I-130 and Greencard Question:Marriage vs. US Citizen Son

[johnsten]

Hi, my mother became a US Citizen a few months ago and she petitioned for me for a greencard. I am unmarried, older than 21 and currently in the USA. She was approved the petition and I received a notice from USCIS and National Visa Center saying that I should wait till a visa number become available. I checked with the Visa Bulletin and looks like the process will take more than six years since as of December 2008, USCIS is processing those with priority date of May 2002. My girlfriend who is a native US Citizen says that given the circumstanced we shouldn't wait any further but get married sometime soon ( I graduated with a Master's one year ago and my OPT will expire in a couple of months).

My question is: Given that I already filed an I-130 with USCIS, will my old case be automatically deleted once I file for a greencard based on marriage? I would like to keep my old case going because that would give me a permanent greencard instead of a temporary one and although I and my girlfriend love each other without any doubt, I would like to keep open the possibility of having a permanent green card based on my mother's citizenship.

If anyone has been or is in a similar situation, please kindly reply to my question. Thank you!

[PraetorianXI]

Once you become a permanent resident. You are a permanent resident.

The I-130 would still be valid though, and so would the priority date, but you need to worry about conditional vs unconditional residency. Going into a marriage with a "safety net" is not a good idea...