F2A Visa Processing Time: What Spouses and Children of Green Card Holders Need to Know

When considering F2A visa processing time, priority dates are, at the time of this writing, close to being current for every country except Mexico, which is a year delayed. Historically, that would mean that spouses and unmarried children under 21 of U.S. green card holders would see their immigrant visa process move forward without substantial wait times.

Unfortunately, under the actual processing of alien relative petitions, being “current” does not mean fast. A current priority date only means that a visa would be available if you were either adjusting status or had an interview at a U.S. Consulate. For those foreign nationals waiting outside the United States, the entire consular processing will not occur until after the petition itself has been adjudicated, and adjudication times have risen enormously in the last year.

The F2A category covers some immediate family members of lawful permanent residents, who within immigration law are not considered “immediate relatives,” a defined term in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Immediate family members are only spouses, children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens. Unlike immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, F2A is capped, so a visa number must be available before the case can be finalized, and family members who are not considered “immediate relatives” face more roadblocks to applying for adjustment of status inside the United States. As a result, an application may have to be adjudicated at a U.S. Consulate, and the enormous current alien relative petition processing time may result in substantial wait times.

The Visa Bulletin is one bottleneck but not the only one.

What You’ll Learn

• Why a current priority date does not mean your case is closed and what the second backlog is

• What the commonly quoted “two-year” F2A wait actually measures

• What really happens to a child who turns 21 mid-process

• The step your sponsor must take when they naturalize (it is not automatic)

• The one-year deadline after approval that can get an approved petition revoked

• Why leaving the U.S. to process abroad can trigger a ten-year bar

Understanding the F2A Delay: Visa Bulletin Backlogs vs. Processing Time Delays

When someone says, “F2A has little or no backlog,” they are considering only half the story; the second issue, processing times, may be far more damaging.

The first potential backlog is the priority date queue. A priority date is generally the date that an alien relative petition (I-130) is filed. Only a set number of F2A visas are issued each year per country, and the priority date gives an idea about the length of time necessary to be able to receive the immigrant visa. Nationals from several countries face more substantial wait times than other foreign nationals because of the larger number of applicants from those countries, which include China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines.

At this time, the wait times for all countries except Mexico are the same in the F2A category. Depending on the number of applicants in line and who receive immigrant visas, the priority dates move both forward and backward.

The Visa Bulletin may show your particular priority date as current. Unfortunately, because of the extreme time it is currently taking to process I-130s, a case may be delayed even when the priority date is current. 

Processing time: Under the current administration, F2A processing for applicants overseas has increased dramatically, and the U.S. government is stating that even for current categories, processing time for the alien relative petition can stretch to five years. Although this should affect processing time, even a current priority date may not result in faster adjudication.

Consider a permanent resident filing paperwork to bring a spouse and minor unmarried child from abroad. Consular processing can’t begin until the I-130 petition is approved. If that approval takes five years, the whole case takes longer than five years regardless of the Visa Bulletin.

The government says it processes alien relative petitions when priority dates become current. That is not what is happening. In our work with clients, we repeatedly flag current cases to USCIS that remain unadjudicated. The delays appear deliberate.

The Growing Irrelevance of F2A Visa Bulletin Numbers: Adjustment of Status vs. Consular Processing

Although historically F2A category applicants faced roughly a two-year wait for petition adjudication, that is no longer the case.

There is a substantial difference between adjudication inside the United States and seeking an interview at a U.S. consulate.

For individuals who are not “immediate relatives” according to the INA definition, i.e., spouse, parents, and unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens, other immediate relatives are on the priority waitlist. In order for such an individual to be eligible to adjust status in the United States, the foreign national must have entered legally and must be in status at the time he or she is eligible to apply for adjustment of status. Therefore, even if your child entered legally but thereafter went out of status, the child must travel overseas to attend an interview at a U.S. consulate.

For those eligible to adjust status, the alien relative petition need not be approved; it merely has to have been filed and the priority date current. Adjustment of status applications are proceeding very quickly inside the United States. 

The situation is very different for those who must process their applications at a U.S. consulate. For these individuals, the alien relative petition (I-130) must first be approved and then transferred to the National Visa Center (NVC) so that consular processing may begin. If processing times are five years or longer, then the wait to bring your spouse or child increases dramatically.

Processing time is a separate clock, and right now, consular processing for family members overseas, even in the F2A category, can run five years or longer.

If Your Child Turns 21 While You Wait

Although there is a separate category for children over twenty-one, an F2B child who turns 21 during the F2A wait may retain their original F2A priority category.

The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) affords some protection to children from “aging out” of their visa category. Under CSPA, a child’s age remains fixed for processing while the alien relative petition is being adjudicated. As a result, the child may be able to retain the faster F2A visa category despite turning 21. 

CSPA protection is not automatic or without conditions. Specific rules must be followed to maintain eligibility, and those rules are strict.

Once the petition is approved, the child’s age moves forward until the DS-260 is filed, and at that point the age – for immigration classification – is again frozen. The age is only frozen by filing the DS-260 if it is done within one year of becoming current.

Cases where a child was close to 21 at the time of filing get complicated quickly.

If your child is within a few years of turning 21 and a petition is pending, don’t navigate this without an attorney.

