Confused about I-130 processing time

[mike1990]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm brand new to all this... I am a citizen and I filed I-130 for my wife and just got the I-797C receipt. It went to California Service Center ("WAC" receipt number). On the USCIS site it says that CSC is currently processing Feb. 28 2005 I-130 for spouse, but when I typed in my reciept number in USCIS case status search page I get:

"Your I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN was received on June 21, 2005. We mailed you a receipt with information about processing. It is taking between 990 and 999 days for us to process this kind of case. We will mail you a decision as soon as processing is complete."

So it is just a few months or a few years till my wife can be "legal"?

Thanks for all your help

 

[melaniee]

Did you file any other documents at the same time?

 

[mike1990]

Did you file any other documents at the same time?

No, we only filed I-130 and G-325 on our lawyer's advice. He said let I-130 come through first and then do the I-485 & I-765.

My wife has been in the U.S. for 20+ years and entered legally on a tourist visa as a child with her mother. She overstayed the visa (obviously ).She has since lost her I-94 however, so the lawyer said that the best thing is to file I-130 "the slow route" (as opposed to DORA) and have the USCIS pull her entire file prior to the interview since it won't be trivial to prove that she entered legally (because her I-94 is lost and we don't even know the number of it).

EDIT: Oops just saw another post saying 990 days thing is just the default response. Hope that's true

 

[jasrin]

I got the same, my husband filed my I-130 and he received a notice of action and my receipt number. When I checked it online, the same message as yours. I am here in Northern Mariana Island, its a US territory, i've been working here for 14 years. My question is, can I file I-485 even if we have not received the approval of our I-130? Please share your experience.
Thank you,