- The processing time for U.S. citizens filing Form I-130 for a spouse beneficiary ranges from 13-54.5 months. - The processing time for legal permanent residents filing Form I-130 for a spouse beneficiary ranges from 32-67.5 months.
The 90-day rule states that non-immigrant visa holders who marry U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents or apply for adjustment of status within 90 days of arriving in the U.S. are automatically presumed to have misrepresented their original nonimmigrant intentions.
Immigrants that have a valid work visa, like an H-1B or an L-1 visa are allowed to continue working in the United States while their green card application is being processed. Otherwise, they must obtain an Employment Authorization Document or EAD (work permit) before they can start working.
If you are married to a US citizen and both of you live in the United States, you can apply for your green card (Lawful Permanent Residency) immediately after your marriage. There is no mandatory waiting period before you can submit your application.
Getting a green card through marriage is a 3-step process: The U.S. citizen spouse establishes the marriage relationship by filing Form I-130. Apply for the green card through adjustment of status (Form I-485) if you're living in the U.S. or Form DS-260 if you're a foreign national living abroad.
If you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, then as soon as you and your foreign-born spouse are married, you can file a Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The average processing time for Form I-130 is around 12 months. This estimate is based on analysis by Boundless partner Track My Visa Now, who tracks wait times in real time, giving the most up-to-date estimates for Form I-130 petitions filed today.
If you are married to a US citizen and both of you live in the United States, you can apply for your green card (Lawful Permanent Residency) immediately after your marriage. There is no mandatory waiting period before you can submit your application.
When the foreign husband or wife is present in the United States, it is often possible to file the I-130 and the I-485 at the same time (a process known as “concurrent filing”).
Even though it appears that USCIS approved the I-485 before approving the I-130, the I-130 has most likely been approved, and the case status has not yet updated to reflect it. If you filed your I-130 online, log into your account and see if there is an approval notice in the Documents tab.