USCIS Reverts CSPA Rule: What Green Card Applicants Should Know Now

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has rolled back a key protection for young people waiting for green cards, restoring a stricter policy that could push more children over the age limit and out of eligibility. Effective August 15, 2025, USCIS will again use the Department of State’s Final Action Dates chart to decide when a visa is “available” for Child Status Protection Act age calculations. This reverses the more generous approach the agency adopted on February 14, 2023, when it began using the Dates for Filing chart to help more children avoid “aging out” by turning 21 during the long wait.

The change applies to all adjustment of status applications filed on or after August 15, 2025 in the United States 🇺🇸. Families that filed before that date will remain under the 2023 policy, which allowed the more favorable chart to count for age protection. USCIS announced the shift on August 8, 2025, saying the step was needed to achieve consistency with the Department of State’s approach in the monthly Visa Bulletin. For families with children close to 21, the timing is critical: many have spent years watching the Visa Bulletin, counting on the Dates for Filing chart to lock in their child’s eligibility. That option is now gone for new filings.

What the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) does

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) is intended to let certain children keep their “child” classification for immigration purposes even as the calendar advances. Long backlogs in family- and employment-based categories can take years, and without CSPA a child who turns 21 before a green card is issued can lose eligibility as a derivative and be forced onto a separate, often slower, path.

Between February 14, 2023, and August 14, 2025, USCIS used the Dates for Filing chart—which often lists earlier cut-off dates than the Final Action Dates chart—to give more children a chance to “lock in” a protected age. The Department of State never adopted that expanded approach; its National Visa Center and consulates continued to follow the Final Action Dates chart, creating confusion and uneven outcomes between adjustment-in-the-U.S. cases and consular processing abroad.

With the reversal, USCIS says it is restoring a single, uniform rule: the State Department’s chart will now control when a visa is considered available for CSPA age calculations, both for consular cases and for adjustment cases inside the United States.

Policy changes overview (at-a-glance)

• Effective date: August 15, 2025, for adjustment of status filings made on or after that date.
• Chart used for CSPA: USCIS will use the Final Action Dates chart (Chart A) from the Visa Bulletin to determine visa availability for CSPA age calculation.
• Grandfathering: Applications filed between February 14, 2023, and August 14, 2025, remain under the more generous 2023 policy that looked to the Dates for Filing chart.
• Extraordinary circumstances exception: If a child qualified under the 2023 policy but could not apply within one year due to extraordinary circumstances, they may ask USCIS to apply the older calculation and must submit proof.
• Dates for Filing no longer locks age for new filings: The Dates for Filing chart can no longer be used to fix the child’s age for new filings; it may still guide when USCIS accepts filings if the agency announces it will honor that chart for filing logistics, but not for CSPA age calculations.
• Alignment with the Department of State: The reversion eliminates the inconsistency between USCIS and the State Department by using the same measure of visa availability.

Important: For new adjustment filings on or after August 15, 2025, only the Final Action Dates chart determines when a visa is “available” for CSPA age calculation.

Why this matters in practice

Under the 2023 policy, a priority date that was current on the Dates for Filing chart often allowed a family to file earlier and claim that earlier moment for age protection. The Final Action Dates chart is stricter: it signals when a green card may actually be issued, not just when a case can be prepared and filed. Measuring availability at that later point can push some children past their 21st birthday and cause them to lose derivative status.

The risk is greatest in categories with heavy backlogs. Applicants from countries with deep demand can wait years between the Dates for Filing chart becoming current and the Final Action Dates chart catching up. That gap is where children can age out. Attorneys emphasize that this is a daily reality for families who have done everything right but cannot control Visa Bulletin movement.

Immediate impact on applicants

• Fewer children will qualify as derivatives in new adjustment filings when a priority date is only current on the Dates for Filing chart.
• Families who filed before August 15, 2025 keep the 2023 benefit—those filings are not undone.
• If a child was locked in under the earlier policy, that protection remains for the earlier filing.
• For new cases, children who would have been protected under the Dates for Filing approach may now age out under the Final Action Dates approach.

