US rule change could leave H1-B kids without green cards: Here’s why Indians are concerned

Scores of Indian families in the United States are scrambling to secure their children’s immigration status after the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a policy change that could leave many ageing out of green card eligibility.

The update, effective August 15, changes how children’s ages are calculated under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), a law meant to shield minors from losing green card eligibility because of long visa wait times.

Until now, under guidelines issued in 2023, USCIS used the “date for filing” in the State Department’s Visa Bulletin to lock in a child’s age, giving them more protection against massive backlogs.

The new rule instead uses the “final action date”, the cut-off date when a green card is actually available, for age calculations.

The CSPA, enacted by Congress to protect certain children from losing eligibility for green cards after turning 21, allows applicants to freeze their age based on when a visa number becomes available.

"This establishes a consistent CSPA age calculation for aliens who apply for adjustment of status and immigrant visas," USCIS said in a statement.

The agency argued that the earlier policy resulted in inconsistent treatment of aliens who applied for adjustment of status in the United States versus aliens outside the United States who applied for an immigrant visa with the Department of State.

Those who already filed under the old guidelines will be protected, but families applying on or after August 15 will face the new calculation. That could push many children past their 21st birthday before a green card becomes available, making them ineligible under their parents’ applications.

USCIS also clarified that applicants can meet the “sought to acquire” requirement by showing extraordinary circumstances if they miss the one-year filing deadline.

Those who can demonstrate such circumstances for the period before August 15, 2025, will have their age calculated under the 2023 policy.

Immigration attorneys warn the shift could significantly affect Indians, who face some of the longest employment-based green card waits.

Sukanya Raman, country head of Davies & Associates, an immigration firm, said she is seeing panic slowly set in among Indian immigrants in the US, reported The Economic Times. “More children are at risk,” ET quoted Raman as saying.