for filing an adjustment of status application. [^ 1] See Pub. If a continuous 1-year period of visa availability elapsed and the applicant did not seek to acquire during the 1-year period, the applicant cannot benefit from the age-out protections of the CSPA. See AFM 21.2(e) (PDF, 1.82 MB), The Child Status Protection Act of 2002. If you are an immediate relative, a VAWA self-petitioning abused spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, or a derivative child of a VAWA self-petitioning abused spouse or child of a U.S. citizen, your age is frozen on the date the Form I-130 or Form I-360 is filed. [^ 20] See Section C, Immediate Relatives [7 USCIS-PM A.7(C)], Section D, Derivative Asylees [7 USCIS-PM A.7(D)], and Section E, Derivative Refugees [7 USCIS-PM A.7(E)]. This also applies to circumstances when USCIS approves a request to transfer the underlying basis of a pending adjustment of status application to a different immigrant category based on another approved petition. Approval Date First, the date in the DOS Visa Bulletin for the prospective applicants country of chargeability and preference category may retrogress or move backwards. Fortunately, her PD is current that month too. [^ 15] See Part M, Asylee Adjustment, Chapter 2, Eligibility Requirements, Section C, Derivative Asylee Continues to be the Spouse or Child of the Principal Asylee [7 USCIS-PM M.2(C)]. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise [33] The date USCIS considers a visa available for accepting and processing an adjustment of status application according to the USCIS website and the Visa Bulletin is also the date USCIS considers a visa available for CSPA purposes if the petition is already approved. Instead, CSPA provides a method for calculating a persons age to see if they meet the definition of a child for immigration purposes. However, if the qualifying underlying form was approved prior to the effective date, an applicant who applies for adjustment of status after the effective date may still qualify for CSPA coverage. When your stepparent files a Form I-130 for you, you become an immediate relative who can use the CSPA when applying for a Green Card. The applicants CSPA age is calculated as follows: 21 years and 4 months - 6 months = 20 years and 10 months. The applicants age is frozen on the date of the refugee parents interview. Since October 2015, the Visa Bulletin has featured two charts per immigrant preference category: USCIS designates one of the two charts for use by applicants each month. Once a Processing Complete Letter has been issued, NVC "closes" the file and places it in a queue for future use. However, the derivative refugee may overcome this by providing evidence establishing the parent-child relationship, including evidence of the childs age, and a reasonable explanation as to why the derivative was not included on the principals Form I-590. You will be notified once a decision is reached. He said we need to write a letter to tell them why we believe. The following table outlines immigrant categories covered by CSPA, methods by which CSPA age is calculated, whether the sought to acquire requirement applies, and references to legal authorities and additional guidance. 3) Paid the fees and submitted all the forms. I suggest you gather up the relevant documents (particularly the I-130 receipt and I-130 approval notice) and get a lawyer to send a letter to the NVC that demonstrates your CSPA calculation, asserts your eligibility to stay in F2A and urges them to forward your case to the consulate for final processing. We approved the petition on Aug.1, 2016. [31] In other words, the pending time is the period of time between the start of the DV Program registration period to the date of the DV Selection Letter. The delay was reasonable under the circumstances. USCIS approved the petition on August 1, 2016. If you have a pending adjustment application as a derivative child, and we grant the principal applicants request to transfer the underlying basis of their adjustment application to a different immigrant category based on another approvedpetition, then the date we receive the transfer request is the date we use to determine whether you meet the sought to acquire requirement. [27] The formula for calculating CSPA age is as follows: Age at time of visa availability - Pending time = CSPA Age, While an applicant must file an adjustment application or otherwise seek lawful permanent resident status in order to benefit from CSPA, the date the applicant files an adjustment application is not relevant for the CSPA age calculation.[28]. Legal Authorities and Additional Guidance, CSPA age is frozen on the date the principal refugee parents Form I-590 is filed (the date of the parents interview with USCIS). [^ 46] If a derivative child has a pending adjustment application and USCIS approves the principal applicants request to transfer the underlying basis of their adjustment application to a different immigrant category based on another approved petition, then the date that the transfer request is received by USCIS is the date used to determine whether the derivative child met the sought to acquire requirement. One year later, in December 2021, a visa once again becomes available to the derivative child based on the Dates for Filing chart, which USCIS has designated for use in that month, and the derivative child files an application for adjustment of status. However, you must remain unmarried in order to qualify. It is meant to insure that sons and daughters can immigrate to the US together with their parents. Note: If an applicant has multiple approved petitions, calculate the applicants CSPA age using the petition that forms the underlying basis for the adjustment of status application. To benefit from the CSPA age determination, applicant must seek to acquire lawful permanent residence within 1 year of the visa becoming available. You must submit the correct filing fee for each form unless you are exempt or eligible for a fee waiver. The Child Status Protection Act, or CSPA, was enacted in 2002 in an effort to prevent certain children from aging out while they wait to immigrate on a family-based petition. Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur; Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2 of the USCIS Policy Manual, Form DS-260, Immigrant Visa Electronic Application, Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, Green Card for Fianc(e) of U.S. Citizen page, USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 7, Adjustment of Status, Part A, Adjustment of Status Policies and Procedures, Chapter 7, Child Status Protection Act. 3 USCIS-PM - Volume 3 - Humanitarian Protection and Parole, 4 USCIS-PM - Volume 4 - Refugees and Asylees. If you are a family preference (including VAWA self-petition), employment-based preference, or diversity visa (DV) applicant, calculate your CSPA age by subtracting the number of days your petition was pending (pending time) from your age on the date an immigrant visa becomes available to you (age at time of visa availability). 