How can I speed up my filing process?
Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington, My father and his wife were filed for by her daughter. They have been married for 18 years. They are both holders of green cards and have petitioned for all the children, who are 18, 21, 26 (myself), and 31.
I was told that the process would take seven years to be completed for me seeing that I am over the age of 18 and have one child. It was started in 2016.
Can you confirm the length of time that was presented to be true? Also, what are the implications if I have another child or get married before the seven years have passed? I already have a US visa, but my child does not yet have one. Is it advisable to seek entry into the US before the seven-year period for school or work? Would retaining the service of an immigration lawyer reduce the waiting time?
Your help will be greatly appreciated.
– T.T.
Dear T.T.,
When a lawful permanent resident (LPR) parent files a petition for their child (under 21 years of age), the current processing time from filing to a visa being available is about two years. That is the F2A preference category. When an LPR files for a son or daughter (over 21 years of age), that processing time is approximately seven years, and that is the F2B preference category.
The processing times are controlled by the United States State Department and issued in a visa bulletin each month, and they depend on how many visas are available and how many persons are waiting for a visa in a given category. The times can be longer or shorter, and no one knows when a visa is actually available until the visa bulletin is issued for a given month.
VOID PETITION
The reason your visa should take approximately seven years is because you are over 21, not because you are over 18 or because you have a child. If you were to get married while your sponsoring parent is still an LPR, your petition would become void and your parent would have to refile once they become a US citizen. An LPR – green-card holder – cannot sponsor a married son or daughter; only a US citizen can file for a married son/daughter. If you marry after your parent becomes a US citizen, then you would retain your filing/priority date, but you would change categories to F3 – married son/daughter of an American citizen. That category is currently taking about 12 years. Having another child will not affect the filing; you would add the new child/children to the consular processing.
If you have a pending petition for residency, it demonstrates an intention to migrate, and applying for a non-immigrant visa such as a student or work visa would complicate that intent. Hiring an immigration lawyer during the filing process turns over the matter to the lawyer. It does not change the processing times, but it ensures that your file would be processed accurately and on time. We see persons who try to handle their filing become overwhelmed and/or waste time waiting for the State Department when they should have been acting on their own behalf. The choice to hire an immigration lawyer is the intending immigrant’s or the sponsor’s.