How long it takes for an I130 petition to get approved

S

SyedNaqvi

Registered Users (C)
Hi,
I am an LPR and filed I-130 for my wife in Feb 2004, she is not in US. Received an acknowledgement in two weeks with receipt number. How long it takes for the petition to get approved. I know that approval doesn't mean that visa is available for her but my understanding of the process is that, after this petition is approved the petition will goto NVC and stay in pending status till the visa become available.Upon receival NVC sends a letter to the beneficiary(in my case my spouse) and a letter to petioner, in my case this hasn't happened yet. Just curious because its already 8 months since I filed I130.

Any response will be appreciated.
 
Hi Syed,
The approval time depends on the service centers. Just a quick check on all four service centers tell that they are approving people who applied in 1999 (texas) to 2001 (vermont). So you are looking at 2-3 years for approval. I am guessing that they do not give high priority to I-130 petition for LPR because of availiability of visa, etc.

You can check the dates by going to www.uscis.gov and look for processing dates for service center.

Sundar
 
Yah syed.. I am sorry to say that you are looking at a long wait.. I applied for my husband in June 01 as an LPR in texas.. I just became a US citizen this month sep 04 and My I130 still hasn't been approved.. I have sent to upgrade the I130.. For U Unless they revalidate a the V visa.. Its like the K visa for citizens but V is for spouse of LPR who applied on or before Dec 00, I am sorry to say you have a looonnnnggggg way to gggoooo... My hubby and I have been seperated since 02 he didn't want to over stay after his OPT expired... Whey do you apply for ur citizenship? and what service center?
Good luck
Sarina
 
sarina said:
Yah syed.. I am sorry to say that you are looking at a long wait.. I applied for my husband in June 01 as an LPR in texas.. I just became a US citizen this month sep 04 and My I130 still hasn't been approved.. I have sent to upgrade the I130.. For U Unless they revalidate a the V visa.. Its like the K visa for citizens but V is for spouse of LPR who applied on or before Dec 00, I am sorry to say you have a looonnnnggggg way to gggoooo... My hubby and I have been seperated since 02 he didn't want to over stay after his OPT expired... Whey do you apply for ur citizenship? and what service center?
Good luck
Sarina
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Thanks Sarina, I appreciate your response and comments. I am also basically not depending on this petition but I filed this petition just in case if V visa extension bill gets approved. Also you should check either with an attorney or any person with the same situation that whether you should apply for the upgrade aur you should file a new I130 for your husband, may be filing a new petition will take less time then the upgrade just an opinion. Bye the way your processing of citizenship seem pretty quick. Hopefully my processing of citizenship will go as smooth as yours, my citizenship is due in August 2005 and I will apply for citizenship in May 2005. I am here in Los Angeles, California, I am not sure which service center is this.
any suggestions, I will be glad to take.

Thanks
 
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yah i have given all my stuff to my lawyer.. he was so confidenet in the fact that my I130 will be approved before K3 that he sugessted that I don't even file a K3.. I was reading another post from a guy who applied as an LPR, then became a citizen, sent off the upgrade, didn't hear anything for 2 months.,, soo he decided to file another I130, they day he sent off his I130 the next day he checked the mail and got the I130 approval for the old one he had upgraded.. thats the time frame i have been given, is that it takes approx 60 to 90 days for the I130 approval.. in n e case.. I am also filing the K3.. which is taking about 5 to 6 months.. sooo lets see what happens first.. i will keep you posted so you can have a lead on what to doo...
 
sap12452003 said:
Recenetly CIS has published the memo regarding adjudicating the I-130, of the people, whose Visa numbers are not current.
According to that they won't adjudicate I-130, untill the priority dates are near to be current .i.e. They will rely on Visa Bulletin published by DOS, before processing these I-130.
the memo is located at
http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/I_130_07_01_04.pdf
Click to expand...
Thanks Sap12452003,
This document is very informative and I basically got exact answer of my question in this document.

