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After I received my green card and moved to the U.S., I’d like to know if I can sponsor my spouse, who is currently on F-1 status, through I-140 Follow to Join.
I decided to do this and hired a local attorney and already paid them, but it doesn’t seem to be moving forward, and I’m worried.
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T. 718-514-2777 HK Jang
Marriage Green Card in U.S.: $1,900
Marriage Green Card Abroad: $2,100
Green Card for a Parent in US: $1,750
Green Card for a Parent Abroad: $1,950
Perm(LC) : $4,500
I-140 : $2,000
I-485 : $1,500
K-1 Visa : $1,450
Change of Status : $1,500
N-400 : $600
Re-Entry Permit : $500
Green Card Extension : $300
To pursue a green card through Follow to Join, you generally need to have already been married before you (the principal applicant) received your green card, and your spouse must not have already been in the U.S. at that time.
Since your husband was already in the U.S. on F-1 at that time, he technically doesn’t meet the standard requirements to be a Follow-to-Join beneficiary. That doesn’t mean it’s automatically impossible, though — there’s still a path to Follow to Join. Please proceed in this order:
1) Complete Form I-824
2) Prepare the original copy of the documents you originally submitted to USCIS with your immigration filing
3) Copy your I-797
4) Copy your green card
Once you submit item 1) (Form I-824) to USCIS, it should be approved.
To check whether your attorney has actually been working on this, you can look into whether I-824, the I-797 copy, and the green card copy have been submitted.