USCIS noted an exception for extraordinary circumstances: if a child became eligible under the 2023 policy but could not file within one year, families may present proof and ask USCIS to apply the older calculation. The agency did not list exhaustive examples, and the standard is expected to be narrow.

Concurrent procedural changes that increase risk

• USCIS has tightened handling of incomplete filings: officers may deny family-based petitions outright without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) for smaller mistakes.
• A pending petition no longer confers lawful status by itself; applicants who are out of status may receive Notices to Appear (NTA) in immigration court even while their cases are pending.

This combination—stricter CSPA timing plus stricter filing review—raises pressure on families to submit clean, complete, and timely filings.

Practical guidance — steps to follow now

1. Confirm your filing date.
   • If your adjustment application was filed before August 15, 2025, you remain under the 2023 policy.
   • Filings on or after August 15, 2025 use the Final Action Dates chart for CSPA.
2. For new filings, use the Final Action Dates chart to judge visa availability for the child’s CSPA age calculation.

3. If the child’s calculated CSPA age is 21 or older under the new method, the child may have aged out and lost derivative eligibility.

4. If you missed the one-year filing period under the 2023 policy due to extraordinary circumstances, gather proof (medical records, school records, etc.) and ask USCIS to apply the older method.

5. If your child is close to 21 and you can still file before August 15, 2025, do so quickly and completely to lock in eligibility under the previous policy.

6. Because USCIS may deny filings for minor mistakes, double-check every page, signature, filing fee, and supporting record to avoid a denial that could trigger an NTA.

Tips for planning and recordkeeping

• Keep a single, organized folder (paper and digital) with all case records.
• Note priority dates, birthdays, and filing windows in a shared calendar.
• Check the Visa Bulletin on the same day every month and watch movements on the Final Action Dates chart.
• If relying on the extraordinary-circumstances path, build a clear paper trail: medical, school, or other documentary proof showing why filing did not occur within the one-year window.
• Consider retaining counsel early to reduce filing errors and to map contingency plans.

Employer considerations

• HR teams and company counsel should monitor the Final Action Dates chart closely for employees with college-age dependents.
• Employers may need to adjust start dates, transfer plans, or offer legal support to minimize the risk that a dependent loses derivative status.
• Global mobility planning should factor in added timing pressure from the new rule.

Agency guidance and resources

USCIS has updated its Policy Manual with guidance on calculating a child’s age under CSPA and applying the extraordinary circumstances exception. See the USCIS manual here: USCIS Policy Manual: Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7.

USCIS’s reversal was announced on August 8, 2025 in this alert: USCIS Newsroom: CSPA Policy Update.

For monthly cut-off dates, consult the State Department’s Visa Bulletin (contains both the Final Action Dates chart and the Dates for Filing chart): Department of State: Visa Bulletin.

Key takeaways

• For new adjustment filings on or after August 15, 2025, the Final Action Dates chart controls CSPA age calculations.
• Filings before that date remain under the 2023 approach using the Dates for Filing chart.
• An extraordinary-circumstances exception exists but is narrow and requires solid proof.
• Stricter filing reviews and immigration court risks make completeness and timing essential.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, the best actions families can take are to act early, file complete cases, and track the Visa Bulletin every month—especially if a child is within a year of turning 21. While alignment between USCIS and the State Department reduces conflicting outcomes, it increases the likelihood that children in slow-moving categories will lose derivative status unless families plan around the Final Action Dates chart from the start.

If you need the official guidance, begin with the USCIS manual update: USCIS Policy Manual: Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 7. Read the agency’s alert here: USCIS Newsroom: CSPA Policy Update. For the latest cut-off dates consult the State Department’s tables: Department of State: Visa Bulletin.

Behind the charts are real lives. Parents and children should focus on what they can control: timing, completeness, and documenting extraordinary circumstances if relevant. The rule now is clear and strict: for new filings, the Final Action Dates chart decides when a visa is available for CSPA.