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ARTICLE · 06 SEPTEMBER 2023

USCIS Updates Policy Guidance On CSPA ‘Sought To Acquire' Requirement

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To benefit from the CSPA, noncitizens must seek to acquire lawful permanent resident status within 1 year of when an immigrant visa becomes available, USCIS noted.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on August 24, 2023, that it is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify how it will apply the extraordinary circumstances exception to the "sought to acquire" requirement under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) in light of a February 14, 2023, policy change updating when an immigrant visa becomes available for the purpose of calculating an applicant's CSPA age.

USCIS explained that the CSPA protects certain beneficiaries from losing their eligibility for immigrant visas and adjustment of status because they age during the immigration process and no longer qualify as a child for immigration purposes. To benefit from the CSPA, noncitizens must seek to acquire lawful permanent resident status within 1 year of when an immigrant visa becomes available, USCIS noted. The update:

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