Just Married, Spouse Out of Status — Lawyer Says Wait 10 Months. Safer to File I-130 Now?

Location: Southern California

Hello everyone, I’m (32M) and just married my wife (26F) last month.

For context, my wife and I have been dating for about a year now. Her visa is currently out of status due to overstaying, and we want to get that squared away as soon as possible. We recently had a consultation with an immigration attorney who advised us to wait 10 months before applying so we can gather stronger evidence that our relationship is bona fide.

To make things more complicated, we currently live separately with our parents (about an hour apart). I live with my elderly father, and due to his health and care needs, it wouldn’t be feasible for my wife to move in with us. She is also staying with her parents for financial reasons.

Our situation is only temporary. I’m finishing my bachelor’s degree and plan to start a master’s program in about a year, fully covered by the GI Bill. Once that begins, we’ll move in together, and I’ll have my housing and living expenses covered — so stability is definitely on the horizon.

Given that she’s currently out of status, though, we’re anxious. We know there’s a risk in waiting, but we also don’t want to rush our first filing and risk a denial — especially since we’ve heard appeals are much harder to win.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Should we file the I-130 now as a first step, or wait and file everything together later? We’re worried that she will face removal proceedings during this waiting period, but also about submitting a weak application.

We genuinely love each other and want to do everything in our power to have a successful visa process. Any advice on what our next steps should be would be hugely appreciated. Thank you in advance!