Remember: Chart B Doesn’t Lock in Your Child’s CSPA Age
Key Takeaways
- It has been reported that on Aug. 8, 2025 USCIS rescinded a policy allowing CSPA ages to be locked using the Visa Bulletin “Dates for Filing” (Chart B).
- Going forward, only the Visa Bulletin “Final Action Dates” (Chart A) will be used to calculate a child’s age under the CSPA (Child Status Protection Act).
- The change affects family‑ and employment‑based cases with derivative children who relied on earlier Dates for Filing to submit adjustment applications.
- Families with pending I-485s (adjustment of status) or NVC/consular cases should review priority dates immediately and consult an immigration attorney about potential options.
What changed
It has been reported that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rescinded its prior practice of allowing a child’s CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) age to be fixed based on the Visa Bulletin’s Dates for Filing chart—commonly called Chart B. USCIS now says the only date that controls whether a visa is “available” for CSPA purposes is the Final Action Dates chart (Chart A), which determines when an immigrant visa can be finally issued. Chart B, which sometimes lets applicants file earlier, will no longer lock in a child’s age for CSPA calculations.
How CSPA age calculation works (brief)
The CSPA is intended to protect certain children from “aging out” (turning 21) while a parent’s immigrant petition is pending, by providing a formula that can subtract the petition’s pending time from the child’s biological age. Crucially, CSPA requires that a visa be available; USCIS now ties that availability to Chart A only. In practice, families who filed earlier because Chart B permitted filing may find the child’s CSPA age is calculated based on a later Chart A date, which can push many children past the protected age.
What this means for families and next steps
This is a practical and immediate risk to real families: children who thought they were protected under CSPA may now “age out,” lose derivative status, and face the longer process of starting their own petitions. Affected categories include family‑preference beneficiaries and derivatives of employment‑based petitions who used Dates for Filing to submit I-485s or to be processed through the National Visa Center (NVC). If you or your child are in this situation, check your priority date against the current Final Action Dates, gather filing records showing submission and receipt dates, and consult an immigration lawyer to explore strategies (for example, whether any previously filed forms qualify as “properly filed” under other rules, or whether alternative relief is available). Timely legal advice is essential because these issues can require quick steps and, in some cases, administrative or court remedies.
Source: Original Article