The uscis processing time

[Saab 0]

Hi, I am a permanent resident who will get married soon, and I will apply to bring my wife here with me. I checked the USCIS website for the first stage, and it says 70 months for the same service areas. I would like to know the realistic timeline to get my case to the consular processing part and any ideas on how I could speed up the process like choosing the right center if its possible or being on the right state ? 

[Lil bear 4,189]

18 minutes ago, Saab said:

Hi, I am a permanent resident who will get married soon, and I will apply to bring my wife here with me. I checked the USCIS website for the first stage, and it says 70 months for the same service areas. I would like to know the realistic timeline to get my case to the consular processing part and any ideas on how I could speed up the process like choosing the right center if its possible or being on the right state ? 

You get no choice in processing center.  

[powerpuff 6,697]

USCIS is not what will determine your wait time. It’s the NVC/dept of state. It’s about a year to approve I-130 petition at USCIS stage. However, by law, visas for spouses of LPRs are capped at a certain number each year which creates a backlog. You have to rely on the Visa bulletin to see if your PD (date of I-130 NOA1) is current and if you can move to the next stage. Right now the visa bulletin is showing the date of 15 Nov 2021 for F2A. Meaning those who have a PD of 15 nov 2021 or earlier are eligible to receive visas. 
 

It is not possible to speed this up as these are numerically capped per year with no exceptions. So in total, you’re looking at about 5 years to bring your spouse over.
 

In contrast, USC do not have any limitations for bringing immediate relatives so my advice would be to naturalize if/when you can. 

Edited June 25 by powerpuff
Typos

[Saab 0]

5 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

You get no choice in processing center.  

How it’s determined? If i am in California i will be sent to cali center ?

[powerpuff 6,697]

Just now, Saab said:

How it’s determined? If i am in California i will be sent to cali center ?

No, it’s not geographic. USCIS has their own system of dispersing petitions which is not public knowledge.

[Saab 0]

7 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

USCIS is not what will determine your wait time. It’s the NVC/dept of state. It’s about a year to approve I-130 petition at USCIS stage. However, by law, visas for spouses of LPRs are capped at a certain number each year which creates a backlog. You have to rely on the Visa bulletin to see if your PD (date of I-130 NOA1) is current and if you can move to the next stage. Right now the visa bulletin is showing the date of 15 Nov 2021 for F2A. Meaning those who have a PD of 15 nov 2021 or earlier are eligible to receive visas. 
 

It is not possible to speed this up as these are numerically capped per year with no exceptions. So in total, you’re looking at about 5 years to bring your spouse over.
 

In contrast, USC do not have any limitations for brining immediate relatives so my advice would be to naturalize if/when you can. 

Ok help me understand. Now the visa bulletin at nov 2021. How fast does that bulletin move ?

so if it moves a by month every month the process is going to take at least 2 years and 8 months to get to the embassy process part ? Is my timeline correct?

 

My wife is residing at Malaysia which is not a busy embassy does that help reduce the 5 years wait time ? 
i cant naturalize right now i still have to wait for 3.5 years to apply 

thank you for your help 

[powerpuff 6,697]

You can look at previous visa bulletins to see how much it has moved. It didn’t move from last month and I haven’t looked at the previous ones but they’re all available for you to examine.

 

If it’s not a busy consulate, then maybe it might be slightly less. However, you’re mainly tied to the visa bulletin and it’s not possible to predict how it will continue progressing. But as I said looking at the previous ones might give you an idea.

[Saab 0]

5 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

You can look at previous visa bulletins to see how much it has moved. It didn’t move from last month and I haven’t looked at the previous ones but they’re all available for you to examine.

 

If it’s not a busy consulate, then maybe it might be slightly less. However, you’re mainly tied to the visa bulletin and it’s not possible to predict how it will continue progressing. But as I said looking at the previous ones might give you an idea.

Ok i am checking the bulletin right now. Just one more question to understand this whole process. I have to apply and wait for the visa bulletin to get current. When i am current i depends entirely on the embassy? 
 

[appleblossom 2,478]

6 minutes ago, Saab said:

Ok i am checking the bulletin right now. Just one more question to understand this whole process. I have to apply and wait for the visa bulletin to get current. When i am current i depends entirely on the embassy? 
 

 

No, it's nothing to do with the consulate, your case hasn't even been passed over to them at that point. You just need to watch the Visa Bulletin and see if it moves, as above you're probably looking at several years before your wife is eligible for a visa. So just file the I-130 and get her place in line asap. 

 

Good luck. 

[mam521 2,062]

The unfortunate reality is you may end up naturalizing before the F2A category becomes current.  However, after you've naturalized, you can "upgrade" her case because there are no numerical limits on visas available for spouses of American citizens.  From there, she'll get pushed ahead for her consular interview.