Dear Sajha members we need some genuine suggestions.

My friend is on F1 status and he recently married his girlfriend who is a permanent resident (since last six months). Now what would be the next step for him? Is it a better idea to file an I-130 right now or he needs to wait till the naturalization of his wife and when she becomes the citizen then file I-485 (adjustment of status) for my friend?

 

We did Google a lot and came to the conclusion that if my friend files for I-130 right now then his case will be in queue but it may take several years before his case may get approved (4 yrs or more) and in the meantime if his case is not approved/still pending before his F1 expires then he needs to leave the United States within the grace period (60 days from the date of court notice). Furthermore, for now even if he wants to go back to Nepal for and come back then At port of entry, Immigration officers may have several questions for him because filing I-130 ( although he hasn’t till now) shows that He showed the immigration intent( while F1 status requires everybody to show non-immigrant intent).

I am sure some of the sajha friends have gone through these hassles so I would request everybody to suggest me some genuine answers.

(Please just don’t ask to see a lawyer which I might go for but at first I want to gather some information from your personal experiences).

Thanks again for your valuable time you guys have a great weekend.

As far as i know, its better to till ur friend wife becomes citizen.. it will faster and easier..

menmyself [May 06,2012 12:41]
As far as i know, its better to wait till ur friend wife becomes citizen.. it will faster and easier..hope this helps..

If you wait her to be a U.S. citizen, it will take about 6 years for your friend to get a green card. If he applies I130 now, as a spouse of green card holder, he will probably get the green card within 3 years.
Check out the visa bulletin:
http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_5692.html

 Thanks @menmyself and @nepali_kanchho for your genuine inputs. This is why i love sajha. 

Couple of things. How desperate is his need for green card? Is he on a brink of loosing his f1 status or no? How soon is the wife eligible to file citizenship? Okay now, if ur friend is in good status and if the wife qualifies to apply cotizen soon then I would wait till she becomes citizen. And don't get into false impression about people saying it takes 5-6 years of u file right now. It's when you file and how long after your application your petitioner becomes citizen. I -30 is just the beginning of the process, it don't take more than 5-6 months to process, what you should be worried about is the I 485 which is change of status application and thats what takes longer time to proceed than the I -30. I -30 simply verifies your relation with the petitioner. Things like stopping at the airport, loosing f1 status after your ur application( don't worry about these things as long as the relation itself is Bona fide). One more thing as long as your application is pending with uscis u can always travel with travel document if there is need to do so and you can always apply for work permit. Hope that helps.

 when your I485 is pending, you can file work permit, get advanced parole and leave and come back  and don't have to maintain any status because you're in  status for pending appication  , right? so someone who's already in the USA the wait isn't that hard. and it's like 100 times better than being in f1 plus if ur status is still pending and ur spouse becomes citiezn, then u can easliy switch the process at that point/. 
but lets say if the spouse was in Nepal then yes, he/she would have to wait  5 years or so get a visa to come to USA for marriage to a gc holder. so when most suggestions are made saying it takes forever to get benefits from gc holders as spouse and just wait till natrulazation, are those targeted  to people whose spouses are in in other countries and not in the USA. how about the ones who are already in the usa? 
I'm not an expert in immigration matters but just wondering , why wait if you can have wp, advanced parole and don't have to maintain f1 status.
so i guess it all boils down to when the visa becomes available after I-i130 so they can file the I485 and enjoy the wp and advanced parole. so see the visa number availibility and it will give u some good ideas.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=75783e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextoid=75783e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html

 Why are people giving silly suggestions, telling him to wait, just for the sake of it? If your wife becomes a citizen over the next couple years, your case will get expediated anyway. There are a number of positives of filing right now, including EAD. Besides, like was the case a couple years ago, there might be chances that visa processing date goes as far as 6 months. 

@Seriousnepali, He is not that desperate to have GC right now but he would love to have work authorization card. At this moment he doesn't yet have SSN but he is maintaining his F1 status in good condition. His wife is permanent resident only since last six months so, it will take her around 5 years to be citizen.

@pshrestha78, @riddle and @ Seriousnepali, thank you guys for your valuable information on this matter.

from your and what i have googled so far, I came to the conclusion that it is right time to file I-130 for my friend.

if any of you have additional experience and information on this matter, your inputs are always welcome.

Thanks again.

One more thing, do my friend have to hire an immigration lawyer to file I-130 for him or Can he do it himself? what do you suggest?

 He can do it himself unless he feels like throwing the money away. If he's loaded then I'd rather he donated it to "Maiti Nepal" or some charitable NGO for poor, indigenous and women's welfare. 

@Seriousnepali and @pshrestha78

So... If my spouse is a green card holder, I can apply for i-130??? Once it gets approved I can then apply for I-485 and while it is pending I can file for work permit? and I can work while my i-485 is pending...Is it that what you are saying??? So I dont need to wait till my spouse become citizen, to get a work permit ???

 Dont forget to file G325A form for both Petitioner and Beneficiary along with I-130 Form

 yes and no. yes, that you get wp and advanced porole when ur i485 is pending. and no u can't file for i485 immidiately after ur i-130 is approved. u have to wait for your visa number is available under the category of gc holder's spouse. the links i have provided above explain u what next after the I130( upper one) and gives u expectations how long to wait ( the link below). good luck.. again i'm not an expert , neight do i have skills to advise anyone. just did some research out of curiosity..

 You can file for work permit (EAD)  along with I485, but your priority date needs to be current . It will take around 2 to 4 years for priority date to be current. 

 Thank U so much guys for your support..