How Your Sponsor Becoming a Citizen Can Significantly Impact Your Case

If your green card holder parent naturalizes while your F2A petition is pending, you become an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen. No priority date, no waiting in line. Significantly, the law has fewer obstacles to eligibility for adjustment of status in the United States. Immediate relatives do not have to be in the United States in status or working illegally, and time is not a bar to adjustment. To file for adjustment when eligible, the I-130 does not need to be approved; it only needs to be current. Adjustment cases are also proceeding quickly.

If your relative is outside the United States or not eligible for adjustment of status, the first step is for the 

petitioner to notify USCIS of the status change. Nothing in this system moves without someone pushing it forward.

Again, the child of a permanent resident who is out of status inside the U.S. cannot adjust status and obtain permanent residence inside the United States. However, if that parent naturalizes, and the child entered the United States legally and remains under 21 by age or by virtue of the CSPA, the child can file for adjustment of status inside the country. 

Adjustment of status inside the U.S. currently processes far faster than consular processing abroad, which can run five, six, or seven years.

That gap is the entire ballgame. If your parent is eligible to naturalize, citizenship moves your child out of a consular process that can run five, six, or seven years and into an adjustment process that is currently moving quickly.

The Bottom Line: Naturalization, where eligible, is one of the most powerful tools to move a case from the F2A category into an immediate relative.

Petition Approval Starts the One-Year Consular Processing Clock for F2A Visas

A common assumption is that once a child’s F2A priority date becomes current, the family has unlimited time to finish. That’s wrong.

Once an approved alien relative petition is transferred to the National Visa Center, the applicant has one year to take action for cases that are current. If this window is missed, the Department of State will move to revoke the petition.

The Department of State is actively pursuing these revocations right now.

The clock restarts from each documented action, and it keeps running for the whole time the foreign national is waiting for permanent residence.

If your child’s case sits at the National Visa Center for two years with no action while a priority date is current, the petition is at risk or revocation. The fix is straightforward: check in with the Department of State at least once within every 12-month period after the last documented action. Don’t wait for the green card process to feel “active” before engaging.

If Your Child or Spouse Entered Without Inspection

A child who entered the U.S. without inspection generally cannot adjust status inside the country — even with an approved F2A petition. They generally must leave the United States and process their green card at a U.S. consulate abroad.

Two narrow exceptions exist. The first is qualification under an old law that expired on April 30, 2001. A child can potentially qualify for this law under INA sec. 245(i) if the child or parent was eligible and filed a petition prior to the sunset date. A second manner of overcoming an unlawful entry is if the child has a parent in the military. In that case the parent may ask for a parole in place which afford the beneficiary the possibility of filing for permanent residence inside the U.S. may be possible.

Outside these situations, consular processing is the only path. A critical consideration is whether a departure will trigger a ground of inadmissibility.

Unlawful presence begins accruing at age 18. This is so despite the fact that children are considered children up until age 21. Departing after more than 180 days of unlawful presence triggers a three-year bar on reentry; departing after a year or more triggers a ten-year bar.

A 20-year-old unlawfully present for one year who departs will be barred for 10 years, unless they obtain a waiver. That waiver is based on hardship to USC or a parent with permanent residence and is discretionary; its approval is not guaranteed.

The decision to depart may implicate ability to return to the United States. It is always important to consider whether a ground of inadmissibility may apply, which can implicate the applicant’s right to return. Grounds of inadmissibility arise not just from unlawful presence but also from interaction with the criminal justice system or misstatements to immigration officials. The Administration is currently working on new prohibitive regulations arising from the public charge grounds, which we understand will include even reviewing an applicant’s weight, for example. Before any child or adult leaves the United States, it is important to consider any consequences of the departure and speak with an immigration attorney.

When the Delay Itself Is the Problem: Suing to Compel a Decision

The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) governs agency behavior. It requires the government to act within a reasonable time on cases before it.

A five-year F2A visa processing time for a minor child or spouse of a lawful permanent resident is not a reasonable time to adjudicate such a petition. In our view, it is not only indefensible but contrary to law.

USCIS is the only agency that can adjudicate alien relative petitions, and when it sits on a case for years, even after your priority date is current, the delay itself may be a violation of law.

Petitioners can sue the government to compel adjudication. Such a suit asks a federal court to order the agency to decide the case that has been unreasonably and unlawfully not adjudicated when the agency is required to act with reasonable diligence and speed.

In practice, our firm has begun filing these suits. The current delays run contrary to an important goal of the Immigration & Nationality Act calling for family reunification.

If your green card application has stalled for years with no movement, litigation may be a viable means to force the us government to do its job and get movement on a seemingly stalled process.

Common Questions about F2A Visa Processing Time

What to Do Next

The four things that actually change your timeline:

• Check this month’s Visa Bulletin on the Department of State site and confirm your priority date for your country of birth. Dates can retrogress without warning.
• If your child is 16 or older, compare the years left before they turn 21 against your remaining wait, and get that assessed now, not later.
• Check whether the petitioning green card holder can naturalize. If they can, this is usually the fastest route out of the queue.
• If your petition is with the Department of State, take documented action at least once a year so the one-year clock cannot run out on you.

Need Immigration Help with Your Case?

The F2A process involves sequential stages, monthly Visa Bulletin changes, and country-specific backlogs that can significantly shift your timeline. Oltarsh & Associates, P.C. works with LPR petitioners and their family members to navigate I-130 filings, priority date strategy, and both adjustment of status and consular processing routes.