Appreciate it my friend......
 
sarina said:
yah i have given all my stuff to my lawyer.. he was so confidenet in the fact that my I130 will be approved before K3 that he sugessted that I don't even file a K3.. I was reading another post from a guy who applied as an LPR, then became a citizen, sent off the upgrade, didn't hear anything for 2 months.,, soo he decided to file another I130, they day he sent off his I130 the next day he checked the mail and got the I130 approval for the old one he had upgraded.. thats the time frame i have been given, is that it takes approx 60 to 90 days for the I130 approval.. in n e case.. I am also filing the K3.. which is taking about 5 to 6 months.. sooo lets see what happens first.. i will keep you posted so you can have a lead on what to doo...
Click to expand...
Thank you again Sarina for your reply.
Since you talked about lawyer, let me ask you this, One lawyer asked me that If I give him my case for filing citizenship, he can apply my application of Naturalization 6 months prior as oppose to filing 3 months prior of completing 5 years as LPR. He is charging handsome amount of money, I don't know whether its true or not and can it save time, can you ask the same question to your lawyer? Can you also post the dates of your I130 or K3 application as you posted for your Naturalization processing, I think it will be helpfull.
I will really appreciate if you could keep me posted of your processing.
Thanks
 
noooo thats not truee.. i have been following posting boards since 2002 and was waiting to file my citizenship... i m almost 99.9% sure there is no such thing as filing 6 months early.. only 90 days.. i was going to give my case to the lawyer too for my citizenship but my dad and mom and all filed there own cases .... all they did was got the app typed for $25 from this one place and sent it off.. my lawyer asked for $850+USCIS app fee and my dad insisted that i don't get a lawyer... my sister filled out her own application and we both mailed it off the same day..... again i went to see 3 different lawyers from 2002 to oct 2003 no one ever mentioned anything about 6 months only 90 days.... i would sugguest u go and see another lawyer in ur area spend another consulation fee so that u can feel better getting the legal advise from a person with experience.. and if they confirm that there is no such thing.. get rid of the current lawyer and get a new one.. he is after ur money not worried about the case..
 
sarina said:
noooo thats not truee.. i have been following posting boards since 2002 and was waiting to file my citizenship... i m almost 99.9% sure there is no such thing as filing 6 months early.. only 90 days.. i was going to give my case to the lawyer too for my citizenship but my dad and mom and all filed there own cases .... all they did was got the app typed for $25 from this one place and sent it off.. my lawyer asked for $850+USCIS app fee and my dad insisted that i don't get a lawyer... my sister filled out her own application and we both mailed it off the same day..... again i went to see 3 different lawyers from 2002 to oct 2003 no one ever mentioned anything about 6 months only 90 days.... i would sugguest u go and see another lawyer in ur area spend another consulation fee so that u can feel better getting the legal advise from a person with experience.. and if they confirm that there is no such thing.. get rid of the current lawyer and get a new one.. he is after ur money not worried about the case..
Click to expand...
Wait a minute Sarina, INS received your husband I-130 upgrade in Sept 2004 though your oath date is sept 24, 2004, can we apply the upgrade befor oath, can u explain?

Please keep me posted of your processing.
Thanks for all your responses and the information that you shared.
 
yah.. my lawyer had everything ready.. alll he needed was a copy of Natz cert and he mailed it off the day after my oath.. it took 3 days to get there.. now again.. its not a receipt or n e thing from the USCIS... the mail was sent as certified mailed and it was signed for meaning they had it in there hand.. :)
 
sarina said:
yah i have given all my stuff to my lawyer.. he was so confidenet in the fact that my I130 will be approved before K3 that he sugessted that I don't even file a K3.. I was reading another post from a guy who applied as an LPR, then became a citizen, sent off the upgrade, didn't hear anything for 2 months.,, soo he decided to file another I130, they day he sent off his I130 the next day he checked the mail and got the I130 approval for the old one he had upgraded.. thats the time frame i have been given, is that it takes approx 60 to 90 days for the I130 approval.. in n e case.. I am also filing the K3.. which is taking about 5 to 6 months.. sooo lets see what happens first.. i will keep you posted so you can have a lead on what to doo...
Click to expand...


Hey Sarina, i'm in the same boat...only diff. is that my husband's I-130 was approved. Now I'm waiting to become a citizen to upgrade the petition and hopefully things will move much faster.

Here's my time line:
I-130 ND=October/2004
I-130 approval=September/2005
Case was sent to Department of State National Visa Center (NVC), which sent my husband a letter telling him that his case was approved and has been placed in a waiting list until a visa becomes available, which might take a few years. Notice that his I-130 was approved in less than a year, a lot of people were surprice since I am a LPR.

N-400 ND= January/2005
Had my fingerprints taken a while ago, and I was told by an USCIS agent that I should be receiving an interview letter not later than the end of Dec; hopefully sooner.
 
SyedNaqvi said:
Thank you again Sarina for your reply.
Since you talked about lawyer, let me ask you this, One lawyer asked me that If I give him my case for filing citizenship, he can apply my application of Naturalization 6 months prior as oppose to filing 3 months prior of completing 5 years as LPR. He is charging handsome amount of money, I don't know whether its true or not and can it save time, can you ask the same question to your lawyer? Can you also post the dates of your I130 or K3 application as you posted for your Naturalization processing, I think it will be helpfull.
I will really appreciate if you could keep me posted of your processing.
Thanks
Click to expand...

