| Q. |
About visa
My wife is from Panama and iam a US resident permanent, she enter US with b1 b2 visa on 2003, can she become legal in US?
User's Location:
Wichita, Kansas, United States of America
Category:
Temporary Visitor Visa (B)
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| A. |
As a permanent resident, you may petition for your spouse under the family-based 2A preference.
U.S. immigration has a family-based preference system that allocates immigrant visas under various preferences based on the applicable relationship. The preferences include:
FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES
First: Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.
Second: Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent
Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, and any unused first preference numbers:
A. Spouses and Children: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;
B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older): 23% of the overall second preference limitation.
Third: Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.
Fourth: Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.
The spouse of a green card holder falls under the family-based 2A prefernce and has a wait of about 5 years.
For info on the preference system, priority dates and processing times see:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bull...
As you can see from the Visa Bulletin, most Family 2A cases take about 5 years. The first stage of the process involves petitioning your spouse through the fiing of an I-130. Once approved and once her priority date is current, you can move forward with the second and final stage of either adjustment of status or immigrant visa processing.
The filing of the I-130, unfortunately, does not provide any interim status to remain in the U.S. while everything is pending or while she waits for her priority date to become current.
One way to speed up the process is if you naturalize and become a U.S. citizen. If you are eligible to naturalize, and if you become a U.S. citizen, her case would convert from Family 2A into an immediate relative case where there is no backlog and no wait for a priority date. She could then imemdiately process for her green card under adjustment of status or immigrant visa processing. If you are eligible to naturalize and become a U.S. citizen, that may speed up the overall processing of her green card matter.
Another option to bridge the long procesisng time period is if she qualified for a non-immigrant category to work in the U.S.
One important issue is to ensure that she does not overstay any I-94/visitor status and accrue unlawful presence.
Regards, |
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Andrew M. Wilson
Immigration Lawyer
Serotte Reich Wilson, LLP
(716) 854-7525
www.srwlawyers.com
Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and is not intended, nor should it be construed, as legal advice. This post does not create any attorney-client relationship between us. For specific advice about your particular situation, consult an attorney.
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