AOS for wife on B-2
 

Hello,

I am a green card holder and I've been living in the US for the last 3 years. Recently I got married outside US. My wife has multiple entry B-2 visa (she got the visa BEFORE we got married) and will be visiting me in about a month from now for the first time.

Question: can I file an application for AOS as soon as she joins me? I am not quite sure how it works for spouses of GC holders. Somebody told me she would get AOS approval within 4-6 months and eventually she would be eligible to stay in US lawfully until she gets the green card. But it sound too good to be true ;-)
Any ideas or experiences?

Thanks,
Ricky

Re: AOS for wife on B-2
 

Unfortunately you got really crap information. There are only a certain number of
spouses of permanent residents granted GCs each year so there's a waiting list. All
you can do is file the I-130 for her. She will then get a "petition date". When that
date becomes "current" (e.g. she's at the head of the list) she will be eligible for
a visa (or to adjust status if she's legally in the US at the time). That wait is
currently about five years. Having the I-130 petition filed for her will almost
certainly prevent her getting a renewed B-2 visa if she needs one because of her
immigrant intent (it's less likely to prevent her entering the US on her current
visa because it's less likely they'll see she has an I-130 pending but that is
possible too).

If you become a US citizen in the meantime, she would have a visa number available
"immediately" - you would have to get he I-130 petition acted on first though. If you
are eligible for citizenship, it may be worthwhile looking into getting that before
starting the process.

Andy.

--
I'm not really here - it's just your warped imagination. "ricky67"
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > Hello,
    >
    > I am a green card holder and I've been living in the US for the last 3 years.
    > Recently I got married outside US. My wife has multiple entry B-2 visa (she got the
    > visa BEFORE we got married) and will be visiting me in about a month from now for
    > the first time.
    >
    > Question: can I file an application for AOS as soon as she joins me? I am not quite
    > sure how it works for spouses of GC holders. Somebody told me she would get AOS
    > approval within 4-6 months and eventually she would be eligible to stay in US
    > lawfully until she gets the green card. But it sound too good to be true ;) Any
    > ideas or experiences?
    >
    > Thanks, Ricky
    >
    >
    >
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Re: AOS for wife on B-2
 

You are correct, this information is too good to be true. Since you are only a PR,
you cannot file AOS for your wife until you file an I-130 for her, then wait for a
family preference visa to become available, which will take about 5-6 years. If you
become a citizen, then you wife would be an immediate relative, and the application
process would be much shorter, but still usually takes longer than 4-6 months. Take
Care. Shelley "ricky67" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hello,
    >
    > I am a green card holder and I've been living in the US for the last 3 years.
    > Recently I got married outside US. My wife has multiple entry B-2 visa (she got the
    > visa BEFORE we got married) and will be visiting me in about a month from now for
    > the first time.
    >
    > Question: can I file an application for AOS as soon as she joins me? I am not quite
    > sure how it works for spouses of GC holders. Somebody told me she would get AOS
    > approval within 4-6 months and eventually she would be eligible to stay in US
    > lawfully until she gets the green card. But it sound too good to be true ;) Any
    > ideas or experiences?
    >
    > Thanks, Ricky
    >
    >
    >
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com