SyedNaqvi, don't listen to that lawyer....he's up to no good...Remember that when it comes to immigration there's nothing a lawyer can do but wait just like the rest of us...I fill out my N-400 myself....it is very self explanatory, just need to pay close attention to the details. Plus you have this forum where you may research any concerns you may have. Remember, lawyers make money if you pay them, and they will say and do anything to take your hard earn money. How do you think he's able to afford that brand new BMW parked outside his office? Screw him and fill out the application yourself. You don't even have to pay anyone to type the application for you since USCIS has a fillable form which you can print after filling it.

Good luck and stay away from dirty lawyers! Sorry if I sound too harsh, but it pissessss me offfff when people try to take advantage of others. i.e, this lady I know paid $140 for a lawyer to write a sponsorship letter for a Non-immigrant visa petition for a relative of hers. I wrote a similar letter for a friend of this lady for free, 0, nothing, not a thing. By the way she was pissed when she found out that she could of have saved herself $140.
 
Hi Wendy,

You said that your Husband's I130 was approved in one year. Does that mean he can legally stay in United States due to his approval. If not whats the next thing your husband can do to achieve LPR status.

I am in a similar situation. My wife is a LPR and I am on my F1 VISA. My wife still have 3 years before she gets her Citizenship. What do you think I can do to keep myself in status. I am graduating in december 2005 so for one year I will be on my OPT training. After that should I get H1 Visa? OR can I get some Work Permit through my marriage.

what if after one year I get my H1 and for reason that company closes so I am out of work. What can I do do remain in legal status?

I thought marrying a LPR speed up the process but seems like its not the case.

Thanks waiting for your COMMENTS.
 
mazam said:
Hi Wendy,

You said that your Husband's I130 was approved in one year. Does that mean he can legally stay in United States due to his approval. If not whats the next thing your husband can do to achieve LPR status.

I am in a similar situation. My wife is a LPR and I am on my F1 VISA. My wife still have 3 years before she gets her Citizenship. What do you think I can do to keep myself in status. I am graduating in december 2005 so for one year I will be on my OPT training. After that should I get H1 Visa? OR can I get some Work Permit through my marriage.

what if after one year I get my H1 and for reason that company closes so I am out of work. What can I do do remain in legal status?

I thought marrying a LPR speed up the process but seems like its not the case.

Thanks waiting for your COMMENTS.
Click to expand...

Hey Mazam,

Well after my husband's I-130 was approved it was sent to the National Visa Center and it will stay there until his case becomes current. Please note that my husband is not in the States, which means that after a visa becomes available for him the case will be forwarded to the Consulate Post in charge of the country where we got married, in our case Santo Domingo. After this happens then he has to apply for the Immigrant Visa and only after the Immigrant Visa gets approved he will be able to travel to the United States. Since I am waiting for my naturalization interview which should arrive soon then the case will move much faster because spouses of United States Citizen does not have to wait until their case becomes current.

I am not too sure about which way you should go since the process for LPR seems to be extremelly long. Try going into the CIS website to see what you can find out about Work Permits. The form instructions should be able to answer some of your questions...If not you might want to get some legal advice from a Lawyer.
 
Can my sister's daughter get GC?

I am applying GC for my sister and her family. My sister's daughter is 18 years old now, so she can be included in the same petition. I know this process can take several years, so when everything is done, she will be more than 21 years old for sure, will she still be able to get the GC then?

Thanks in advance,
jsjz
 
I-130 approved waiting for Citizenship

Hi Wendy,

Your answers are very informative, Thank You.


I am exactly in a similar situation as you.

My wife is in India and I've her I-130 approved a year back. Since the Visa numbers are not current, we could not do anything.

I will be applying for my citizenship in exactly 6 months.

I was wondering what I should do after I apply for my citizenship.

Can you please tell me what are the steps to take after I become a citizen and the time lines involved.

Thank You very much,
Rama.
 
Hey R2j4,

After you become a citizen you must contact the Nationa Visa Center also known as NVC and let them know that you will be mailing a copy of your Naturalization Certificate or a copy of your US passport so they can Upgrade your petition from F2A Visa (family sencond preference) to IR Visa (Immediate Relative) I suggest you mail this prove of citizenship via express mail and call NVC a few weeks later to make sure that they received your papers and that they have upgraded the petition. after the petition gets upgrade by NVC the process will start moving again since your wife will not have to wait for a Visa number any more. Hope this information helps.
 
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