The Biden administration has announced a policy manual update for the purpose of calculating a non-citizen’s age in certain situations under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), a move seen as a small but important step in addressing the issues of the aged-out children, a large number of whom are Indians, who came to the US legally with their parents.
The Biden administration’s recent move to allow certain applicants to submit their visa applications without an in-person interview has been seen as an important step in addressing the issues of aged-out children who came to the US legally with their parents.
Under the current U.S. immigration laws, children who are under the age of 21 are generally eligible to immigrate to the U.S. with their parents. However, if the child turns 21 before the completion of the immigration process, they become ineligible and must apply for their own visa.
This situation, commonly known as “aging out”, has been a major issue for many Indian families, who have been waiting for years to obtain their visas. In some cases, children who have aged out have been forced to return to India, while their parents remain in the U.S.
The new policy announced by the Biden administration is expected to benefit aged-out children by making it easier for them to obtain their own visas. Under the policy, eligible applicants will be able to submit their visa applications by mail or courier, and will not need to attend an in-person interview at the U.S. Consulate.
This move is expected to be particularly beneficial for Indian applicants, who often face long wait times and significant travel expenses in order to attend a visa interview at the U.S. Consulate. With the new policy in place, aged-out children will be able to submit their visa applications without having to travel to the Consulate, which will save them time and money.
“The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has officially made one of our long-requested policy changes. The USCIS will use the dates for the filing chart to determine CSPA age and any previously denied petition can be reopened,” said Dip Patel, from the improvethedream.org, which has been leading such an effort on behalf of aged-out children numbering over 200,000.
In addition to the new policy, the Biden administration has also taken steps to address the issues of aged-out children in other ways. For example, the administration has proposed legislation that would allow aged-out children to retain their priority date from their original visa application, which could significantly reduce their wait time for a new visa.
Overall, the Biden administration’s move to allow certain applicants to submit their visa applications without an in-person interview is seen as an important step in addressing the issues of aged-out children who came to the U.S. legally with their parents. The move is expected to benefit Indian families, who have been waiting for years to obtain their visas, and could help to reunite families who have been separated due to the aging out issue.
