Is Green Card the best option to bring wife to USA quickly after marriage?

S

smart84

Registered Users (C)
I am getting married in December 2011 in India. At present I am a USA Citizen and like to bring my wife in USA with the best and shortest amount of time. I will file an application for a green card after the wedding. Is this the best option to bring wife to USA quickly after wedding in India?

FYI I live in Texas so like to know an approximate time frame it takes to get wife in USA on a green card after marriage.
 
Yes

smart84 said:
I am getting married in December 2011 in India. At present I am a USA Citizen and like to bring my wife in USA with the best and shortest amount of time. I will file an application for a green card after the wedding. Is this the best option to bring wife to USA quickly after wedding in India?

FYI I live in Texas so like to know an approximate time frame it takes to get wife in USA on a green card after marriage.
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Hi,
Yes file I 130 as soon as you get married, it will take 3mts to get approved from there ithe rest of the process will take about 4-5mts.
 
Fiancee visa would be faster to bring her to the US than I-130/CP. But that would require you to postpone the marriage and then marry her in the US after she arrives with the visa.
 
bigbull99 said:
Hi,
Yes file I 130 as soon as you get married, it will take 3mts to get approved from there ithe rest of the process will take about 4-5mts.
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Thanks! So are you saying that it may take about 7 to 8 months in total from the date I send my application to the date when Green Card is issued by USA Embassy in India? How much of time would it take if I file K3 as well?

Jackolantern said:
Fiancee visa would be faster to bring her to the US than I-130/CP. But that would require you to postpone the marriage and then marry her in the US after she arrives with the visa.
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Actually my marriage date is already finalized so things are already planned for this. My concern is which is the best and quickest route to get my wife into USA after we marriage in India.
 
A K-1 Visa ( Fiance visa) is the quickest way of bringing in your fiance into the US. But then since all your wedding arrangements have been done, you cannot go in for this option. File in I-130 soon after your marriage and then wait for it to get approved. Your wife can the come into the US and then file in Form I-485 to adjust the status to that of a permanent resident. She will be issued with a conditional green card.
 
smart84 said:
Thanks! So are you saying that it may take about 7 to 8 months in total from the date I send my application to the date when Green Card is issued by USA Embassy in India?
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Yes, that's about right (but technically the embassy doesn't issue a green card, they'll issue an immigrant visa in the passport). 6 months if you're a little lucky, 12 months if you're not so lucky.

How much of time would it take if I file K3 as well?
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K3 would take about the same time as the immigrant visa. These days some consulates will ditch the K3 and process K3 applicants directly for the immigrant visa.


Actually my marriage date is already finalized so things are already planned for this. My concern is which is the best and quickest route to get my wife into USA after we marriage in India.
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Can she qualify for an H1B or L1 visa? That would allow her to come to the US faster. Otherwise you're stuck with the I-130/immigrant visa route because you've ruled out the K-1 (fiancee) visa, and obtaining other nonimmigrant visas would be problematic due to her having a USC fiance or spouse.
 
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jessicapotter said:
A K-1 Visa ( Fiance visa) is the quickest way of bringing in your fiance into the US. But then since all your wedding arrangements have been done, you cannot go in for this option. File in I-130 soon after your marriage and then wait for it to get approved. Your wife can the come into the US and then file in Form I-485 to adjust the status to that of a permanent resident. She will be issued with a conditional green card.
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Thanks! I am not sure if I understood your point correctly. Are you suggesting to start Green Card process by filing I-130 after marriage and once it is approved then file for K-3 visa to get her in US quickly and then adjust her status to green card?

Jackolantern said:
Yes, that's about right (but technically the embassy doesn't issue a green card, they'll issue an immigrant visa in the passport). 6 months if you're a little lucky, 12 months if you're not so lucky.


K3 would take about the same time as the immigrant visa. These days some consulates will ditch the K3 and process K3 applicants directly for the immigrant visa.



Can she qualify for an H1B or L1 visa? That would allow her to come to the US faster. Otherwise you're stuck with the I-130/immigrant visa route because you've ruled out the K-1 (fiancee) visa, and obtaining other nonimmigrant visas would be problematic due to her having a USC fiance or spouse.
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Thanks again! Actually she is in India and does not have an employer filling for H1B or L1 visa. So I have only option to file for immigrant visa. Based on input from you and other folks this what I am thinking to plan, let me know if this is a good idea.

1. File I-130 for Green Card immediately after marriage.
2. Once the application is received and started the processing for Green Card, I should file for K-3 visa to take a chance to bring her in USA quickly.
3. If K-3 visa gets done before Green Card, then bring her to USA and then adjust her status to Green Card after coming to USA.

Does this look fine? Please comment on this. Or is it a waste of money and time to apply for K-3 visa these days while Green Card is in process? Someone who has a recent experience on similar condition may have a better view.
 
After the wedding file the I-130 with the Chicago Lockbox. After it is approved, USCIS will send it to NVC. NVC will contact you for the I-864 and financial evidence. After the I-864 is approved, NVC will send it to the consulate/embassy.

She will have to get police clearance and medical exam. She will be interviewed. NOTE: She may apply for her social security number on the visa application. If otherwise eligible, she will get an Immigrant Visa. She will probably have a six-month window in which to travel to the U.S. She will get processed for a conditional green-card at time of entry. NOTE: Be sure that she has a current U.S. mailing address for green-card and SS card delivery purposes.

Within 90 days of expiration of conditional card, you two file the I-751 to lift conditions. Once approved, all that conditional time counts towards her naturalization eligibility.

