Recent Feedback
My wife is a legal permanent resident from the Dominican Republic. I'm a US citizen by birth. She has lived in the US for 2 1/2 years. We married on November 29th 2008. Her son is 3 years old and was born in the Dominican Republic before she received her green card. She came to us when he was about 6months old. We want know what the next step is to get her son here to the US. She filed an I-130 on February 20th 2007. We have the I-797C, Notice of Action receipt. Does the marriage to me help get him here faster? If so what is the process? We were told to fill out another I-130 petition with me on it. It looks like it might be better to get her US citizenship? Will she be eligible to take the test once she has 3 years living in the US?
You have a few options. The fastest would be for you to file an I-130 and I-485for the child. This will be an immediately available visa, and the child can get a social security number (good at tax time) right away if you do so. Her I-130 that she filed can remain until she becomes a US citizen (she can file in 3 years as a greencard holder/spouse of a US citizen). The I-485 could then be filed for the child based upon that I-130, but this will clearly take longer.
As for citizenship for your wife, it sounds as though she was a greencard holder prior to her marriage to you. Is that correct? Assuming she meets the good moral character requirements and the physical presence requirements, she can file after 4 years and 9 months of being a greencard holder, without regard to her marriage to you, or, if filing based upon her marriage to you, after 2 years and nine months of being a greencard holder and the spouse of a US citizen.