Speeding up I130 Process

[raidernation 1]

Just recently I (US Citizen)  filed an I130 petition for my wife who lives in Canada. She is currently a Canadian PR and her file is currently being processed at the Texas Service Center.  I read on their website that their current processing times is anywhere between 11-14 months.  I understand the process takes a while but I really feel that is such a long time especially when my wife lives across the border.  I understand that it's possible to get it expedited but being in love is not a viable reason for such things. She does have a tourist visa as well but I've heard from a few people that if she comes often that could delay the application even further which is what I don't want to happen, but if its possible for her to be with in the USA for extended amount of time without overstaying her visa that would be awesome.  I'm trying to look at all possible legal avenues to see if there are ways to speed this up. Things that I thought have so far is contacting the local congressmen and contacting USCIS from time to time.  Any tips or experiences with this would be awesome? I just want to be able to spend as much time with her without delaying the application process. Thank you. 

[Redro 4,611]

26 minutes ago, raidernation said:

Just recently I (US Citizen)  filed an I130 petition for my wife who lives in Canada. She is currently a Canadian PR and her file is currently being processed at the Texas Service Center.  I read on their website that their current processing times is anywhere between 11-14 months.  I understand the process takes a while but I really feel that is such a long time especially when my wife lives across the border.  I understand that it's possible to get it expedited but being in love is not a viable reason for such things. She does have a tourist visa as well but I've heard from a few people that if she comes often that could delay the application even further which is what I don't want to happen, but if its possible for her to be with in the USA for extended amount of time without overstaying her visa that would be awesome.  I'm trying to look at all possible legal avenues to see if there are ways to speed this up. Things that I thought have so far is contacting the local congressmen and contacting USCIS from time to time.  Any tips or experiences with this would be awesome? I just want to be able to spend as much time with her without delaying the application process. Thank you. 

This long processing times really do seem ridiculous. But, your wife doesn't have the right to a speedier process just because she lives in Canada.

She is welcome to visit you but Entry to the US is not guaranteed and 1.) She might not be given the full 6 months on her B1/B2 or 2.)  If they think she is coming to the US to LIVE not just visit she might receive a ban and you might have to file a waiver... she has an I-130 on file so has displayed immigrant intent. 

 

If there was a way for intending immigrants to stay in the US for extended periods while the I-130 was pending, trust me- you would have heard about it.

 

If she decides to visit keep the visits short (1-2 weeks max). Make sure she maintains her ties to Canada and brings proof of ties whenever she visits.

 

 

Edited April 26, 2022 by ROK2USA

[SalishSea 17,837]

12 minutes ago, raidernation said:

Just recently I (US Citizen)  filed an I130 petition for my wife who lives in Canada. She is currently a Canadian PR and her file is currently being processed at the Texas Service Center.  I read on their website that their current processing times is anywhere between 11-14 months.  I understand the process takes a while but I really feel that is such a long time especially when my wife lives across the border.  I understand that it's possible to get it expedited but being in love is not a viable reason for such things. She does have a tourist visa as well but I've heard from a few people that if she comes often that could delay the application even further which is what I don't want to happen, but if its possible for her to be with in the USA for extended amount of time without overstaying her visa that would be awesome.  I'm trying to look at all possible legal avenues to see if there are ways to speed this up. Things that I thought have so far is contacting the local congressmen and contacting USCIS from time to time.  Any tips or experiences with this would be awesome? I just want to be able to spend as much time with her without delaying the application process. Thank you. 

There is nothing that can be done.   Thousands of people who are also in love are ahead of her in the queue., because they applied earlier.   You simply have to wait your turn.

 

What country is she originally from?   Depending on country of origin, you may be looking at 2-3 years total for the process.   “Living across the border” is no real advantage to the timeline, for the simple reason that Montreal is a very busy consulate with a large baseline backlog that Covid only added to.  

 

You could consider trying to move there in the interim.

 

She can use the tourist visa for visits of reasonable duration, but not to live in the US.

 

You just filed-  and you want to “contact USCIS or a congressman.”???   Why?   Your petition is nowhere near being outside of  normal processing time to even make an inquiry.

 

Everyone here has had to wait in line.   It’s just the deal when we choose overseas partners.

[PaulaCJohnny 713]

There is not short way. You will need to wait like everyone else.

She coming to visit you doesn’t affect or delay her application. She can visit you every time that she is allowed entrance.

 

Call congressman or USCIS will not help if you doesn’t have a real urgent reason to ask for it.

 

Doesn’t make any difference if you are a border away or 8000 km. Everyone that is applying for this visa have the same rights that you, they also love their spouse and deserve be together. Your case doesn’t make others less important 

[raidernation 1]

5 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

There is nothing that can be done.   Thousands of people who are also in love are ahead of her in the queue., because they applied earlier.   You simply have to wait your turn.

 

What country is she originally from?   Depending on country of origin, you may be looking at 2-3 years total for the process.   “Living across the border” is no real advantage to the timeline, for the simple reason that Montreal is a very busy consulate with a large baseline backlog that Covid only added to.  

