Delays in Marriage Green Cards Separate Families for Over a Year

In 2025, marriage-based green card applicants face average wait times of 12–24 months, with some couples separated for even longer. Processing backlogs, consular delays, and stricter USCIS scrutiny are forcing families to spend milestones apart while waiting for approval.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Why Marriage Green Cards Take So Long

Marriage-based green cards are among the most common immigration filings, but in 2025, demand is higher than ever. USCIS and U.S. consulates are struggling with:

• Case backlogs left over from pandemic-era closures.

• Increased filings as other visa categories become harder.

• More detailed fraud checks for marriage cases.

• Staffing shortages across the system.

The result: many families are spending more than a year apart while cases move forward.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Process in Brief

Marriage-based green card cases typically involve two key filings:

• Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) to prove the marriage relationship.

• Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) for those already in the U.S., or consular processing abroad for those outside the U.S.

Work authorization and travel documents (Forms I-765 and I-131) can also be filed for spouses in the U.S.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

How Backlogs Impact Families

Delays in marriage filings affect more than paperwork. They create:

• Long-distance separations between spouses.

• Financial strain when the foreign spouse cannot work.

• Emotional stress during important life events.

• Disrupted plans for housing, children, or careers.

Every month of waiting represents lost time together as a family.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Consular Delays Make Things Worse

For spouses abroad, the wait is often even longer. The National Visa Center (NVC) must process documents before scheduling embassy interviews. Some posts report delays of:

• 12–18 months before interviews are available.

• Extra months if additional security checks are required.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Why USCIS Scrutiny Is Tougher

USCIS officers are under pressure to detect fraud, which means:

• More couples are asked for additional evidence.

• Stokes interviews (separate questioning) are increasing.

• Small inconsistencies can trigger Requests for Evidence (RFEs).

While genuine couples eventually succeed, these delays can stretch cases by many months.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Strategies for Couples to Survive the Wait

Couples facing delays can protect themselves by:

• Filing early to secure a place in line.

• Preparing thorough marriage evidence packets.

• Keeping strong records of shared finances and housing.

• Staying in regular contact to show ongoing commitment.

• Seeking legal help if RFEs or denials are issued.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Emotional and Financial Toll

Many couples underestimate how disruptive the wait can be:

• Rent or mortgage for two households.

• Legal fees and travel expenses.

• Anxiety and depression from prolonged separation.

Delays don’t just test patience—they test relationships.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Why Legal Help Can Make a Difference

While no attorney can speed up USCIS processing, professional guidance ensures:

• Applications are complete and error-free.

• Evidence is strong from the beginning.

• RFEs are handled quickly and effectively.

• Couples avoid mistakes that create additional delays.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Conclusion

Marriage green card delays are keeping families apart longer than ever in 2025. Couples must plan for extended timelines, prepare evidence carefully, and take proactive steps to protect their cases. With the right preparation, you can reduce risks and look forward to a successful reunion in the U.S.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

FAQs (Quick Answers)

How long does a marriage green card take in 2025?

Most couples wait 12–24 months, sometimes longer depending on the case.

Why are cases delayed so much?

Backlogs, staff shortages, and stricter fraud checks all play a role.

Can my spouse work while waiting?

Yes, if in the U.S. with a pending I-485 and approved I-765 work permit.

What if we get an RFE?

Respond quickly with strong evidence. Delays grow if you miss deadlines.

Is consular processing slower than adjustment of status?

Often yes, since embassy interviews can take over a year to schedule.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

If your family is separated by green card delays, don’t go through it alone. Our office helps couples prepare strong filings, respond to RFEs, and navigate consular backlogs so you can reunite sooner.

📞 Call us at +1 561.600.1166, schedule a consultation at calendly.com/imm-law, or message us on WhatsApp at https://wa.link/2liwjz to get help with your case.