How long does it take to get a green card?

[Dare_Do 3]

Hi guys, please advice on how long it takes to get a green card after you file for AOS. My fiancée will arrive in the middle of February and we will get married at the end of it, filling for AOS in the first dates of March. How long will it take since then? She's gona b getting Master's in Switzerland this fall, will she get the green card in time? As far as I know she cant leave the country before she gets it.

Ty!

[Pitaya 2,577]

Hi guys, please advice on how long it takes to get a green card after you file for AOS. My fiancée will arrive in the middle of February and we will get married at the end of it, filling for AOS in the first dates of March. How long will it take since then? She's gona b getting Master's in Switzerland this fall, will she get the green card in time? As far as I know she cant leave the country before she gets it.

Ty!

Take a look at our timeline for but one example, (likely not the norm) there are plenty of other examples at the AOS forum.

YMMV.

Happy trails on your visa journey.

Edited December 23, 2012 by A&B

[Dare_Do 3]

Hello A&B,

So it makes it 3,5 months, why not the norm though??

Take a look at our timeline for but one example, (likely not the norm) there are plenty of other examples at the AOS forum.

YMMV.

Happy trails on your visa journey.

[Pitaya 2,577]

Hello A&B,

So it makes it 3,5 months, why not the norm though??

Check other postings, some folks have, or have waited for much, much longer….

We feel very fortunate.

Edit: some have been transferred to other service centers, or local offices. Some don't get an interview., some do (we did).

Edited December 23, 2012 by A&B

[Dare_Do 3]

Check other postings, some folks have, or have waited for much, much longer….

We feel very fortunate.

Edit: some have been transferred to other service centers, or local offices. Some don't get an interview., some do (we did).

I pulled up "similar timelines", it showed a lot of ppl with the same 3 months timeline for AOS...

Dam I am at a loss...

[Hypnos 6,576]

AoS from K-1 is now processed at the NBC rather than the CSC, so I would expect their processing times to come down from the ~6 - 10 months that it took to AoS from K-1 previously.

[Mufmer 24]

I pulled up "similar timelines", it showed a lot of ppl with the same 3 months timeline for AOS...

Dam I am at a loss...

Kindly visit the following link, may does it help for u.

http://blog.uscis.gov/2012/05/three-myths-adjustment-of-status.html

Bye.

[Dare_Do 3]

Ty all guys!!

[CaroSL 68]

But I think you can ask for an authorization to leave the country at the same time you fill for the AOS, right?

Does she have to leave just for the graduation ceremony? In that case you could fill for this (if I am not wrong, we asked a lawer, it should take 2-3 months to get the authorization). I don't know a lot about that since I haven't looked deeply into it yet, but if I were you I would rather look that way.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

It will take too long. But that is not a problem.

Also to clear up another issue, she can LEAVE anytime she wants, but cannot RETURN until she has a green card or an AP.

In the case of one of our sons, he arrived in June (K-2 to follow) and had to leave to continue his masters degree in Russia by the end of August. I had his paperwork ready and we filed the I-485 the day after he arrived. We received the receipt about a week later and I made an infopass appointment with the local USCIS office and applied for an emergency AP (advanced parole) using the I-485 application as his basis. He had an AP in 9 days.

The local office also contacted the NBC (national benefits center) and asked that the file be forwarded to them immediately (local offices eventually get the files anyway) There was no interview. He had hs green card in hand 3 days before he left for Moscow.

However the expedited gree card was not an issue, he already had an AP and was ready to leave anyway.

I had arranged all this before he arrived.

I suggest you go to your local office before your fiancee arrives, talk to them, tell them what you need to do, see how they can help you. Our local office was a great asset to us in our journey.

The other thing you need to prepared for is that your wife will have to maintain US residency. This is very important or she will lose any benefit of the green card and you will have to file an I-130 for a CR-1.

She needs to maintain a US residence, bank account, file taxes, get a drivers license or state ID and conduct herself in EVERY way as a US resident. Most importantly, MOST IMPORTANTLY, she can NEVER represent herself to anyone for any reason as a resident of another country. Our son was very careful to register with his school as a resident of the US. Keep copies of all of this with her whenever she re-enters the US in case CBP asks about it. It is BEST to keep absences less than 6 months, you MUST keep them less than 12 months without a re-entry permit

This MAY affect the tuition she pays but she MUST do it and it is an important piece of evidence. In the case of our son it made no difference as he was a Ukrainian going to school in Russia so he was a non-resident, non-citizen anyway.

He came to the US after his first year of a 5 year Master's program. He finished the remaining 4 years in Moscow and is now a Doctoratal candidate at Rice University in Houston.

It CAN be done, you need to be very careful and pay close attention to what you are doing.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi guys, please advice on how long it takes to get a green card after you file for AOS. My fiancée will arrive in the middle of February and we will get married at the end of it, filling for AOS in the first dates of March. How long will it take since then? She's gona b getting Master's in Switzerland this fall, will she get the green card in time? As far as I know she cant leave the country before she gets it.

Ty!

And I see now she is a Russian citizen going to school in Switzerland. That actually makes it easier. Many times people are returning to their HOME country for education because if they claim to be residents/citizens they get free or very reduced tuition. This always looks suspicious. Since she is a non-resident anyway, no worries.

Incidentally it does not matter who PAYS for the education, our son had full tuition and room and board for the final year, BUT it matters how they register with the school their residency.

Also be careful that she NEVER claims to be a US citizen until she is. She is a citizen of Russia and will be a resident of the USA

[Dare_Do 3]

And I see now she is a Russian citizen going to school in Switzerland. That actually makes it easier. Many times people are returning to their HOME country for education because if they claim to be residents/citizens they get free or very reduced tuition. This always looks suspicious. Since she is a non-resident anyway, no worries.

Incidentally it does not matter who PAYS for the education, our son had full tuition and room and board for the final year, BUT it matters how they register with the school their residency.

Also be careful that she NEVER claims to be a US citizen until she is. She is a citizen of Russia and will be a resident of the USA

Gary and Alla,

Thank you a lot for such a detailed answer! This really helps!

The thing is, it is going to be her first year of Master's, meaning she will only come back to US for school breaks, is that gona b a problem??

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Gary and Alla,

Thank you a lot for such a detailed answer! This really helps!

The thing is, it is going to be her first year of Master's, meaning she will only come back to US for school breaks, is that gona b a problem??

That's what our son did for four years. He came here after his first year, got his green card and remained a resident wehile he did a 5 year masters program.

He came home for Christmas and summer breaks. He had a summer job and income in the US. It is NOT a problem BUT must be carefully documented and she must carry these things with her when she returns. It is BEST not to stay out of the country for more than 6 months, not stay out of the country unnecessarily (if her classes are finished, get back here, it is not the time for a 3 week Swiss vacation) Summer work is not required, though our son had a summer job. She must file tax returns but she can file jointly with you, that's fine.

Every time he came back he hada folder with...

1. Most recent tax return

2. copy of vermont drivers license

3. 3 most recent bank statements (his bank account here was always used, that is how we sent him money)

4. copy of draft registration in US

5. copy of his student enrollment AS A US RESIDENT (translated)

He was never asked for any of this but I know of one case recently where a student was detained while they checked into this, but this student had NO documentation she had maintained residency. CBP can ask for this at any time.

We had no problems, his foreign education is complete and he has his unconditional permanent residency card and can file for citizenship in 2014. He was more than 18 when Alla naturalized so he did not get automatic citizenship, he has to qualify on his own after 5 years as a resident. He is in Moscow right now and still makes brief visits there for vacations.