What happens to children of principal EB-5 applicants who turn 21 while the case is pending?

If you take action to seek to acquire by filing DS260 and paying the visa fee or filing an adjustment within one year of approval, you might be able to freeze the children''s age.

The Child Status Protection Act protects dependent children from being separated from the principal applicant parents'' immigration process in certain cases. One way of doing so is by essentially freezing the age of the child while the relevant immigrant petition (such as an I-526) is pending. Therefore, the time that has elapsed due to USCIS processing times will not be counted against your child while the I-526 petition is pending. When the I-526 petition is approved, the age of your child for immigration purposes will be their age on the day the I-526 was filed. So long as your child begins consular processing or adjustment of status within a year of the I-526 petition being approved, their age will remain "frozen" at the same age they were when the petition was filed. There are other potentially complicating circumstances that can arrive if you were born in a country that is subject to a visa waitlist - I recommend speaking to your immigration attorney to confirm the specific details of your case.

Their age is frozen while the I-526 is pending and that number of months is added to their age. See the DOS formula for age out children.

Nothing. Their age is frozen from the date of filing. Once the case is adjudicated, the age continues to move forward again. If they reach 21 before the priority date is current, they “age out” of the application.

As long as the I-526 was filed before a son reaches 21 years of age, he will be able to obtain an immigrant visa/green card, together with the parent. This is because the Child Status Protection Act ‘freezes’ the age of the son at the time the I-526 petition is filed.