272, 362 (October 26, 2001). HOW TO RECAPTURE/RETAIN AND UTILIZE PRIORITY DATES 4 HOW TO RECAPTURE/RETAIN AND UTILIZE PRIORITY DATES | FEBRUARY 2022 [^ 31] For DVs, the qualifying petition is the DV Program electronic entry form. If your LPR parent filed a Form I-130 for you as his or her child and then your parent became a U.S. citizen before you turned 21, your age freezes on the date your parent became a citizen. This page was not helpful because the content: Chapter 9 - Death of Petitioner or Principal Beneficiary, Chapter 10 - Legal Analysis and Use of Discretion, Part I - Adjustment Based on Violence Against Women Act, Part J - Trafficking Victim-Based Adjustment, Part Q - Rescission of Lawful Permanent Residence, Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin, Age-Out Protections Afforded Battered Children Pursuant to The Child Status Protection Act and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, How to Use the USCIS Policy Manual Website, Appendix: 2020 Fee Rule Litigation Summary. [^ 41] See Chapter 3, Filing Instructions, Section B, Definition of Properly Filed [7 USCIS-PM A.3(B)]. For historical versions before June 11, 2021, navigate to the USCIS Policy Manual within the USCIS website at:https://archive.org, Select a date to view the historical version, An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, An official website of the United States government, Part R - Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Residence, POLICY ALERT - Age Calculation under Child Status Protection Act, POLICY ALERT - EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, Technical Update - Adding References to the EB-5 Visa Program in Child Status Protection Act Guidance, Technical Update - Replacing the Term Alien, POLICY ALERT - Age and Sought to Acquire Requirement under Child Status Protection Act, POLICY ALERT - Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements Final Rule, Technical Update - Moving the Adjudicators Field Manual Content into the USCIS Policy Manual, Technical Update - Replacing the Term Foreign National, Technical Update - Child Status Protection Act, POLICY ALERT - Child Status Protection Act, POLICY ALERT - Adjustment of Status Policies and Procedures and 245(a) Adjustment, To protect your privacy, please do not include any personal information in your feedback. For more information, see Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7, Part F, Section 2, of the USCIS Policy Manual. While K nonimmigrants are not covered under CSPA, K-2 and K-4 nonimmigrants may benefit from CSPA under certain limited circumstances. At that point, USCIS would calculate CSPA age based on the derivatives age on December 1, 2021 (not October 1, 2020). Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), to include how USCIS calculates age under certain contexts and what actions satisfy the sought to acquire requirement. Denials that were based on the failure to seek to acquire and issued prior to the decision in Matter of O. Vazquez[51] were proper based on the law in effect at the time of the decision. On June 1, 2021, the visa becomes available again to the prospective applicant. The historical versions are provided for research and reference purposes only. If the visa does not remain continuously available for accepting and processing the application, and becomes unavailable again, the period starts anew once the visa becomes available again. As mentioned in the assessment letter, applicants should bring any completed joint-sponsor . The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines a child as a person who is both unmarried and under 21 years old. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). However, in December 2020, USCIS designates the Final Action Dates chart for use by prospective applicants in the employment-based preference categories. Official websites use .gov 5 There are exceptions to this rule for VAWA self -petitioners, and qualifying self petitioning widow(er)s of U.S. citizens. In order for the immigrant visa to be considered available for CSPA purposes, two conditions must be met: The visa must be available for the immigrant preference category and priority date. U.S. Child of LPR (F2A) Becomes Child of a U.S. Citizen (Immediate Relative). Therefore, the applicants petition pending time is 6 months (or 182 days). However, USCIS may excuse the applicant from the requirement as an exercise of discretion if the applicant is able to establish that the failure to satisfy the sought to acquire requirement within 1 year was the result of extraordinary circumstances.[47]. In order to qualify as a stepchild, the marriage between your U.S. citizen stepparent and your K3 nonimmigrant parent must have occurred before your 18th birthday. While you must be unmarried to qualify for admission into the U.S. as a derivative refugee, you do not need to remain unmarried in order to qualify for a Green Card under INA section 209. [^ 7] See Section H, Summary of Child Status Protection Act Applicability [7 USCIS-PM A.7(H)] for a condensed guide to basic provisions for each category of CSPA-eligible immigrants. [^ 53] For more detailed guidance on CSPA applicability and VAWA, see INA 204(a)(1)(D)(i) and Age-Out Protections Afforded Battered Children Pursuant to The Child Status Protection Act and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (PDF, 104.96 KB), issued August 17, 2004. [^ 4] In addition to CSPA protections, VAWA self-petitioners and derivatives who turn 21 prior to adjusting status may be eligible for age-out protections provided in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTPVA) of 2000, Pub. The derivative child does not have an available visa based on the Final Action Dates chart in December 2020, and cannot apply during that month. and write this SAMPLE letter to the NVC when sending the documents. When considering a claim of extraordinary circumstances, the officer should weigh the totality of the circumstances and the connection between the circumstances presented and the failure to meet the sought to acquire requirement within the 1-year period, as well as the reasonableness of the delay. The priority date should not be used for purposes of determining CSPA eligibility. For more information on K-4 visas, see the K-3/K-4 Nonimmigrant Visas page. [^ 22] See INA 203(h)(1)(A). In order to warrant a favorable exercise of discretion, the circumstances must truly be extraordinary and beyond the adjustment applicants control.