Is the new law retroactive?
A. In some cases, yes. It may apply to an alien who is the derivative beneficiary or any other beneficiary of a family-based (FB) or employment-based (EB) petition even if the petition was approved prior to the effective date of the law in some cases. See section 8 of CSPA. It also applies to FB and EB petitions and DV lottery applications pending on the date of the law’s enactment. In simple English, even if a child appeared to have “aged-out” prior to August 6, 2002, but under the new law his “immigration age” is under 21, he may still be able to apply for adjustment of status or an immigrant visa for a limited period of time using his original priority date and preference category.
