The CSPA provides a method to calculate and freeze the age of a child who is the beneficiary of a United States Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) at the time of the application.

CSPA also applies to the children of preference category visas such as F4 ( Sibling of a US citizen).

A child of a USC or LPR is defined as a son or daughter who is unmarried and under the age of 21 at the time of filing the I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. The definition of a child remains the same according to INA 101(b)(1). The CSPA does not change this.

A major question that arises is: what happens when the child ages out (turns 21) while the application is still pending? The CSPA provides a solution for the child of a USC and LPR.

Here is an example of how the CPSA helps the child of a USC: Jane is a USC who wants to petition for her child to come to the United States from their home country. When Jane files the I-130 petition, her child is 20 years old and unmarried; her child meets the minimum requirements for the petition. Unfortunately, Jane does not receive a decision on the petition until 2 years later when her child is now 22. It seems that her child is no longer eligible for a visa through Jane because she aged out.

With the CSPA, the age of Jane’s child will actually freeze at 20 years old for purposes of the immigrant visa application as long as the child remains unmarried. Even though her child is 22 by the time the visa becomes available, USCIS or Consulate will use her “CSPA age” of 20 for purposes of the application.

The CSPA also benefits the child of an LPR petitioner. Unlike USCIS, the CSPA provides a calculation method for LPRs before the child’s age is frozen. Here is the method:

1) Determine the child’s actual age at the time of visa availability according to the Visa Bulletin;
2) Determine how long the I-130 petition has been pending since filed;
3) Subtract the pending application time from the child’s actual age at the time of visa availability. To find the application pending time, subtract the filing date from the approval date.

The resulting age will be the CSPA age that USCIS will use for purposes of the application. Note that a child of an LPR has two additional requirements: (1) the child must remain unmarried through the immigration process including adjustment of status; (2) the child must seek to adjust status or seek to acquire a visa within 1 year of a visa becoming available (unless extraordinary circumstances exist).