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Protecting the Minor By, Edward Juarez Immigrant's Voice (TV program)  Column:January 7, 2008 Give your opinion on our Immigration Forum Edward's Blog
	Edward Juarez
	Founder and President

Millions of sons and daughters who turn of legal age will be separated from their parents when their parent’s application for “Permanent Residency” is approved. This is due to poor planning in the immigration process.

According to the Legal Division of the International Immigrant Foundation, waiting time for adult children of citizens and residents continues to be more than 20 years. If the adult son or daughter was born in Mexico, the wait will be more than 100 years due to the large amount of petitions that are pending for that country. For that reason it is so important that the parents begin to petition for their children before they reach the age of 21. Children whose parents are citizens may obtain legal status immediately, even if they submit their petition the day before their 21st birthday. If the parents are residents, it is more complicated for the child to be considered a minor after turning 21. The Child Protection Act requires consideration of three factors:

• The age at time of application
• The amount of time it took for Immigration Approval
• The expected date for residency status with the Department of State

For example, a child turned 20 years old the 1st of January, 2003, submitted his residency the same month, and received approval this month. During January of 2008 they are granting residency to minor children who started the process before February 22nd of 2003. This immigrant, although of legal age, may obtain his residency as a minor because it took 5 years from the time of application to the approval. When we calculate the actual age and processing time, we establish the age that the government considered in order to obtain residency.

Remember that there is much more to analyze before forming a legal strategy to protect the application rights of the minor child.