CSPA Age-Out Calculator for Immigrant Visa Children

How to do it

1. 1
   Enter the child's birth date

   Use the date on the birth certificate.

2. 2
   Enter the petition dates

   Add the date the petition was filed and the date it was approved.

3. 3
   Enter the date the visa became available

   Use the date the priority date became current on the relevant chart.

4. 4
   Add the date you applied

   If you already applied for permanent residence, enter the date to check the one-year rule.

5. 5
   Read the CSPA age

   See the age, the margin below 21 and the deadline to apply.

About this tool

A child who turns 21 before receiving a green card can lose "child" status and may have to wait much longer. The Child Status Protection Act can protect some children by subtracting from their age the time the petition was pending. This calculator takes the child's birth date, the date the petition was filed, the date it was approved and the date an immigrant visa became available, computes the CSPA age and shows whether it is under 21, together with the date by which the child must apply for permanent residence to keep the protection. It is a date and age tool and does not decide any case.

Who this is for Families waiting for a visa number, attorneys and caseworkers who estimate options, and young adults who wonder how close they are to the age limit. The result is for planning and for preparing questions for a lawyer.

How the CSPA age is calculated The CSPA age is the child's age on the date a visa number becomes available (the date the priority date becomes current under the visa bulletin, or the date the petition is approved if later), reduced by the number of days the petition was pending, from the filing date to the approval date. If the result is under 21, the child is treated as a child for the case. Age is counted in days, then converted into years.

The one-year rule To keep the protection, the child generally must seek to acquire permanent residence within one year of the visa becoming available, by filing the adjustment application or by taking the consular steps. The tool shows that deadline and, if you enter the date you applied, whether you were in time.

Which categories use which date For immediate relatives of US citizens, the age is fixed at the date the petition was filed. For family and employment preference categories the visa availability date matters, and for a few categories the age-out rules differ. Check the chart that applies to your case with an attorney, because USCIS and the State Department can use different charts.

Worked example A child born on February 1, 2008, in a family case with a visa available on September 1, 2024, is 16.6 years old. The petition was pending from March 5, 2019 to June 20, 2021, 838 days or 2.29 years. The CSPA age is about 14.3, well under 21, so the child remains protected if the family applies within a year of September 1, 2024.

Limits Immigration rules and charts change, and some cases have special rules. This tool provides an estimate for discussion with an immigration attorney or accredited representative. It does not predict outcomes.

Worked example

A child born on February 1, 2008 with a visa available on September 1, 2024 and a petition pending for 838 days has a CSPA age of about 14.3, under the limit of 21.