Legal Question in Immigration Law in Massachusetts

Re: green card holder in the process of obtaining citizenship sponsoring his spouse

One more thing not mentioned in the other answers: it doesn't matter at all if your spouse's VISA expires if she is already present in the US. Visas are only needed to enter the US. If she/he is in school pursuant to a valid F-1 visa and is in compliance with all SEVIS requirements, then presumable he/she is in status and can continue living in the US until the point at which you become a US citizen.

Re: green card holder in the process of obtaining citizenship sponsoring his spouse

Nothing is stopping them from filing both for naturalization and a family visa petition at the same time, but here's what's going to happen. Naturalizations are currently taking around a year to complete. I don't see any hope in obtaining citizenship by July if they file in February. I would expect February next year.

Filing now for a family petition similarly will not make it by July. A green card holder can petition for a spouse, however, unlike the spouse of a US citizen, the spouse of a permanent resident must wait for a visa to become available. The current wait time for a so-called family preference category 2A petition is 4 1/2 years. You can track visa availability by looking at the US Department of State's monthly Visa Bulletin, which you can find here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4417.html

Once the spouse naturalizes, the petition will be bumped up to that of an "immediate relative" (the spouse, parent or unmarried minor child of a US citizen) and there will no longer be a wait for a visa, but you'll have to notify the USCIS service center that the petitioner is now a US citizen. I wouldn't expect USCIS to automatically do anything in this case.

So, in summary, you don't lose anything by filing for naturalization and a family 2A petition now, but I wouldn't expect anything to be done by July.

Re: green card holder in the process of obtaining citizenship sponsoring his spouse

It'll be faster to apply for a green card once your spouse receives US citizenship. It takes about 6-8 months after filing the adjustment of status for the marriage interview.