Should I get married before or after getting a green card?

[burny]

One of my parents is a US citizen, and I'd like to get a green card based on family relationship. I qualify in F1 category as I am an unmarried child over 21 years old. However, I am going to marry a specific person in the future.
I have a few questions:
1) if I get married and my parrent files an F3 application for me (married child over 21 years old), will I still have to get an F2 visa for my spouse?
2) if I opt to not get married now, and have an F1 category application made for me by my parent - and then when I get a green card, I get married and file an F2 application for my spouse... Would the whole process take significantly longer than going the first way?

According to info from immihelp.com, F1 and F3 yearly quotas are almost equal: 23,400/year. But I wonder which category has more pending applications.

In other words, what sceario would be quicker and maybe someone could give me approximate waiting times? From what I understand, they differ by regions, so I live in European Union.

 

[newacct]

First, they don't file a petition for you in any particular category; they file a petition for you, and your category will be determined by the circumstances, and you may change from one category to another if there is a change in your situation; your priority date will remain the same.

If you get married before you enter the US, your F1 category petition will change to F3 category, where the wait is about 4 years longer than in F1 category. Derivatives are in the same category, so your spouse would be in the same category as you and immigrate together with you.

If you enter the US and become a permanent resident, and then get married, your spouse will not be able to immigrate with you, and you will need to petition your wife separately, in the F2A category. The wait in the F2A category is about 1-2 years.