suggestion for F2A petition

[benefit 0]

Hi,

I am facing a pretty complicated situation and looking for suggestion here.

I am a LPR and going to get married. My gf is currently holding F-1 visa and her OPT application is pending. She will start working with OPT first in Aug and an H1-B visa will be sponsored later (probably early next year, cap-exempt). I would like to apply F2A green card for her, considering the VB advance in F2A category recently, and I still have 4 years to get US citizenship. However I have a few questions:

1. I understand that since I am a LPR, marrying with her will bring immigration intent for her. Will this affect her OPT application, and/or H1B application (she is not in STEM major so there's no issue about OPT extension)? She is still holding a valid F-1 visa stamp which will expire Feb 2011. If she plans to go back to home country and reenter US end of this year, will the marriage bring any difficulty for the reentry?

2. I am a bit confused by the I-130 processing time. From the USCIS website, I found the processing time of I-130 for LPR spouse is 5 months in TSC and 17 months for VSC. However I saw most cases reported here took more than 3 years. Is it because USCIS did not process I-130 until the visa number is available? Thus, provided that the VB in F2A category has advanced to July 2008, can I expect to get green card for my future wife in 2-3 years (I know VB is unpredictable, that's just my best hope)?

3. If I am living in Atlanta, which service center I am belonging to?

Sorry for the wordy questions for my complicated scenario. In summary, what time line do you suggest me to get married and file 130-petition? Should it be right now, or after she gets OPT approval, or after she is back from the home country, or after she gets H1B done?

Thanks a lot in advance.

[Boiler 46,121]

H1b is dual intent, the F1 is not.

The important date is when a visa number is available, processing times well as longer as they are shorter do not matter.