 

You could consider trying to move there in the interim.

 

She can use the tourist visa for visits of reasonable duration, but not to live in the US.

 

You just filed-  and you want to “contact USCIS or a congressman.”???   Why?   Your petition is nowhere near being outside of  normal processing time to even make an inquiry.

 

Everyone here has had to wait in line.   It’s just the deal when we choose overseas partners.

She is originally from India and has been in Canada for the past two years. That's what I thought that we have to wait the full year. Was just hoping in the meantime she could visit for a few weeks (2-4)  at a time but might be risky if she did that often. 

[nastra30 2,287]

Unfortunately, you'll have be patient and wait like everyone else; separation is part of the Immigration process. Of course if you have a legitimate reason to expedite you can try your luck; it won't hurt your petition in anyway.

If your wife has US tourist visa she can certainly visit you but admission and duration of stay will be at the discretion of the IO. Same is true for you visiting her in Canada on your US passport (but generally you can visit up to 6 months without a visa in Canada). 

[Redro 4,611]

1 minute ago, raidernation said:

She is originally from India and has been in Canada for the past two years. That's what I thought that we have to wait the full year. Was just hoping in the meantime she could visit for a few weeks (2-4)  at a time but might be risky if she did that often. 

USCIS is just the first stage. 

After your I-130 is approved your wife will be invited to apply for her visa (NVC stage). This is taking on average 3 months but if you do not submit all the required documents you have to re-submit and wait another 3 months. 

Then after all documents are accepted she needs to wait for her interview to be scheduled. 

On average, I-130s take 1.5 -2 years. 

Here are latest approvals out of Canada with Texas as the service center.

 

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=Texas+Service+Center&op66=All&op7=Canada&op1=3&op2=&dfile=No&op3=5&op4=1&op5=5%2C6%2C8%2C10%2C11%2C13%2C14%2C15%2C16%2C17%2C18%2C20%2C21%2C22%2C25%2C26%2C27%2C28%2C108%2C110%2C111%2C208%2C210%2C211&cfl=0

 

As you can see... not everyone on VJ fills out a complete timeline. So, it would great if you could help others and complete yours. 

[SalishSea 17,837]

6 minutes ago, raidernation said:

She is originally from India and has been in Canada for the past two years. That's what I thought that we have to wait the full year. Was just hoping in the meantime she could visit for a few weeks (2-4)  at a time but might be risky if she did that often. 

It will likely take well over a year.   More like 2-3 to complete the visa process.

Each requested admission to the US is evaluated on its own merits.   If she has few strong ties to Canada, expect extra scrutiny.

 

[Kai G. Llewellyn 838]

One could make an argument that you have less of a basis for an expedite than other couples living further apart, as you visiting each other (especially if you both moved physically close to the border) is far easier. You don't exactly -have- to get on a plane.

 

I would take the USCIS processing times with an -extreme- pinch of salt, they have been known to be pretty far off. I'd advise checking the timelines for TSC approvals on Visa Journey as that'd give you a better idea using real data rather than whatever rubbish USCIS put out. Some people have had I-130's adjudicated extremely quickly, others have been less lucky. It's the age old rule of planning for the worst, hoping for the best.

 

Now the good news is that the absolutely massive wait for immigrant visa appointments at Montreal has largely been eliminated, the wait for interviews has gone down from 11 months to 2 months. I'd advise being prepped as best as you can be for the NVC stage so you can get all needed documents submitted asap so you can get into the queue right away. Police certs are cheap for the most part, and it's worth having valid ones for her after a few months of the I-130 being pending, I think MTL is accepting them up to being 2 years old. She'll need one from Canada (RCMP) and India, as well as any other country that she has spent more than 6 months consecutively over her lifetime.

 

If the wait is really unbearable, it may be prudent to move closer to the Canadian border. Me and my husband got ourselves to the point of only being a 45 minute drive from each other despite me living in Canada and him in the US, we used to go back and forth with relative ease. My advice is that for visits is keep them short as possible, stick to the proposed trip length and ensure strong ties.

 

Additionally, your wife will likely want to consider applying for Canadian citizenship when she has accumulated 1095 days of physical presence in Canada within the last five years. It means that you both have a basis to return to Canada if you wish in the future AND the other benefit is that as a citizen of India is that she won't have as much visa free access to the rest of the world as she would with a Canadian passport it being one of the strongest passports in the world for travel freedom.

 

She can depart Canada while the Citizenship application is pending and live in the US as a LPR while the application is pending. This is what I'm doing at the moment and I took my Canadian Citz test last month. The Canadian Government changed the rules in 2017 that citizenship applicants are not required to intend to live in Canada once granted citizenship, they only need to maintain their Canadian PR status and have the required 1095 days physically in Canada in the previous 5 years.

 

Best of luck!

