What is Child Status Protection Act? Here’s why USCIS has rolled back Joe Biden-era policy

Trump administration reverses child protections for green card applicants

The previous administration, led by Joe Biden, had in February 2023 allowed children to get their age locked through the ‘Dates for Filing’ chart of the US State Department to remain eligible for a green card. This helped them avoid aging out before becoming eligible for a green card.

The latest changes to the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), announced on August 8, highlight a seismic alteration for children belonging to immigrant families that have H-1B visas, Newsweek reported.

Effective from August 15, 2025, the new rule by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will determine a child’s CSPA age based on the Final Action Dates chart from the Visa Bulletin only.

More than being a technical change to the visa calculations, the rollback might determine whether several thousand children, who are currently residing with their families across the US, can continue to stay in the country or be forced to leave.

Among the worst affected could be the families of H-1B visa holders, who are currently stuck in the green card backlog, as per a Newsweek report.

Most of the 200,000 children who remain at risk are from India and China. They now risk “aging out” as soon as they turn 21. This is the age when they lose dependent status.

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Those families who have submitted adjustment of status applications prior to August 15 will continue to remain protected by the February 2023 policy that allowed their children to rely on the “Dates for Filing” chart.

The Biden administration policy provided families valuable time as their children were allowed to remain eligible as dependents, even as they faced long visa backlogs.

Under the new policy, USCIS reverts to the Final Action Dates, which means that children’s eligibility will now be based solely on this.

CSPA: What does it mean?

Passed in 2002, this law was designed specifically to provide protection to families from bureaucratic delays. The aim behind it was to help children retain their eligibility even during the long periods of waiting from filing applications to getting it approved.

Also Read: ‘H-1B system is terrible… Green Cards to change,’ Lutnick says US plans major immigration shift

Under this, the ‘CSPA age’ of the applicant was determined after subtracting delays from the actual age.

FAQs

When did USCIS’ rollback on the Child Status Protection Act come into effect?

It became effective on August 15, 2025.

Which visa category remains affected due to it?

The policy change affects the legal status of children of H-1B visa holders.

What should immigrant families do?

They are advised to act fast and get their eligibility protected.