The court of appeals affirmed a district court judgment. The court held that an aged-out derivative beneficiary of an F3 petition (for married sons or daughters of U.S. citizens) or F4 petition (for siblings of U.S. citizens)—in other words, a grandchild or niece or nephew of a U.S. citizen—is not entitled to automatic conversion and priority date retention under the Child Status Protection Act.
Rosalina Cuellar de Osorio and other parents (Parents) became lawful residents through the family-sponsored immigration process. When they began the process of immigrating based on their status as relatives of either U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, the Parents all had children under the age of 21. As such, the children would have been eligible to immigrate with them under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The time required for the immigration process to run its course, however, meant that the children turned 21 years old before their parents were able to immigrate or adjust their status. This in turn meant that the children had “aged out” of child status under the INA, and they no longer were eligible to accompany their parents.