Good luck. It could take up to a year or a bit more for her to enter with her immigrant visa after you file the I-130.
 
smart84 said:
1. File I-130 for Green Card immediately after marriage.
2. Once the application is received and started the processing for Green Card, I should file for K-3 visa to take a chance to bring her in USA quickly.
3. If K-3 visa gets done before Green Card, then bring her to USA and then adjust her status to Green Card after coming to USA.

Does this look fine? Please comment on this. Or is it a waste of money and time to apply for K-3 visa these days while Green Card is in process? Someone who has a recent experience on similar condition may have a better view.
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It's a waste of time and money to go for the K-3. It takes about the same amount of time as an immigrant visa, and with K3 she would still have to go through the adjustment of status process after arriving in the US, whereas she would instantly become a permanent resident upon being admitted to the US with the immigrant visa.

So your plan should look like this:
1. File I-130 for Green Card immediately after marriage.
2. Once the I-130 is approved, NVC forwards the case to the consulate, who will contact her a few weeks or months later to set up the interview and related formalities (medical and fingerprinting), and you will have to provide some additional paperwork (namely the I-864 Affidavit of Support).
3. After interview and approval at the consulate, she'll get an immigrant visa in her passport, which will confer her with the status of permanent resident upon admission to the US with the visa. Then the physical GC should be delivered automatically in about a month after her arrival.
 
BigJoe5 said:
After the wedding file the I-130 with the Chicago Lockbox. After it is approved, USCIS will send it to NVC. NVC will contact you for the I-864 and financial evidence. After the I-864 is approved, NVC will send it to the consulate/embassy.

She will have to get police clearance and medical exam. She will be interviewed. NOTE: She may apply for her social security number on the visa application. If otherwise eligible, she will get an Immigrant Visa. She will probably have a six-month window in which to travel to the U.S. She will get processed for a conditional green-card at time of entry. NOTE: Be sure that she has a current U.S. mailing address for green-card and SS card delivery purposes.

Within 90 days of expiration of conditional card, you two file the I-751 to lift conditions. Once approved, all that conditional time counts towards her naturalization eligibility.

Good luck. It could take up to a year or a bit more for her to enter with her immigrant visa after you file the I-130.
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Thanks for your response! A very noob question, what is NVC? Which application are you referring here on which my wife can apply for SSN number directly? If so, can she use my home address in USA to send SSN card in mail to me? I am assuming that the card will not be issued until she has entered in USA as a permanent resident, correct me if that's not the case here. Is there a webpage where USCIS shows most upto date application queue? That may give a better idea the total time it may take to enter in USA from the date I made a file to USCIS.

Jackolantern said:
It's a waste of time and money to go for the K-3. It takes about the same amount of time as an immigrant visa, and with K3 she would still have to go through the adjustment of status process after arriving in the US, whereas she would instantly become a permanent resident upon being admitted to the US with the immigrant visa.

So your plan should look like this:
1. File I-130 for Green Card immediately after marriage.
2. Once the I-130 is approved, NVC forwards the case to the consulate, who will contact her a few weeks or months later to set up the interview and related formalities (medical and fingerprinting), and you will have to provide some additional paperwork (namely the I-864 Affidavit of Support).
3. After interview and approval at the consulate, she'll get an immigrant visa in her passport, which will confer her with the status of permanent resident upon admission to the US with the visa. Then the physical GC should be delivered automatically in about a month after her arrival.
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Thanks for your response! I think I will skip K-3 processing based on what you just described about their processing time. I will come back to USA about 3 weeks after my wedding is completed. In order to start I-130 processing, will it be fine if my relative who will come back to USA in few days after attending my wedding can mail documents via USPS/UPS package?
 
smart84 said:
I will come back to USA about 3 weeks after my wedding is completed. In order to start I-130 processing, will it be fine if my relative who will come back to USA in few days after attending my wedding can mail documents via USPS/UPS package?
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You don't have to be physically in the US when filing the I-130. You just need to be domiciled in the US, and short vacations don't sever your domicile. So if you want, you could send in the I-130 from India the next minute after you get the marriage certificate. But for cost and safety it's better to have somebody (or yourself) mail it from within the US.
 
Jackolantern said:
You don't have to be physically in the US when filing the I-130. You just need to be domiciled in the US, and short vacations don't sever your domicile. So if you want, you could send in the I-130 from India the next minute after you get the marriage certificate. But for cost and safety it's better to have somebody (or yourself) mail it from within the US.
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Great! It helps a lot. I will give my documents to my family relative and will let them just send a package once they reach USA so processing can be started quickly.
 
NVC = National Visa Center and is a Department of State (DOS) facility.

NVC and the local Consulate have their own websites for you to explore for processing timelines and procedures. Some info is not readily available and will be in direct correspondence from them.

Take it step-by-step, just be concerned with a complete I-130 package and enjoy your honeymoon.
 
BigJoe5 said:
NVC = National Visa Center and is a Department of State (DOS) facility.

NVC and the local Consulate have their own websites for you to explore for processing timelines and procedures. Some info is not readily available and will be in direct correspondence from them.

Take it step-by-step, just be concerned with a complete I-130 package and enjoy your honeymoon.
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Thanks a lot for your input on this!
 
Quick Question about marriage location

My future wife lives in West Africa, Can someone go to London for a 9 days and get married over there with her and then she returns back to west africa and I return back to new york and then file for her.
 
shefe said:
My future wife lives in West Africa, Can someone go to London for a 9 days and get married over there with her and then she returns back to west africa and I return back to new york and then file for her.
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Yes you can do that if the UK and London will grant the necessary visas and marriage license, but you can bring her to the US faster if you file for the fiancee visa and get married in the US instead. If you have more questions please start your own thread.
 
Step by Step Guide

Does anyone have a link on step by step guide on what is needed to include when submitting the Form I-130.
 
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