Age Freeze

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) is a federal law that helps prevent children from "aging out" when they reach their 21st birthday. This is especially important for children who are seeking to get a green card through their parents' immigration status.

Under normal circumstances, children who are under 21 years old are considered "minors" and can be included in their parents' green card application. However, the process of getting a green card can take a long time, and if a child turns 21 while the application is still being processed, they are no longer considered a minor and are no longer eligible to be included in their parents' application. This is known as "aging out."

The CSPA aims to prevent this from happening by freezing the age of children when their parent's green card application is filed. This means that even if a child turns 21 while their parent's application is being processed, they will still be considered a minor and will be able to be included in the application.

To qualify for the CSPA age freeze, the child must be under 21 years old when their parent's green card application is filed and must be the child of a U.S. citizen or a green card holder. The CSPA applies to children who are seeking to get a green card through their parents, as well as to children who are seeking to get a green card on their own through a family-based immigration petition.

Overall, the CSPA is an important law that helps ensure that children are not left out of their parents' green card application due to the lengthy immigration process. It provides a much-needed protection for children and helps keep families together.