Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Get in line. then wait 30 more years

My parents filed a family petition, in which my Aunt, the sister of my father, and a US citizen was sponsoring my father. My mother is being petitioned by her brother. Both included me and Gina in the petition as derivatives. this was in 2001. I was 19. Gina 13. We recently were told that the application would probably be done in 3-4 years. maybe sooner.

Which means it took, 12 years to process. which means Gina and I turned 21. in 2002 the Child Status Protection Act was passed. Here's some info on it:

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) was signed into law on August 6, 2002. CSPA was enacted to address the problem of minor children losing their eligibility for immigration benefits because they had aged-out or turned 21 years old as a result of processing delays on the part of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or the Department of State. US embassy


There had been on ongoing Class action lawsuit, stating that the government was not following the CSPA laws by maintaining my application age of 19.

Today, I got this news:

A federal judge has ruled that adult children who turn 21 while waiting for family-sponsored green cards have to wait anew once they "age out" of their parents' applications.

U.S. District Judge James Selna ruled in Los Angeles against a group of immigrants with green cards who sued the federal government, arguing a 2002 law means grown children should be allowed into the country when their parents file new paperwork on their behalf.

Friday's final ruling means the plaintiffs' children who became adults while waiting for processing must start the application process from the beginning. - Washington Post


So. My parents got in the famous line. My sister and I got in line with them. The government took 12 years to process our applications. We passed the golden age of 21. And now we find out that, nope. Get in the BACK of the line again, and wait. wait for another 13, heck 18, no 20 years.

Thanks for the ruling.


2 comments:

  1. It sucks I know. My family started the process under family unity in 1990. I was nine. I got my residency in 2001. Was able to apply for citizenship in 2006. Got it in 2007. My brother who is two years older was almost aged out of family unity but we were advised to petition for an extension to our applications. Thankfully that kept him in the process. He received his residency in 2007. He was 28. Everyday I wake up and realize my family had "all our stars aligned" for it all to work out that way..... but then I just thank God it did.... no questions asked. Suerte.

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  2. I worry all the time about aging out of my application. Makes me dread birthdays; after December, I'll have 2 years before I turn 21. From what I've read though, "aging out" just lowers your priority for change of status. What do I know though. USCIS screws up all the time and won't ever acknowledge the mistakes they make that completely flip peoples lives.

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