Marrying a Permanent Resident?

Hi All,

I've seen a lot of posts on the internet about people with DACA marrying a U.S. citizen but there is not much info about marrying a Permanent Resident. So if you can help me out, I'd really appreciate it!

I'm a Green Card holder and I'm not yet qualified to apply for a U.S. Citizenship but I will be, hopefully, in 2 years.

My boyfriend has a deferred action. He entered the country when he was a kid (I think 6 y.o.) with his parents. They entered legally with a Tourist visa but overstayed.

So, here are my questions.

We are in a serious relationship and looking to get married soon (fingers crossed lol). If we get married now, can my boyfriend apply for a green card or do I have to be a citizen first? How long will each process take?

If the process when marrying a green card holder is longer than the one when you marry a citizen, then we might be better off waiting 2 more years... I'm so confused..

Also, is having family members in the U.S. who are illegal an obstacle to any of the above paths to citizenship/permanent residency? Will it make the process more cumbersome? When I was applying for my green card, an illegal family member in the U.S. meant that I'm pretty much disqualified. But that's a different situation I guess...

Thanks in advance!!!

I think you COULD apply for him as a PR but the process might take longer than if you just wait those 2 years, then after marriage you guys can start the process and it will take less than a year.

Well you can file I-130, but the problem is that he'll not be able to get his green card until you naturalize. Why is that, you may ask.

The reason for it is found in INA 245(c)(2). Which states that anyone who:
1) Worked illegally.
2) Violated their status.
3) Failed to maintain status (ie. overstayed).
Is ineligible to adjust status, unless they're immediate relatives of a US citizen, or a member of 4 other special groups that are not relevant here.

So what options are open to you? Only really wait until you naturalize. Whether you file I-130 for him now, and later update the petition upon your naturalization, or just file I-130 with the remainder of the AOS application later on won't change anything at all.

Any other options? Not really. Some do technically exist but considering that F2A category (spouses of LPRs) is backlogged about 18 months, and you're 2 years away from naturalizing they're not even worth thinking about (if you really want to know then you could go through the I-601 waiver, but that'd take another 1 year and not even guarantee re-entry for him).