Processing time of I-130 for Permanent Resident

[rohit_h1b]

Needed some help to figure out approximate processing time of I-130 for permanent resident. My wife is currently on green card and has applied I-130 for me (I am currently working in USA on H1B). We received receipt NOA from USCIS with our priority date of Dec 17, 2015. I wanted to know how long does it take for I -130 to be approved (California Service Center) ? Is it true that processing time for I-130 for permanent resident is longer than US citizen filing for I-130 ? Thanks in advance for the answers.

[rayb]

With a Permanent Resident petitioner, you will not be eligible for a Green Card for about two years. If you try to submit an I-485 package to convert your present employment-based status before your Priority Date is current, you may be denied the Adjustment procedure and lose your $1,070 submittal ee.

--Ray B

Needed some help to figure out approximate processing time of I-130 for permanent resident. My wife is currently on green card and has applied I-130 for me (I am currently working in USA on H1B). We received receipt NOA from USCIS with our priority date of Dec 17, 2015. I wanted to know how long does it take for I -130 to be approved (California Service Center) ? Is it true that processing time for I-130 for permanent resident is longer than US citizen filing for I-130 ? Thanks in advance for the answers.

[rohit_h1b]

Thanks for the reply. When you say I would not be eligible for green card for 2 years do you mean I wont be able to apply for AOS since that is amount of time it generally takes for dates to be current ? Is i-130 approval dependent on that ?

Also if I file AOS from employer (EB2 category when the date becomes current) why would I be denied ? How is I-130 (from spouse) related to this ? Aren't these 2 parallel threads ? I understand that I can only file one AOS either from employer or from my spouse (family based) whenever they become current and cannot have both going on concurrently.

[rayb]

Rohit,

I only responded in the context of "family-based" I-130 spousal procedure, for which class F2A (spouse of Permanent Resident petitioner) has a waiting period of a little less than two years before becoming current. I-130 petition approval is not contingent on the Prioirty Date being current, but Adjustment of Status acceptance and approval is driven by currency of Priority Date.

We're not talking about employer-based petitions.

--Ray B

Thanks for the reply. When you say I would not be eligible for green card for 2 years do you mean I wont be able to apply for AOS since that is amount of time it generally takes for dates to be current ? Is i-130 approval dependent on that ?

Also if I file AOS from employer (EB2 category when the date becomes current) why would I be denied ? How is I-130 (from spouse) related to this ? Aren't these 2 parallel threads ? I understand that I can only file one AOS either from employer or from my spouse (family based) whenever they become current and cannot have both going on concurrently.

[jayjayjay]

I called uscis and then the processng time is currently 5 months and not 2 years. Also look at http://www.uscisprocessingtimes.org/processing-times/

Rohit,

I only responded in the context of "family-based" I-130 spousal procedure, for which class F2A (spouse of Permanent Resident petitioner) has a waiting period of a little less than two years before becoming current. I-130 petition approval is not contingent on the Prioirty Date being current, but Adjustment of Status acceptance and approval is driven by currency of Priority Date.

We're not talking about employer-based petitions.

--Ray B

[rayb]

Jayjay,

You're mixing up the steps. USCIS finishes processing a petition in about 5 months, but for a Permanent Resident petitioner, the waiting period for an available quota-based visa slot is about 2 years total.

How you ask USCIS a question drives an incomplete response such as you received.

--Ray B

I called uscis and then the processng time is currently 5 months and not 2 years. Also look at http://www.uscisprocessingtimes.org/processing-times/