# info about moving from France to U.S. with French spouse



## Slushpup (Mar 13, 2017)

I am not moving now, but just wanted to gather a little information in the event that my French spouse and I would need to move back to the U.S. from France for some reason.

I saw some posts on here from 2016 that said that the process to get a spouse visa usually takes 9-12 months. I'm wondering if that is still the case now that Trump is in office.

The first step, according to the U.S. immigration site, is to fill out form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. Then the website says: 
"Filing a Form I-130 is only the first step in helping a relative immigrate to the United States. Eligible family members must wait until there is a visa number available before they can apply to become a lawful permanent resident."

Is it that second step that can cause the long wait time? My husband said that he saw on the news something about applicants having to wait 4 years these days, but he didn't know if that was for spouse visa or another kind of visa.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You may want to start here and work your way through the information on an immigrant visa for the spouse of a US citizen. https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...a-for-a-spouse-or-fiance-of-a-us-citizen.html

I think the multi-year waits are for other sorts of family sponsored immigrant visas. Though I think it's probably safe to assume that the 9 to 12 month wait is reasonable for a spouse. (Hey, maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.) 

But I've also seen some news articles where foreign spouses from the "banned countries" simply can't get even spouse visas. Actually, there's no implicit "right" to bring your spouse to your home country most places these days. (Though France is close - technically a spouse visa can only be refused if the spouse is deemed to pose a security threat or refuses to learn French.)
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Can we leave catty politically motivated posts out?

Current filing to activation of Green card for spouses with no background issues out of EU countries runs 12-18 months. Processing times by center are available on line.


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## Slushpup (Mar 13, 2017)

twostep said:


> Can we leave catty politically motivated posts out?
> 
> Current filing to activation of Green card for spouses with no background issues out of EU countries runs 12-18 months. Processing times by center are available on line.


Yikes, I didn't mean for that to come off as catty. I'm actually one of the few people I know who is not anti-Trump. I just know that immigration has become stricter since Trump took office.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Slushpup said:


> Yikes, I didn't mean for that to come off as catty. I'm actually one of the few people I know who is not anti-Trump. I just know that immigration has become stricter since Trump took office.


My comment was not directed towards you.

Processing times have increased as every Green Card is now going through a physical interview. If you can still freeze your I130s - current reports are 50/50 on the success rate.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

I believe perhaps it was my reply that was being referred to as "politically motivated." It was not intended to be that way - only a recent example of the principle that there is no "right" in most countries for a citizen to bring in a foreigner spouse. Look over in the British section if you want to see any number of folks who have been turned down for a spouse visa - albeit for different reasons. And I'll admit that my experience living in France does lead me to consider some of the various diverse backgrounds that could complicate matters, given recent changes to the visa rules.

It's a good idea to keep an eye on changes in the rules over time, even if you're only considering a possible move "some day." The Visa pages on the Paris website are a bit less informative than they were a couple of years ago (no doubt due to staffing and budget limitations - also not a "politically motivated" statement - just a simple observation) and, unless you know what you're looking for, you can miss important information that may or may not affect your situation.

Let us know if you have other questions as you start your research.
Cheers,
Bev


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## rahul098 (Jul 31, 2018)

Processing times have increased as every Green Card is now going through a physical interview. If you can still freeze your I130s - current reports are 50/50 on the success rate.


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