USCIS Reverts CSPA Age‑Calculation Policy to Final Action Dates

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1. The Policy Change

On August 8, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a reversal of its February 14, 2023, CSPA guidance. The agency will now use only the Final Action Dates chart in the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin to determine when a visa becomes available for purposes of Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age calculation. This change goes into effect August 15, 2025, and affects adjustment-of-status applications and CSPA requests filed on or after that date. USCIS will continue to apply the February 2023 “Dates for Filing” policy for pending cases filed before August 15, 2025.

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2. What Does This Change Mean?

Previously, USCIS had permitted use of the Dates for Filing chart (Chart B) to trigger visa availability for CSPA calculations. Under that regime, children could “lock in” their CSPA age earlier, sometimes providing greater protection against aging out. Under the new policy, the visa availability date for CSPA will be the date when the Final Action Dates (Chart A) becomes current, minus the time the underlying immigrant petition was pending. That shift likely reduces the buffer period for many children who, under the old policy, might have qualified under the earlier “Dates for Filing” chart.

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3. Why the Change?

USCIS justifies the reversal as a step toward alignment and consistency between the agency and Department of State processes since both will now use the Final Action Dates chart for CSPA computations. Under the prior policy, USCIS’s use of “Dates for Filing” had diverged from how consular processing calculated eligibility. The 2025 change aims to restore uniformity. Critics argue the change undermines the protective purpose of the CSPA, especially for families from countries with long backlogs (e.g. India, China).

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4. When Did This Take Effect?

Effective date: August 15, 2025.
Applications or adjustment-of-status cases filed prior to August 15, 2025, will continue under the February 2023 Dates-for-Filing‑based interpretation.