Ready to Petition your Spouse? In this case, if you are a Lawful Permanent Resident and you are petitioning your spouse, it will be considered a Second Preference Petition and you can move on to the next step the moment it becomes current to either adjusting status or consulate processing. The first part must be done and must be done properly to ever proceed to the next part. For those living in the U.S., the processing time is currently 14-26 months. For immediate relatives (spouse, unmarried child under 21 or parent) of a U.S. citizen living abroad, the wait times for Form I-130 are currently between 9-13 months. For those living in the U.S., the processing time is currently 14-26. Thus, you want to make sure it is done properly to not waste time with returns or requests for evidence. Without a proper I-130 application there will never be a Green Card. If approved, then you could move onto the next step in the Immigration process. If not approved, it will take years of red tape. Remember, it is your responsibility to submit everything correctly. This sample I-130 Petition has everything necessary to give you the best chance possible to get approval. Just input your own information and use the application as a guide. It has been prepared by an expert Immigration Attorney. Thus, this book will allow you to see a guide of how it is done, prepared and submitted. Form I-130 (officially called the "Petition for Alien Relative") establishes that a valid family relationship exists between a U.S. citizen or green card holder and a person seeking a green card. This form is often simply referred to as the "I-130 petition." Filing the I-130 petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is the first step in the family-based green card process. In the context of a marriage visa or spousal visa, the I-130 petition is filed to prove that your marriage is legally valid (based on a marriage certificate). This is also the phase of the marriage-based green card process in which you submit documents (for example, joint bank account statements, joint insurance documents, and photos together) to prove that your marriage is "authentic" - that is, it isn't based on fraud. As an Immigration Lawyer, we are very aware of the red tape and the multiple items that could go wrong with any petition and/or application. Thus, this example should provide you with a very clear path with which you can use to prepare your own I-130 Petition to proceed forward. The sample petition spouse will give lots of great information and a significant amount of information and data that will comply with the requirements. We certainly hope you find this petition useful and helpful and hope for the best immigration experience you can have. We do have petitions on every subject area of immigration, and you might look at those if needed as well. If you do need to have a consultation, you can call our U.S. Immigration Law office at 562-495-0554 for an initial free consultation to determine what must be done to help you and your family.