US tightens green card rules for children of immigrants: Here’s what it entails

A policy change by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will narrow eligibility for children to remain on their parent’s green card applications, affecting thousands of immigrant families — including many on H-1B visas.

From August 15, 2025, adjustment of status applications will be assessed under a stricter standard. Children turning 21 before approval will lose eligibility unless they qualify under a revised Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) calculation, an article by Business Standard reveals.

Stricter age assessment

Under the Biden administration’s February 2023 policy, USCIS applied the more generous “dates for filing” chart to determine if a child’s age could be frozen under the CSPA, giving families extra time. From August 15, the agency will revert to the “final action dates” chart — a less favourable benchmark that often shortens the protection window.

“The Immigration and Nationality Act defines a child as a person who is both unmarried and under 21 years old,” USCIS said in its announcement. “If someone applies for lawful permanent resident status as a child but turns 21 before being approved, that person can no longer be considered a child for immigration purposes. This is commonly referred to as ‘ageing out’.”

Congress created the CSPA in 2002 to address visa backlogs that caused children to lose eligibility before their case was decided. The law allows for a “CSPA age” calculation that can keep a child under 21 for immigration purposes even after their actual birthday, but only if they remain unmarried.

How the CSPA works

For employment-based green card cases, a child remains eligible only if:

• The I-140 petition is approved

• The I-485 adjustment of status application is filed

• The priority date is current

• The child is under 21 after subtracting the time the I-140 was pending

For example, if an I-140 was pending for one year, that period is deducted from the child’s age. The same rule applies to family-based I-130 petitions.

Potential Impact

“This means that some children, even with a filed I-485, could lose eligibility if they turn 21 before the final action date is current,” said Reddy Neumann, a US-based immigration attorney. “This change essentially reverts the policy to how it was before the more flexible approach in recent years.”

Neumann added, “Once a child’s age is locked in under CSPA, no further worry is needed. But for those not yet protected, timing is crucial. While it’s possible to file the I-485 with a pending I-140, the age lock-in only occurs when the I-140 is approved and the final action date is current.”

Doug Rand, a former Department of Homeland Security official who worked on the 2023 policy, called the change unnecessary.

“It’s such a petty and obnoxious thing to do. Of course, the Trump administration is causing fear and heartbreak at a massive scale, across the immigration system, and this may seem like a small thing in the grand scheme,” he said.

Legal advice eecommended

Attorneys may consider strategies such as adjusting premium processing timelines to maximise the pending period of an I-140, which can benefit age calculations.

“This is a case-by-case decision that should be carefully planned with legal advice,” said Neumann.

By Sabina Mammadli