Q : What Happens if My Child Turns 21 After I Have Filed My Asylum Application?

Under the Child Status Protection Act, signed into law by President Bush on August 6, 2002, your child will continue to be eligible as a derivative on your application if he or she turned 21 after your asylum application was filed but while it was pending. Your child must have been unmarried and under 21 years of age on the date that you filed your I-589. The “filing date” is the date that USCIS received your application.

Provided you listed your children on the I-589, you can include them as derivatives in your asylum application.  There is no requirement that your child was included as a derivative on your asylum application at the time of filing, only that your child was listed as your child on your I-589 and included prior to the decision made on your claim. This means that as long as your child was listed on your asylum application you may later include in your asylum application a son or daughter who is now 21 years of age or married, but who was under 21 and unmarried at the time you filed your asylum application.  For more information about derivative asylum, see “Securing Immigration Benefits for Spouses and Children of Asylees”.

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