If she is outside the US, wait until after you become a citizen to file the I-130. If you file it before, you will need to upgrade it after naturalization, which involves some hassle and possible delays, as they are not quick or consistent about acknowledging if and when they have done the upgrade.
Were your wife and son inside the US filing the I-485, or outside the US waiting for consular processing?So I suggest you apply for your wife's I-130 ASAp and upgrade it later. Its not much of hassle to upgrade, you can either fax or email the service center after you speak to the 1800 folks and get a reference number.
Is it really a hassle to upgrade or rather just a matter of keeping on top of things by calling them to make sure they updated the case?It is often a big hassle to coordinate with the NVC and/or consulate to get the upgrade done
Is it really a hassle to upgrade or rather just a matter of keeping on top of things by calling them to make sure they updated the case?
Were your wife and son inside the US filing the I-485, or outside the US waiting for consular processing?
It is often a big hassle to coordinate with the NVC and/or consulate to get the upgrade done; for many people they don't process the initial upgrade request so the case just sits idle for several months until the USC repeatedly calls and mails them to get the upgrade done and confirm it.
Whereas if the immigrant spouse or child is using the I-485 route, the upgrade is no big deal. When the I-485 is filed with a copy of the naturalization certificate or US passport, USCIS quickly figures things out.
I am in the same situation. wantmygcnow experience made things look easy although I heard a lot of horror stories of delay for talking that route ..
I will do more research and might file I-130 for wife and son soon ...
Make sure to file a separate I-130 for your son & wife. As a LPR, you can include your son with your wife's I-130 but once you become a USC, you need to have an I-130 for each relative..so its better to apply 2 I-130s right now. Its not as hard to upgrade. Make sure to be persistent and you will be ok.
Thank you wantmygcnow ... I think I will start gathering documents if everything goes well at least maybe can save me I-130 processing time. but what if I got my citizenship before I-130 approved and moved to NVC ?