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Asked 3 months ago - Port Deposit, MD
FlagHi I'm immigrant ( green card holder ) i want to petition my wife and daughter who live in the Philippines my daughter is 3 years old , i live in USA since 2004 some people telling me get my US citizenship first before filling I - 130 so it can shorten the wait . i went to visa bulletin to check the prior date of ( F 2 A ) and i don't understand this . . Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents : 7 7 of the overall second preference limitation , of which 75% are exempt from the per - country limit ; ( PRIOR DATE 22 SE P 10 ) here's the link : HTTP : / / travel . state . gov / visa / bulletin / bulletin . HTML help me to understand this : ( i just wanna make sure how long it takes to get approved my wife and daughter I - 130 if i m going to file it this march . . i need a help and advice i m desperate i miss them so much
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If you file the I-130 as a Permanent Resident, the wait is 2 years and 3 months at this moment. Your three year old daughter is eligible for derivative status which means she comes here with the mother and no additional I-130 needs to be filed for her. If you become a citizen then you simply upgrade your petition by sending proof to the USCIS of your new status. One drawback is that your daughter loses her derivative status and a separate petition would have to be filed for her. You haven't indicated how close you are to being eligible to file for US citizenship. You may need to consider this when deciding whether to file for citizenship. You may also file a separate I-130 for your daughter. After you have become a citizen, assuming you can, then the petition you filed for your daughter can also be upgraded.
Generally speaking, for most cases it is much faster for a US citizen to help a spouse and child to immigrate than it is for a permanent resident. If you are eligible for citizenship you should take a look at whether it would be best to file a naturalization application now to help speed up the immigration process for you wife and daughter.