Edited April 26, 2022 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[JeanneAdil 6,511]

9 hours ago, raidernation said:

She is originally from India and has been in Canada for the past two years. That's what I thought that we have to wait the full year. Was just hoping in the meantime she could visit for a few weeks (2-4)  at a time but might be risky if she did that often. 

Congressman / congresswoman have no control over immigration as one informed me 

as immigration budget is from our fees not federal congress approved monies 

 

if your case goes past normal processing times u can sign a release with a Congressperson to ask about your case and they will receive the same info u have/same exact info u can get by sending an inquiry (which is what the Congress person does)

 

What is the funding for immigration?

 

Funding. USCIS funding comes primarily from fees we charge applicants or petitioners requesting immigration or naturalization benefits. These fee collections fund the cost of fairly and efficiently adjudicating immigration benefit requests.Mar 29, 2022

 

As for fast!!!!

This process is not fast especially for someone from India / she's going to need criminal report from there at the NVC stage for u to scan

and she may go thru extended AP after interview as she is from India 

 

check all posts from Canada portal

 

This process is not fast or cheap 

Edited April 26, 2022 by JeanneAdil

[raidernation 1]

10 hours ago, Kai G. Llewellyn said:

One could make an argument that you have less of a basis for an expedite than other couples living further apart, as you visiting each other (especially if you both moved physically close to the border) is far easier. You don't exactly -have- to get on a plane.

 

I would take the USCIS processing times with an -extreme- pinch of salt, they have been known to be pretty far off. I'd advise checking the timelines for TSC approvals on Visa Journey as that'd give you a better idea using real data rather than whatever rubbish USCIS put out. Some people have had I-130's adjudicated extremely quickly, others have been less lucky. It's the age old rule of planning for the worst, hoping for the best.

 

Now the good news is that the absolutely massive wait for immigrant visa appointments at Montreal has largely been eliminated, the wait for interviews has gone down from 11 months to 2 months. I'd advise being prepped as best as you can be for the NVC stage so you can get all needed documents submitted asap so you can get into the queue right away. Police certs are cheap for the most part, and it's worth having valid ones for her after a few months of the I-130 being pending, I think MTL is accepting them up to being 2 years old. She'll need one from Canada (RCMP) and India, as well as any other country that she has spent more than 6 months consecutively over her lifetime.

 

If the wait is really unbearable, it may be prudent to move closer to the Canadian border. Me and my husband got ourselves to the point of only being a 45 minute drive from each other despite me living in Canada and him in the US, we used to go back and forth with relative ease. My advice is that for visits is keep them short as possible, stick to the proposed trip length and ensure strong ties.

 

Additionally, your wife will likely want to consider applying for Canadian citizenship when she has accumulated 1095 days of physical presence in Canada within the last five years. It means that you both have a basis to return to Canada if you wish in the future AND the other benefit is that as a citizen of India is that she won't have as much visa free access to the rest of the world as she would with a Canadian passport it being one of the strongest passports in the world for travel freedom.

 

She can depart Canada while the Citizenship application is pending and live in the US as a LPR while the application is pending. This is what I'm doing at the moment and I took my Canadian Citz test last month. The Canadian Government changed the rules in 2017 that citizenship applicants are not required to intend to live in Canada once granted citizenship, they only need to maintain their Canadian PR status and have the required 1095 days physically in Canada in the previous 5 years.

 

Best of luck!

Thanks I was just thinking that she might as well get her dual citizenship for Canada as well since the wait for the I130 is going to take a while. I am considering of moving closer to her so that way we can be together instead of her coming here often so that way we can be together while waiting it out.  On the I130 application, I selected the Toronto Office to do the consular processing. Does this matter or will the application get shifted to Montreal first and then come to Toronto for the interview? 

[Troy B 223]

Only Montreal does Immigration interviews(IV) in Canada, the application will be shifted and stay with Montreal.

[Chancy 6,241]

2 hours ago, raidernation said:

On the I130 application, I selected the Toronto Office to do the consular processing. Does this matter or will the application get shifted to Montreal first and then come to Toronto for the interview? 

 

It doesn't matter that you selected Toronto on the I-130.  As mentioned above, US immigrant visa interviews in Canada are done only at Montreal.

 

[Kai G. Llewellyn 838]

3 hours ago, raidernation said:

 Does this matter or will the application get shifted to Montreal first and then come to Toronto for the interview? 

Montreal only, no other consular post in Canada has an immigrant visa unit. No idea why they offer the option of different consular posts in Canada, must be a legacy thing. If I recall, many years ago Vancouver used to also do IV processing, but sadly no longer.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[pushbrk 12,898]

19 hours ago, raidernation said:

She is originally from India and has been in Canada for the past two years. That's what I thought that we have to wait the full year. Was just hoping in the meantime she could visit for a few weeks (2-4)  at a time but might be risky if she did that often. 

As long as she doesn't abuse her visa privileges, there is no impact to the immigrant visa process.  The only "danger" is that of losing her visitor visa, which also has no impact on the spouse visa process.