Can I get a US spouse visa in 4 months?

Question: Can I get a US spouse visa in 4 months? 

Answer: US visa processing is performed first by the USCIS in the United States and then by the US Embassy in the country where the visa beneficiary is located. USCIS case processing times are no secret. They are posted on the USCIS website. As of 15 February 2008, the California Service Center was processing US citizen petitions filed in August 2007 for I-129F fiancé (e) visas and July 2007 for I-130 spouse visas. The Vermont Service Center was processing fiancé (e) and spouse petitions filed in August 2007. This means that USCIS is currently 6-7 months behind (see link:  https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/Processtimes.jsp?SeviceCenter=CSC).

USCIS processing of the petition is only the first step of the process. Now add to this time the fact that once the USCIS processes a visa petition, it still needs to be sent back to the US Embassy in Thailand for the Thai partner to file the visa application. Visa processing at the US Embassy may take from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 months from the time the file is received until a visa is issued. Therefore, the processing of 6 months at USCIS, in addition to 1 1/2  to 3 1/2 months at the US Embassy, makes the entire visa processing time from 7 1/2 to 10 1/2 months from the petition being received at USCIS until a visa is issued.

For those individuals or companies advertising that they can obtain a fiancé (e) or spouse visa for clients in 4 months, we recommend asking them how they can obtain a visa faster than the USCIS can complete processing of the initial paperwork. Ask them to put the 4 months guarantee in writing with a full refund if they cannot get you a visa in 4 months.

Increased Visa Application Fees
Effective from 1 January 2008, non-immigrant visa application fees increased from US $100 to $131, and immigrant visa application fees increased to $400, as stated on the website of the US Embassy in Bangkok.