USCIS scraps key child protection, leaves H-1B families at risk of separation

The USCIS has, in the meantime, defended the move, saying the Immigration and Nationality Act defines a child strictly as under 21.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in a sudden policy reversal, recently aborted a key protection for children of green card applicants, leaving thousands of families, especially Indian H-1B visa holders, staring at the face of uncertainty.

Effective August 15, 2025, the USCIS no longer allows dependent children to “lock in” their age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) using the more flexible Dates for Filing chart.

The eligibility will, instead, be determined only by the stricter Final Action Dates chart, which moves at a much slower pace in the visa backlog.

Notably, the latest shift dramatically increases the risk of children “aging out” when they turn 21, making them ineligible to remain in the green card process tied to their parents. Once they lose dependent status, they must either find a separate visa category, often with waits stretching decades, or leave the U.S.

Most importantly, Indian professionals on H-1B visas, who already face the longest employment-based green card backlogs, will be hit the most. Many of their children, known as “documented dreamers,” had been counting on the Biden-era policy introduced in February 2023, which gave them a realistic chance to stay in the system.

However, now, with the recent rollback, families could face forced separation despite decades of legal residence in the U.S.

The USCIS has, in the meantime, defended the move, saying the Immigration and Nationality Act defines a child strictly as under 21. While it has said applications filed before August 15 will be processed under the old rules, it has left the door open only to vague exceptions for “extraordinary circumstances.”

Immigration advocates have warned that the consequences will be devastating.

Many children who once hoped to transition smoothly to permanent residency will now face years, if not decades, of legal limbo.

“Because Final Action Dates are typically much later than Dates for Filing, far fewer applicants will qualify,” according to immigration services firm Boundless.

Unless Congress steps in with a legislative fix, thousands of young immigrants will likely be forced to either self-deport or live in the shadows after turning 21, despite their parents’ ongoing legal status.