I-130 decision for green card holder

[devid456 0]

Good morning, I am 34 years old and a green card holder. I currently live in the US. I got my employment based green card in December 2021. My fiance is in Nigeria and she is 34 years old as well and she is not a LPR or US Citizen. I wanted to bring her to the US. We are planning to get married next year March. Going what I have read so far on the internet and on this forum, it seems that the I-130 is the path to bring her to the US. But I had a few questions:

(a) does anyone know the average processing times for the I-130 currently? And are the processing times based by country or by service center?

(b) If by the time I get my citizenship (3 years and 6 months) from this year), the I-130 is still waiting to be approved, should I be ready to upgrade to the CR-1 visa? If I upgrade it then, would the time it took to process the I-130 be counted towards the CR-1 visa processing time (resulting in a speedup) or would that result in a new petition and a new processing time (that is, tra time to be added onto it)

(c) If by the time I get my citizenship (3 years and 6 months) from this year), the I-130 has been approved but the NVC has not scheduled a visa interview, would getting my citizenship speed up the process of scheduling the visa interview and by how much roughly?

(d) if we have children before the visa interview at the Lagos consulate is scheduled and I have my citizenship, would I have to start a new process for each of the children? How long would that take on average?

(e) If I have not gotten my citizenship and the I-130 is still being processed, can we add any children we might have to the application?

(f) There is a visa in the UK called the Skilled Visitors visa. The benefits of this visa is that you can bring your dependents with you almost immediately to the UK.  Can I emigrate temporarily to the UK, while keeping my status as a green card holder so that me and my fiance could be together faster?

(g) I saw mentions of a Facebook and Whatsapp group for Nigerians embarking on this journey.  Are they still accepting new members? If yes, could you be so kind as to post the link? 

Thanks for your answers.

[Mike E 11,739]

a. F2A cases from 2018 are being taken up, in theory.  I would not expect I-130 approval for at least 5 years

 

b. Yes

 

c. Yes

 

d. Yes. File I-130 for each kid whether you are a citizen or not. 

 

e. Yes

 

f. GCs are for living in the U.S. 

 

 

[appleblossom 2,477]

(a) by service centre https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/. But the consulate will also have a bearing on it, as some have longer waits for interviews that others. By the time your fiancé is ready for an interview, those wait times are likely to have changed though.

 

(b) and (c) your fiancé won't have a visa before you can apply for citizenship. The Visa Bulletin shows you that they're current processing those who applied in January 2018, nearly 6 years ago. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2023/visa-bulletin-for-september-2023.html

 

(f) you could, but would risk you losing your LPR status, and also mean you may not have enough physical presence to apply for citizenship. So probably not a good idea if your long term aim is to stay in the US.

[Boiler 45,466]

I am not so pessimistic about F2a PD, but time will tell.

 

I would focus on your Citizenship if it is your plan to be in the US.

[devid456 0]

Thanks @Mike E. @Boiler @appleblossom

Based on your answers, it is most likely that I would get my citizenship before the I-130 process is approved . If you will indulge me, I have some followup questions:

(a) Can I take the F-1 visa route for her instead? That is, try to find her a school here in Virginia that can take her in January 2024. 

(b) If (a) is viable, then what are the consequences of taking that approach?

(c) If (a) is viable, why don't green card holders choose (a) instead of I-130?

(d) If (a) is not viable, would it be better to not apply for citizenship and instead just add the kids to her I-130 and wait for them (my fiance and any kids we may have) to come to the US?

Thanks for your answers.

Edited September 13, 2023 by devid456

[Boiler 45,466]

Whilst you are a LPR the PD is more important that when the I 130 is approved. I

 

Student visa well that depends on the circumstances, obviously lots of Nigerians do get Student visa's. What does she want to study, can she afford it?

 

My guess is that any children would be USC's, CRBA, but if they are not you could file an expedited I 130 if they could not be included on a F2a because you had Naturalised.

[devid456 0]

Thanks @Boiler .for your patience and responses.

Some follow-up questions:

(a) Based on your response, is that even if the I-130 was approved today, the PD (Priority Date which is 01 Jan 2018) determines when the visa would be available, that is, when the NVC can schedule an interview with the Lagos consulate?

(b) As for the student visa, she is not from a family that can get that amount of money together ($26,000) for tuition. So I would have to be her sponsor. She has a degree from a trade school. Would that fly with USCIS?

