Could my child from India age out before our EB-5 application gets approved?

You only get credit for the time the petition is pending. If India backlogs some time later this year, you cannot freeze your child&#39s age under CSPA unless a visa is available under the final action date.

Expedited processing is not guaranteed and can be of benefit only if India does not experience immigrant visa backlog. Your child&#39s age is frozen during I-526 pendency but you must file DS-260 or AOS during CSPA period for your child to immigrate.

Hard to say. We were expecting India to experience retrogression by middle of this summer or certainly by the end of the summer. It is now looking less likely that retrogression will occur that soon. It all depends on if and when retrogression will occur for India-born citizens. If there is no retrogression by the time you get your I-526 approved, chances are you will be safe. But, if India goes into retrogression by the time your I-526 is approved, then it will all depend on whether your I-526 filing date will be current by then. If it is, then it will still be OK, as you will be able to file for adjustment of status right away. If it is not, then your child&#39s age will not be frozen anymore and he could very well age out.

If India doesn&#39t retrogress, you could be OK since the I-526 was filed before the child turned 21, but if India does retrogress, then his status will be in jeopardy.

Regarding your child who was 20.5 years of age at the time you filed your EB-5 investment petition on Form I-526, the time the I-526 petition is pending and does not count toward your child&#39s age. But if visa numbers are not available, it&#39s very possible that your child will age out before your family could be scheduled for your immigrant visa interviews. Ironically, in your case, it would be better for your EB-5 petition on Form I-526 not to be approved sooner, as the longer it takes, the more time your child is protected.

Expedited processing is beneficial only if your country isn&#39t backlogged for EB-5. If your I-526 is approved and an EB-5 visa is immediately available (before any backlog hits), then you may fortunately be able to avoid an age out.

Your child certainly can age out. His or her "freezes" during the pendency of the I-526 petition. If by the time it is approved, India/EB-5 retrogression occurred and a date earlier than your priority day date (date of I-526 filing), then your child age "defrosts," which is when he or she may age out if your priority date is not reached in time. It has been over four months since your I-526 was filed, so it is getting less likely it will be approved on an expedited basis. Experienced legal advice will help you work through this.

It depends on how long the I-526 was pending and whether the DS-260 was able to be filed within the CSPA period.