How long does it take me to recieve a green card if my sister (who is a citizen )files for me?

Question

would like to know before the process begins.Thanks

Answer 1

It depends on the country you were born. Southeast Asian and Mexico, with large quota exceeding, have a waiting period of 10 years. European countries, with much less immigrants applying are much faster (1 year)

Answer 2

First your sister has to file I-130 Petition for Alien Relatives.

With I-130 approval which these days taking about 8 to 18 months, you will be given Priority Date (PD). Only when your PD becomes current according to Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin (VB) you can file for I-485, which is real green card application along with all other forms.

As of August VB the Family 4th Category (Sisters and Brothers of US Citizen) current PD is Sep 08, 1997; except Feb 22, 1997 if you are citizen of China or India, Jan 08 1995 if you are citizen of Mexico; Mar 08, 1986 if you are citizen of Philippines.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bullet...

So you are looking at about 12 years to 14 years or close to 20 years of you are from Philippines.