(c) What are the approval times for an expedited I-130? Do you know where I could find those.

(d) Based on my own experience with the student visa, I was denied initially and had a six month wait before I could file for an F-1 visa again, which I was subsequently approved for. I was wondering if the reason why most people do the I-130 instead of the F-1 route is to remove the visa officer's discretion in the process?

Thanks.


 

[Boiler 45,466]

a yes

 

b USCIS do not deal with Student Visa's but I could see that situation raising questions.

 

c You have a basis for an expedite? What is that?

 

d F1 is a non immigrant visa, I 130 is for immigrating

[JeanneAdil 6,491]

things to know"

1. F1 visa has derivates (child under 21)

2. if u have a child before naturalizing and visa (s) then child can come with mother

3. If u have  a baby,  then naturalize,  baby will need 1 130

4.  naturalize and then baby is born ,  do a CBRA for the child to have US citizenship

[SalishSea 17,819]

She wants to immigrate, therefore the F-1 is not an appropriate visa.

 

I don't see any basis for an expedite.  Expediting because you don't want to wait the designated processing time is not possible.

 

Expediting F2A and other numerically limited visas is not possible.

 

Seems like you're grasping at straws for a way around the current processing times and available visa types.  Waiting and following the rules is just part of US immigration.  If that doesn't work for you, another option would be to move back to Nigeria.

[appleblossom 2,477]

4 hours ago, Boiler said:

c You have a basis for an expedite? What is that?

 

 

I think the OP was asking about the expedited option you mentioned for any future children, not an expedite for the spouse. 

[Boiler 45,466]

1 minute ago, appleblossom said:

 

I think the OP was asking about the expedited option you mentioned for any future children, not an expedite for the spouse. 

Well that sounds a long way away if needed 

[Mike E 11,739]

7 hours ago, devid456 said:

Thanks :

(a) Can I take the F-1 visa route for her instead? That is, try to find her a school here in Virginia that can take her in January 2024.

Her primary purpose for an F-1 student visa would be to date you and then adjust status when F2A for I-485 becomes current again, or you become a U.S. citizen. This is visa fraud.

 

7 hours ago, devid456 said:

c) What are the approval times for an expedited I-130?

 

There is no basis for an expedite, and even if their was, approving I-130 faster does not accelerate the F2A visa process. Until there is a visa number available there will ve no visa interview and no visas issued. And no way to expedite a quota green card.

 

Indeed, where there are kids, you want I-130 approval to take length  of time equal to the expected time for F2A to become current. Otherwise they can age out. Whereas if they are over age 21 when F2A becomes current, the time it took for I-130 to be approved can be subtracted from their actual age. If that resulting age is less than 21, then they stay F2A. Otherwise they go to F2B, and wait is even longer.
 

 

7 hours ago, devid456 said:

(d) If (a) is not viable, would it be better to not apply for citizenship and instead just add the kids to her I-130 and wait for them (my fiance and any kids we may have) to come to the US?

I do not  see how this is better.
 

* It takes longer for everyone to come to the U.S.  

 

* you are delaying the kids U.S. citizenship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[devid456 0]

Everyone, please do not be offended if it looks like I am not serious with my questions. I am trying to gather as much information as possible. I appreciate your candid responses to the topic. There is not a lot of places where I can get the actual experiences of those who have gone to through the process I am about to take. So summarizing,

(a) my fiance can come to the US on an F1 visa., file the I-130 (maybe after 5 months) but has to leave the country once the I-130 petition is approved and it has reached the NVC stage, correct?
(b) @JeanneAdil when you talked about derivatives, did you mean that my fiance can bring any kid we have (unlikely) to the US on an F-2 visa if she gets granted an F1 visa?
(c) Based on the above, I am trying to timebox my attempts. That is, apply for the F1 visa for next year January 2024 and wait to see if it gets approved or denied? If it gets denied, then apply for I-130 in December 2024. Is this timeline even doable?
(d) @Mike E What did you mean by delaying the kids' US citizenship? Based on the replies above, I cannot depend on an expedited I-130 application. So if I want to have my kids be US citizens using a CBRA, then I and my fiance would have to wait until August 2027 before we can start trying to have kids. Is my understanding incorrect?

Thanks.
 

Edited September 19, 2023 by devid456

[Boiler 45,466]

I am going to ignore the F1 as that is somewhat unlikely

 

You can file a I 130 as soon as you are married.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Boiler