When to add wife while GC processing

satu

Registered Users (C)
Hello:

Can anyone please suggest me what to do?I am currently unmarried but plan to get married quite soon. I plan to start my GC filing. Till what time can i add my wife if I go for concurrent processing of I-140 and I-485. Should I file I-140 and I-485 separately? What is advicable?

Thanks
 
You need to get married before your 485 is approved. Even if you could not add your wife to the 485, you can do a follow to join (like consular processing). Your wife will have to wait about a year outside but you won't be subjected to the 4-6 year wait for spouses of GC holders.

If you are on H or L visa, simplest may be to apply for I-140, and get married, come back with your wife with her on a dependent (H-4 or L-2 visa) and apply 485 for both of you together.

Now keep in mind retrogression. If dates go back to a date behind your PD, then you can't file a 485. And if dates goes back after your approval to a date behind your own PD, your wife can't do a follow to join (she gets your PD if you get married before getting GC).

With concurrent application, you can never be sure how long they'll take to approve, especially if you are not affected by visa retrogression. It may be as quick as a few months if you don't hit the name check and fingerprinting goes fine.

An alternative is for your wife to come on her own H1B or L1 visa if she qualifies for it. Then you can get married here, and either she can apply for her own GC by herself, or wait for you to become a citizen and you can apply for her GC as immediate relative of a citizen category.

Downside of that is that if she loses H1 for some reason, she'll have no backup status to stay back in US.

~T
 
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