According to U.S. immigration law, unmarried children under the age of 21 can apply for a U.S. green card with their parents who have submitted a U.S. immigration application, while children over this age cannot apply for a green card with their parents.
The issue of U.S. immigration lock-in is crucial due to the U.S. immigration backlog
Because of the large number of U.S. immigration applications, most of the application programs have a backlog, and in the process of waiting for a long waiting period, some children over the age of 21 may not be able to apply for a green card with their parents. Therefore, it is important for families with children to understand the U.S. immigration age lock policy in advance and clarify the age lock rules.
U.S. legal protections for child age locks
In order to protect children who cannot apply with their parents due to "overage", a law (CSPA) was issued on August 6, 2002, which has two important provisions: the waiting time incurred during the approval period can be deducted when calculating the child's age.
How to calculate the age of a child according to the requirements of CSPA in the United States?
Lock-in age formula: CSPA age = age at the time of visa availability - immigration processing waiting time
Here, the wait time for immigration processing, depending on the program, refers to the processing time of immigrant petitions** such as I-140, I-526, I-130, etc. The time of visa availability is a variable, in the case of immigration projects without a priority date, that is, the day when the immigration application is approved, and in the case of immigration projects with a priority date, it is the first day of the month that covers the priority date according to the schedule A or Table B (if open).
For example, if Ms. C filed an EB1A I-140 petition on May 15, 2022, and it was approved on June 21, 2022, then the child's age is locked in at the age of the visa availability date (June 21, 2022) - the immigration petition (I-140) processing time, which is the day the EB1A I-140 petition is filed.
As for how to calculate the priority date, it is necessary to wait until the age of the priority date covered by the priority date of the applicant in Form A or Table B (if open), and subtract the processing time of the immigration application.
How to lock in the age?What do I do to be considered aged?
Applicants need to submit their green card application within one year of their priority date, and as long as they submit their green card application, they will be recognized as CSPA lock age. If the green card application is filed beyond the one-year range, the child's age is no longer covered by CSPA. It is also important to note that the child must remain unmarried while waiting.