F1 holder marrying GC holder

A

artcan

New Member
Hello,

Please, please, advice is so needed. I'm F1 holder and getting married to my fiancee, who is a green card holder who got GC a year ago.

I have few questions:
1. How long (approximately) should I wait till I get GC if we getting married in September 2011 in US?
2. How long (approximately) should I wait till I get some work permission status?
3. Are there any states in US where the applications are reviewed faster and the waiting time is less?
4. Any suggestions or advices about the process are welcome!

Thank you!
 
You need to get into the back of a long line. There are no shortcuts. You are not special enough to cut into line before others who are patiently waiting their turn.

Check the visa bulletin for the current priority dates. Simply marrying will grant you no legal status in the US; you may NOT work until you receive work permission wich does not exist on the basis of an LPR filing for a spouse. You need to maintain status - like H1B - and legal presence - valid I-94 - until you receive a GC unless he/she becomes a USC and then upgrades the petition.

READ THE USCIS WEBSITE ABOUT FAMILY BASED IMMIGRATION. Note that marriage for a GC benefit is not permitted by US laws; your questions tend to indicate that a GC is a primary consideration in the marriage.
 
Thank you Concerned4us! Thou I never mentioned I want to cut into the line before anybody; I just asked if there are states which proceed the review faster (as I understood from the internet articles - some states have less petitions to work on). As for the reason I'm concerned about the timing - it is because I want to have a normal family with the person I love, where two people are working and equally support the family. Again, primary consideration of the marriage is the marriage itself with the person I love. In order to have a normal life with vacations and everything else, both of us need to work, so GC is not my primary consideration.


My questions remains the same - how long approximately should we wait till the applications being reviewed?
Please help!
 
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After you marry and submit the application, you would be in the family 2A category which has a backlog of about 3 years. During that time you should not leave the US unless you change to H1B, because they may deny entry with the F1 visa because you're married to a green card holder.

However, if your F1 status ends before you're eligible for the final stage (I-485/adjustment of status) 3 years from now, you need to leave the US and wait to finish processing through the US consulate in your country.
 
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Thank you, Jackolantern!

I heard that in 2010, immigration offices automatized all the processes and the application reviews is now faster then it was before 2010. I'm not sure if this is correct, sonce it is just something I read in the internet.
Does somebody know if this information is correct?
 
It's true that the processing itself is faster than it used to be. But there are annual quotas, and the number of applicants already in the queue for your category is around 3 times the quota, so you're still probably going to have to wait 3 years to proceed to the final stage.

Your I-130 will probably be approved in less than a year, maybe less than 6 months, but then your case will sit idle for the next 2-3 years as they work their way through other applicants in the queue and quota each year.

See the F2A category in the visa bulletin: http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_5518.html

If you don't expect to be inside the US 3 years from now, make sure to specify a consulate in your country for question 22 of the I-130. Otherwise you'll have to file I-824 and pay a fee to get it forwarded to the consulate.
 
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