In many parts of the US including Columbus, Ohio and Michigan, Refugees and Asylees struggle to find a new life and to forget their troubled past. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) offers much needed assistance to them. As we discussed in prior blogs, the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) prevents certain foreign national children from losing their preferential immigration benefits due to "aging out" at 21 years old. The asylum and refugee provisions of the CSPA are especially vital in helping to keep families together. Sections 3 and 4 of the CSPA provide special assistance to the unmarried children of asylees and refugees whether accompanying or following-to-join their parent. The CSPA allows the children of asylees and refugees to maintain their child status and, thus, their eligibility for derivative status even after reaching the age of 21 years old.
For the most part, so long as the child of the asylee or refugee was under the age of 21 when their parent applied for asylum or refugee status, they will be eligible for derivative benefits even after attaining the age of 21 years old. To qualify as a child included on an asylum or refugee application, the aging out child must be listed on Form I-589 or Form I-590, respectively, prior to a final determination on the application. Indeed, a parent can add a child of any age to their asylum application before it is adjudicated, and the child will be entitled to derivative benefits so long as the application was originally filed while the child was under 21 years of age.
The asylum and refugee provisions of the Child Status Protection ACT (CSPA), also apply to children whose parents did not include them on their asylum or refugee application. If the asylee or refugee did not include their child on their application, the aging out child may obtain derivative status if their parent filed Form I-730 within two years of being granted asylum or refugee status. If Form I-730 was pending at the time the CSPA was enacted, a child who aged out would still be eligible for derivative status if the I-730 petition was originally filed before the child turned 21 years old. The USCIS even considers an approved I-730 application to be pending if the U.S. Embassy or Consulate has not issued travel documents. Asylees and refugees, by definition, have experienced extremely difficult circumstances in their lifetime, but they can be encouraged by the fact that laws exist to help keep their family together.
