US changes child age rules for green cards: Why Indian kids risk ‘ageing out’ of the process

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Securing a US Green Card is a dream for many, but that dream has just become harder to achieve for thousands, including Indians, after a policy change on how the United States calculates a child’s age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that from August 15, 2025, it will tighten the criteria for deciding whether a child can still qualify for a green card through their parent’s application. The change means hundreds of children will “age out”, losing their eligibility once they turn 21, even if their parent’s green card process is still underway.

What has changed?

On August 8, USCIS said, “We are updating the Policy Manual to clarify that a visa becomes available for the purposes of Child Status Protection Act age calculation based on the Final Action Dates chart of the Department of State Visa Bulletin. The new guidance applies to requests filed on or after August 15, 2025. We will apply the February 14, 2023, policy of CSPA age calculation to adjustment of status applications pending with USCIS before August 15, 2025.”

To put it in simple terms:

• Under the Biden administration in 2023, children’s ages could be “frozen” using the more generous ‘Dates for Filing’ chart, giving families more time to secure green cards for their children.
• Now, USCIS is reverting to the ‘Final Action Dates’ chart -- a less favourable measure that moves much more slowly, reducing the protection window and making it easier for children to lose eligibility.

Under US immigration law, a “child” is an unmarried person under 21 years old. If someone applies for a green card as a child but turns 21 before the application is approved, they “age out” and can no longer be classified as a child for immigration purposes. This often forces them to file a new application from scratch, wait years more for a green card, or lose eligibility entirely.

To address the problem, Congress passed the Child Status Protection Act in 2003, allowing certain applicants to keep “child” status beyond their 21st birthday by using a special age calculation formula.

Why Indians are most at risk

The change will hit Indians the hardest, as they already face the world’s longest waits for employment-based green cards. Indians make up 62% of the backlog, with over 1 million petitions pending in the EB-2 and EB-3 categories as of March 2023, according to the Cato Institute.

Research by David J. Bier of Cato found that 134,000 children in these families were already at risk of ageing out under the old rules -- a figure now expected to rise sharply.

Doug Rand, a Department of Homeland Security official during the Biden administration, warned: “It’s such a petty and obnoxious thing to do. Of course, the Trump administration is causing fear and heartbreak at a massive scale, across the immigration system, and this may seem like a small thing in the grand scheme.”

Immigration lawyer Sukanya Raman, country head of Davies & Associates, said panic was already spreading among Indian families: “This is going to be a challenge given that the final action date is often years behind the date for filing, and many will risk losing the eligibility for green card in the US. More children are at risk.”

What can families do now?

Immigration experts advise that children at risk of ageing out consider switching to a student visa (F-1) or another temporary status to stay in the US legally.

Families with the means could also explore investment-based EB-5 visas, which offer faster processing for those who can invest the required amount.

With the August 15 deadline approaching, a rush of filings is expected in the coming weeks as families try to secure eligibility under the old rules.