How do I get a form I130 approved for my husband?

Have you called customer service to initiate a service request yet?

It usually takes about 9-12 months for the process to be completed. Have you received a notice of receipt indicating that your petition is pending? Have you received any additional correspondence from USCIS?

It is taking far too long. Because you are a US Citizen, you should be able do the I-130 and then the Consulate processing. Alternatively, if you have received a receipt notice, you could do the K3 Petition. *K3 Petition* Since you are already married and your spouse is outside the U.S., it would be necessary to apply for the K-3 Visa. The particular visa is considerably faster than the Consulate Processing needed to bring your spouse in as a Lawful Permanent Resident. Here, we would apply for the K-3 Visa which would take about 6 months. After, your spouse is in the U.S., the Adjustment of Status package can be filed.

Current processing times for spousal I-130s vary from 5 months in California or Vermont Service Centers to over a year at Texas Service Center. Where did you file the I-130? If it is at CSC or VSC, you can call USCIS National Customer Support Center and make an "Outside Normal Processing Time" request to get a case update within 60 days. If it is at TSC, you will likely have to wait until October or November to get a response.

You petition is not yet outside of the normal processing time: USCIS is now processing the petitions filed in August 2011, so you should not expect an answer for another couple of months.

Something was not done correctly because such a delay is highly abnormal. Retain an immigration attorney and they can either file it correctly or file a request in federal court to ensure a timely decision.

Your case is far outside of reported processing times for this type of case. Generally, CIS reports that it can handle a case like this in no more than 6 months. Truth is that the CIS National Customer Service Center is a joke and unlikely to resolve anything, truth is that scheduling an Infopass appointment to discuss your case at your local USCIS Field Office is also unlikely to resolve anything. If you were sitting in my office, I would recommend that you consider filing a federal lawsuit again CIS in an effort to find an answer to your pending I-130. You can make as many inquiries as you want to CIS and they have absolutely no obligation to do anything in any period of time. File suit and I can assure you that someone will find your file, someone will review the status of the case and you will likely receive some type of resolution within a reasonable period of time. Most of the federal suits that I have filed are concluded within 3-6 months. While waiting another 3-6 months may not be the best advice someone provides, it is a start. If you keep asking the same folks at CIS to do the same thing and they still won't do it, you have to consider thinking outside of the box in an effort to find a resolution to this problem. Most immigration attorneys will not handle federal court work for a number of reasons, but our office has found it to be quite the effective tool to make situations like yours get resolved. Good luck.