The amount of time it will take for marriage-based immigration will depend on whether you are applying for an immigrant visa, adjustment of status or a fiance visa:
How long will it take to get an immigrant visa for your husband or wife?
The expected waiting time for the approval of an I-130 for a spouse is five months. This processing time could go faster or slower depending on how many applications USCIS receives. In addition, if your application is not complete or not organized in a way that makes it easy for the immigration officer to review, you may receive a request for evidence (RFE) asking you for additional information. An RFE will slow down the approval process. Therefore it is very important that you include all of the required information in a well-organized fashion in your initial submission.
If you are a United States citizen, the I-130 petition will be forwarded to the National Visa Center after it is approved. If you are a permanent resident, however, you will not be able to begin the processing at the National Visa Center until a visa number becomes available. The Visa Bulletin is updated monthly and can provide you with an estimate of when a visa number will become available.
The amount of time that your package spends at the National Visa Center will depend largely on how quickly you can obtain and submit the required documents. The time it takes to receive an interview will largely depend on which embassy or consulate the interview will be at. Some locations have a larger backlog and it will take longer to receive an appointment at those locations.
Overall, you should expect that it will take at least one year to receive an immigrant visa based on marriage, and the wait could be considerably longer if you receive a request for evidence or you have difficulty in obtaining the required documents.
How long will it take to get a green card through adjustment of status for your husband or wife?
If you are a United States citizen, it could take as little as four months for your spouse to obtain a green card through the adjustment of status process. Many cases, however, will take up to a year or longer before your spouse obtains a green card. The length of time it takes will depend partly on the number of cases your local USCIS office handles. Some offices take longer to schedule interviews because they receive a high volume of applications.
In addition, you can expect the process to take considerably longer if you do not submit all of the required documents or receive a request for evidence. In addition, in some cases a second interview will be scheduled. If this happens in your case, it will take longer for your spouse to receive a green card.
Your husband or wife will be allowed to lawfully remain in the United States until a final decision is reached on the adjustment of status application. In addition, your spouse will be able to apply for an employment authorization card or work card while the adjustment of status application is being processed.
How long will it take to get a fiance visa?
The expected waiting time for approval of and I-129F petition is five months. After your petition is approved, the package will be forwarded on to the embassy or consulate near your fiance. The length of time for an interview to be scheduled will largely depend on which embassy or consulate the interview will be at. Some locations have a large backlog and it will take longer to receive an appointment at those locations.
Overall, you should expect that it will take at least six to eight months before your fiance receives a fiance visa, and it would not be unusual for it to take close to one year. The wait could be considerably longer if you receive a request for evidence or you have difficulty in obtaining the required documents.
