LPR sponsoring wife under F2A.. how long?

[freedom82]

I'm a LPR and wanted to know how long it would take to bring my wife (just married, she is an Indian citizen) over?

What is the wait time for F2A for LPR's??

The Visa Bulletin site was extremely difficult to understand. Can someone break it down for me?

Thanks in advance!

[mixchel]

Spouse of LPR is a numerically limited category--only a finite number of visas are available each year. Since more people apply than there are visa numbers available, the category becomes 'backlogged'.

Historically, the wait for a visa number in this category is 4-5 years. That means, if you petition your wife today (a good idea), she will be able to apply for the visa in about 4-5 years. Your petition may or may not be approved in this time, but the petition approval will have no bearing on her immigration until a visa number is available.

You may be eligible to apply for US citizenship as early as 5 years from the date you became an LPR.
There is NO numerical limitation for the spouses of USCs.
So, if you naturalize, your wife's immigration could start immediately.

You should look into this as India is one of the countries that doesn't allow "dual citizenship" and if you are an Indian national, you'll want to know what you are trading out if you take US citizenship.

Hope that helps.

[freedom82]

Hey thanks a ton.. i guess my next question is... Since im about a year away from citizenship. Should I wait to file then? If I wait until im a US Citizen, how long does it take to sponsor my wife??

[mixchel]

Ah, well that helps things along a lot.

You "should" petition for your wife ASAP. When you complete your oath ceremony, you can immediately 'upgrade' that petition to your new citizen status and begin your wife's immigration.
The benefit in filing now, while still a PR, is that if anything delays your natz, she still has a place in line. Like insurance.

You can start looking at how long your district office is taking with N-400s (is that Dallas for you? Consulate in your profile would equal your wife's overseas). Mine for example, takes 6 months pretty routinely, so we had an idea of what to expect.

If your wife is in the US when you have your oath ceremony, she may be able to stay and adjust status. If she's overseas when you naturalize, you notify the NVC after your oath and tell them to upgrade the petition. From then, it's about 6 months to visa-in-hand, but of course, every experience is a little unique.