How long should the process take?
Answer:
Family first preference: Waiting periods of two years for natives of all countries except the Philippines and Mexico. Filipinos can expect quota waiting periods of at least 11 years. Mexicans can expect to wait about four to five years.
Family second preference: Waiting periods of four years can be expected for natives of all countries for family-based 2A (spouses and children of permanent residents) and six years for family-based 2B (unmarried sons and daughters over 21 years old).
Family third preference: Waiting periods of at least three years can be expected for natives of all countries except Mexico, where the wait is about nine years and the Philippines, where the waiting periods are at least 11 years.
Family fourth preference: Natives of all countries may expect waiting periods of at least ten years. Filipinos will have to wait at least 19 years.
EX: Suppose you are the parent of a U.S. citizen child who is over age 21. You are applying for a green card as an immediate relative with your U.S. citizen child acting as petitioner. You are married, but your spouse is not the other parent of your U.S.-citizen child. Clearly, you have a problem. Your spouse cannot get a green card automatically as an accompanying relative because accompanying relatives are included only with preference relatives, not immediate relatives. Neither can your spouse be sponsored separately by your U.S.-citizen child because your spouse is not the child's parent.
If your present marriage took place before your U.S. son or daughter reached the age of 18, your problem is solved, because your spouse is, according to immigration law, a stepparent. Likewise, if your spouse adopted your child before the child's 16th birthday, your spouse qualifies as an adopting parent. Stepparent and adopting parents can qualify as the immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen and your child can petition for a stepparent or adopting parent just as if he or she were a natural parent.
What if your marriage took place after the petitioning child's 18th birthday? Now your spouse is not considered a stepparent for immigration purposes and so you will have to wait until you get your own green card before anything can be done for your spouse. Once you get your own green card, you will be able to act as petitioner for your spouse, who will then qualify under the family second preference as the relative of a green card holder. Unfortunately, this category is currently subject to a quota wait of several years, so your spouse will have to wait even longer before getting a green card.
The same sort of problem also comes up when the U.S.-citizen petitioner is the stepparent. The U.S. stepparent may easily petition for the alien husband or wife, but if the alien spouse has children by a previous marriage and those children were over the age of 18 when the present marriage took place, they will have no one to petition for them until their natural parent gets a green card and they qualify under the family second preference.
It takes about a year.
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