what forms are required to petition spouse and child?

[vjjmember111 5]

Guys,

I am in the process of petitioning for my spouse who is currently in overseas and my 22 months old kid. What are the forms do i need to fill in besides i-130 and G325A? Can some one please guide me through if i have to file separate form for my spouse and a kid.

[aleful 1,905]

hi

you may not need to file for your child, since he might be already a USC.

do you qualify for crba?

for your wife, one i130 and two G325A, one for each of you

[vjjmember111 5]

I am not citizen yet. Currently in line for n-400 interview. So my kid won't be citizen for sure.

what is CRBA? just curious how i as petitioner will qualify for that?

[newacct 688]

aleful was thinking you were a USC.

Anyway, you need to file separate I-130 petitions for your spouse and child, along with the required supporting materials for each I-130.

The spouse of a permanent resident is in the F2A category, which can have derivative beneficiaries, so if you were to remain a permanent resident for a few years, you would only need to file one petition for your spouse, and your child would be able to immigrate as a derivative. However, the spouse of a citizen is in the Immediate Relative category, which can't have derivative beneficiaries. Since you are planning to be a citizen soon, you need to file two petitions. If you file before you become a citizen, when you become a citizen you can have the petitions upgraded from the F2A category (which has a wait of around 1.5 years) to the Immediate Relative category (which has no wait). However, you might as well wait until you become a citizen and then petition them directly in the Immediate Relative category; there shouldn't be a difference in wait either way if you're going to become a citizen soon (since even if you filed in F2A it would just be waiting in the time before you became a citizen anyway), and you would save the hassle of having to call them to upgrade the case.

[vjjmember111 5]

Thank you for your kind and honest suggestions newacct.

The reason i wanted to apply for my spouse and kid before becoming citizen ( currently i am waiting for my n-400 interview) is to buy out some of the I-130 approval time. Not sure if this makes sense or not please advise.

Currently my field office N-400 processing date is dec 16th of 2015 as of June 31st. So right now they might be processing feb applications(just a guess). My priority date is end of May, 2016.

As of now California service center is processing I-130 for all kinds within 5 months.

With current timeline, i might be waiting well over another 3-4 months to complete my n-400 interview and possibly one more months for oath (total 4-5 months) if everything goes well.

Assuming I-130 approves within 5 months, i am hoping i can upgrade my application to immediate relative category from F2A right after my N-400 ordeal is over. This way i don't have to wait another 5 months to get I-130 approved.

Also does anybody know how long (actual time) California service center taking to process I-130? Because USCIS website says within 5 months.

I believe currently the end to end k1 process takes anywhere between 8-10 months. So if my I-130 is approved, i can cut down total time by half so that i can be with my family sooner. Having a small kid an not being able to stay together sucks. Seriously SUCKS!!

I just don't want to spend money to get opinion of a lawyer. So seeking vj members honest opinion and direction.

[vjjmember111 5]

any comment on my though process above guys?