Brian S. Weiss Immigration Law Blog on Lawyers.com

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 by Brian S. Weiss

Back in 2002, former President Bush signed legislation to address the problem of minor children losing certain eligibilities for immigration benefits as a result of long processing delays by the immigration service. This legislation, known as the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), was enacted to keep families united by locking a child’s age to an age under 21, thus preserving their status as a "child" under our immigration laws.

Prior to the enactment of the CSPA, a child "aged-out" when he or she turned 21 years of age. Therefore, once a child turned 21, he or she lost the preferential treatment afforded to children in acquiring an immigrant visa or green card as the beneficiary of a petition under the Act. The CSPA provides relief to children who "age out" as a result of delays by the Service and the DOS in processing visa petitions and applications and helps keep families united by not subjecting these "aged-out" children to even longer delays in acquiring lawful status. The CSPA does not change the legal definition of a "child" under our immigration laws, but instead, in part, establishes a mathematical formula for determining the age of a child that is not based solely on his or her calendar age. This formula allows the amount of time a visa petition was pending to be subtracted from a child's age, but only if the child has "sought to acquire" LPR status within one year of visa availability.

Recently, our office was able to convince the immigration service that one of our clients benefited from the CSPA despite the USCIS' initial hesitation. Based on our knowledge of the complex CSPA law, we were able to acquire a green card for this individual. Needless to say, the family was more than delighted and they are planning a family reunion overseas in the near future.

At Garganigo, Goldsmith & Weiss you will find experienced NY immigration attorneys to represent your case. Call us today at (888) 321-9071

Posted at 17:25 PM

Topic: Immigration