US Immigration Rule Change from August 15 Could Jeopardise Green Card Hopes for Thousands of Indian Children

Starting August 15, a major shift in US immigration policy could endanger the Green Card prospects of thousands of children—mostly from India—whose parents hold H-1B visas. Under the new rule, children will lose their protected status once they turn 21, even if their parents’ Green Card applications are still pending.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday announced that it will now use the Final Action Dates chart from the State Department’s Visa Bulletin to determine visa availability for calculating age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). The change will apply to applications filed on or after August 15, 2025, aligning the process for applicants both inside and outside the US.

Applications submitted before that date will still be assessed under the February 14, 2023 policy, which allowed some children to keep eligibility even after turning 21.

Indians are most affected, accounting for 73% of approved H-1B applications in fiscal 2023. Long processing times—often more than a decade for employment-based Green Cards—mean many children could “age out” and lose legal status, forcing them to leave the US despite having lived there for most of their lives.

A Newsweek report estimates that up to 200,000 children could be impacted. Doug Rand, a former DHS official, warned that many of these young adults are “American to their core” but will be pushed to the back of the line for a Green Card.

The USCIS said the update will bring consistency between its process and that of the State Department, but critics note that it tightens protections for immigrant families in line with President Donald Trump’s stricter immigration stance.

Indians already face some of the world’s longest Green Card backlogs, with EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 wait times often stretching beyond 10 years—compared to roughly one year for applicants from countries like Germany.