CSPA Age Calculator | Visafig Official Figures
A child who turns 21 before a visa is available can lose derivative status overnight. This cspa calculator applies the real CSPA formula — age at petition filing plus the time the petition was pending — to show the frozen age the government actually compares to 21. It also runs a reverse view: the latest visa-availability date that keeps your child protected, using the August 2026employment cutoff or any date you choose. It is the number families with retrogressed priority dates most need to see.
Photo: Vitolda Klein via UnsplashEnter the birth, petition filing, and approval dates. CSPA freezes the child’s age at approval — this calculator shows whether they stay under 21 when a visa becomes available.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)?
CSPA (INA §203(h)) prevents a child from 'aging out' of derivative status solely because of government processing delays. It freezes the child's age at the moment the underlying petition is approved, using a simple formula rather than the child's literal birth date.
What is the CSPA formula?
CSPA age = age at the time the petition is filed + the time the petition was pending (approval date minus filing date). That frozen number is what gets compared to 21, not the child's actual age on the visa-availability date.
What does 'aging out' mean?
A 'child' for immigration purposes must be under 21 and unmarried. Without CSPA protection, a derivative child who turns 21 before a visa is available loses derivative status and drops out of the parent's petition, often facing a years-long new wait.
What is the sought-to-acquire 1-year rule?
Even with a CSPA age under 21, the child must seek to acquire the immigrant visa within one year of a visa number becoming available (by filing the adjustment or consular application). Missing that window forfeits the protection regardless of the frozen age.
What is the visa availability date?
It is the date a visa number becomes available — when the category is Current, or when the priority date reaches the Final Action Date cutoff in the Visa Bulletin. This calculator lets you enter that date or pull the latest {LATEST_LABEL} employment cutoff.
Why does petition pending time matter so much?
Because pending time is subtracted from the child's age. A petition stuck pending for two years effectively makes the child two years 'younger' under CSPA. Filing early and approval delays both shape whether the child stays under 21.
Does CSPA work the same for EB and family cases?
The age-freeze formula is the same, but the relevant petition and cutoff differ. Employment derivatives use the I-140 and the EB Final Action Dates; family derivatives use the I-130 and the family cutoffs (F1–F4). This tool pulls the latest EB cutoff for convenience.
What about derivative children on the same petition?
Each derivative child is evaluated individually under CSPA — siblings on one petition can land on opposite sides of 21 depending on their birth dates and the same pending time. Run the calculator for every child, not just the oldest.
Can recapture or other delays help?
Only the petition's own pending time counts in the formula; the clock is approval minus filing. Long consular or adjustment delays after approval do not further reduce the CSPA age, which is why acting within the 1-year sought-to-acquire window matters.
What is the key planning tip?
File the petition as early as possible and watch the visa-availability date closely. The reverse view here shows the latest date a visa must open for the child to stay protected — pair it with the 1-year sought-to-acquire deadline and confirm with an attorney.