[Music] welcome to US immigration TV today I will talk about the biggest mistake families make in cespa eligibility well the child status protection act or cespa provides age out protection for children who turn 21 years of age for minor children of US citizens or immediate relatives the formula and requirements are relatively simple and straightforward the US citizen parent has filed a petition before the child's 21st birthday sespa eligibility is completed on the date of filing now for all other family and employment-based petitions determining sespa eligibility can be confusing and complex with many children losing out
on sespa eligibility because the family messed up or missed some requirement or Deb line let's talk about eligibility for non-immediate relative petitions there is a two-step process for determining sespa eligibility number one calculate the child's age now this is done by subtracting the processing time of the operative petition from the date of filing until the date it's approved from the child's age when the prior date is finally current or the Visa is available not their age when the petition's filed for example if USCIS took one month to process and approved the petition all you can
subtract from the child's age is one month if the USCIS took four years to process the petition you can subtract 4 years from the child's age the second and most important step seek to acquire a Visa within one year this is where most families mess up resulting in the child losing sespa eligibility and having to be left behind even if the child's age is calculated to be under 21 if the family does not seek to acquire a Visa or pursue a visa on behalf of the child within one year of Visa availability then they miss
the deadline and the child is out of luck in other words once the priority date becomes current the child has one year in which to seek to acquire a visa to secure sespa eligibility now according to the foreign Affair manual or fam the Bible of the embassy there are several ways a child can seek to acquire a Visa within one year of availability or from when the priority date becomes current also and this is important you must be able to document eligibility in writing therefore if your Communications with the embassy or NVC is by email
or mail concerning the child For Heaven's Sake save the email save the letters the same with forms of payment and things like that document your written contacts versus saying you know I remember but I don't have any proof or I called them but I don't have my phone bills or I deleted all my emails showing contact the bottom line is that for sespa eligibility not only must the age be calculated to be under 21 but the family must also seek to acquire a Visa for the child within one year of when the priority date becomes
curent otherwise you've messed up sespa eligibility now if you have a child turning 21 years of age or your child was refused their visa because the embassy said they aged out and you believe they are sespa eligibility I would highly recommend that you consult with an attorney who can evaluate your situation and perhaps seek reconsideration of the refusal and get the visa issued now no guarantees of course but an attorney can evaluate eligibility and then put forth the proper proof and arguments to the Embassy or to the USCIS now I hope you have found this
video helpful and informative especially those of you who have children aging out so therefore make sure to like share and subscribe to this this channel because I will continue posting videos which I hope you find interesting and informative as well as helpful to you your family and friends I'm Michael gingle and thank you for watching US immigration TV [Music]
