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CSPA allows children who turn 21 years old after an asylum application is filed but prior to adjudication to continue to be classified as children and remain eligible for derivative asylum status and adjustment of status.

In order to benefit from CSPA as a family preference (including VAWA self-petition), employment-based preference, or DV applicant, you must seek to acquire lawful permanent resident status within 1 year of when a visa becoming available to you for filing an adjustment of status application.

The CSPA amends the Immigration and Nationality Act by permitting an applicant for certain benefits to retain classification as a “child” under the Act, even if they have reached the age of 21.

In its February 2023 guidance, USCIS finally adopted this recommendation, acknowledging that “the same applicant for adjustment of status could have a visa 'immediately available' for purposes of filing the application but not have a visa “become available” for purposes of CSPA calculation”, and stating that “USCIS has ...

If the calculated “CSPA age” is under 21, then even though the person's biological age is over 21, they will still be able to immigrate as if they are under 21. In order to use a CSPA age, they must also “seek to acquire” within one year (see below for more on the “seek to acquire” requirement).

The CSPA also covers the children of Legal Permanent Residents (LPR), and the children of the aliens who are in the process of filing immigration petitions.

The CSPA was passed to address this problem by offering a way to “freeze” a child's age for immigration purposes and maintain the child's eligibility for a green card, even if they turned 21 while their application was being processed. As a result, families are kept together and kids have a better road to citizenship.