US citizen, UK spouse visa steps

[Starla]

To send away for my visa, I filled out the online application form from the ukvisas.gov.uk website. This form was the spouse visa form. You fill out all of the info (be honest with everything), look it over, and submit it. At the same time, you will be charged the fee for the application so have a credit card handy. They'll also ask you to create a username and password so you can access the application later if you need to.

I put together a collapsible file folder (tip from another applicant) filled with a letter of how we met and what our intentions are when we move to the UK. I included all of the mandatory information (passport, proof of where you're going to live, marriage certificate, bank statements, employment info, etc) as well as pictures of us together, with our families, anything to show that we had met, we had been a couple for a while and that this was a legitimate application. BE SURE to make copies of your marriage certificate or any other original documents and send those WITH the originals. As you can see from one of my posts, they kept the originals because I didn't send copies. Grr.

Once you submit your application, you will be told where to mail your application and supporting documents. This depends on what state you live in. You will need to print a copy of your application and mail it in with your info.

You will also be prompted to pick a location and date for you biometrics info. They will give you a list of states and locations to pick from so pick one that works for you.

When you make your biometrics appointment, you will get an email confirming the date. They will also give you a list of what you need to bring. I just brought the whole file folder with me including the application.

Now this is very important. In that biometrics confirmation email there is a link that says, "to cancel or change your appointment, click here"...you need to click this link, sign in with your username and password and print the appointment page out. It has a large bar code on it. They stamp and scan this sheet at the biometrics center and you need to submit it with your supporting documents when you mail your application in.

You will be told to mail your application within two weeks of getting your biometrics taken.

I sent my application/file folder through the post office and asked them to ship it overnight. It was less than $20 to do that and they gave me a tracking number so I could see when the package was received.

The consulate sent me an email once they received it...told me they would review the application and get back to me.

Five days later, I got an email saying the visa was issued and the next day, they sent everything back via UPS. You'll have to sign for it, by the way. Inside the package should be all of your original documents and your passport with the visa sticker on it.

As long as your intentions are good and you can show proof that you can support yourselves, you should be fine. Keep in mind that YOU will not have access to public funds so you need to show that you have money and a sponsor to help support you. Your husband, being a citizen, shouldn't be an issue.

I hope I helped. I SO wanted someone to do this for me when I was applying. It was nerve wracking.

GOOD LUCK!!

[Punktlich2]

Originally Posted by Starla

To send away for my visa, I filled out the online application form from the ukvisas.gov.uk website. This form was the spouse visa form. You fill out all of the info (be honest with everything), look it over, and submit it. At the same time, you will be charged the fee for the application so have a credit card handy. They'll also ask you to create a username and password so you can access the application later if you need to.

I put together a collapsible file folder (tip from another applicant) filled with a letter of how we met and what our intentions are when we move to the UK. I included all of the mandatory information (passport, proof of where you're going to live, marriage certificate, bank statements, employment info, etc) as well as pictures of us together, with our families, anything to show that we had met, we had been a couple for a while and that this was a legitimate application. BE SURE to make copies of your marriage certificate or any other original documents and send those WITH the originals. As you can see from one of my posts, they kept the originals because I didn't send copies. Grr.

Once you submit your application, you will be told where to mail your application and supporting documents. This depends on what state you live in. You will need to print a copy of your application and mail it in with your info.

You will also be prompted to pick a location and date for you biometrics info. They will give you a list of states and locations to pick from so pick one that works for you.

When you make your biometrics appointment, you will get an email confirming the date. They will also give you a list of what you need to bring. I just brought the whole file folder with me including the application.

Now this is very important. In that biometrics confirmation email there is a link that says, "to cancel or change your appointment, click here"...you need to click this link, sign in with your username and password and print the appointment page out. It has a large bar code on it. They stamp and scan this sheet at the biometrics center and you need to submit it with your supporting documents when you mail your application in.

You will be told to mail your application within two weeks of getting your biometrics taken.

I sent my application/file folder through the post office and asked them to ship it overnight. It was less than $20 to do that and they gave me a tracking number so I could see when the package was received.

The consulate sent me an email once they received it...told me they would review the application and get back to me.

Five days later, I got an email saying the visa was issued and the next day, they sent everything back via UPS. You'll have to sign for it, by the way. Inside the package should be all of your original documents and your passport with the visa sticker on it.

As long as your intentions are good and you can show proof that you can support yourselves, you should be fine. Keep in mind that YOU will not have access to public funds so you need to show that you have money and a sponsor to help support you. Your husband, being a citizen, shouldn't be an issue.

I hope I helped. I SO wanted someone to do this for me when I was applying. It was nerve wracking.

GOOD LUCK!!

The biometrics office in San Francisco LOST my daughter-in-law's file. She had to start over and pay again. Eventually the ConGen in Los Angeles reimbursed the duplicate payment.

She had married in the UK on a Visa for Marriage which might have made the second application, a year later, easier.

[Shipresa]

We did not send copies of anything, and were told by the Los Angeles UK Consulate to only send originals.

All originals came back.

They did express desire to see my UK Husband's passport or original long form birth certificate - there is a difference between British Citizen and British National.

Mine was issued same day as well.

All documents came back to us, including marriage certificate, which is lodged after your married in the Registry in UK (which does get confirmed by the consulate which issued the spouse visa).

[Pippa1960]

Your advice is very very helpful, and something I was hoping to find when I just joined this forum in need of marriage visa input for our upcoming move. Thank you so very much.

A couple of follow-up questions:

1. How much supplementary, non-required information did you submit, and what would you recommend to add in, besides what you noted in your post (or perhaps, that is the list).

2. Were you recommended to have a certain amount of readily available cash in your bank accounts? If so, what amount?

I can't thank you enough for your post,

Best,

Suzanne

Originally Posted by Starla

To send away for my visa, I filled out the online application form from the ukvisas.gov.uk website. This form was the spouse visa form. You fill out all of the info (be honest with everything), look it over, and submit it. At the same time, you will be charged the fee for the application so have a credit card handy. They'll also ask you to create a username and password so you can access the application later if you need to.

I put together a collapsible file folder (tip from another applicant) filled with a letter of how we met and what our intentions are when we move to the UK. I included all of the mandatory information (passport, proof of where you're going to live, marriage certificate, bank statements, employment info, etc) as well as pictures of us together, with our families, anything to show that we had met, we had been a couple for a while and that this was a legitimate application. BE SURE to make copies of your marriage certificate or any other original documents and send those WITH the originals. As you can see from one of my posts, they kept the originals because I didn't send copies. Grr.

Once you submit your application, you will be told where to mail your application and supporting documents. This depends on what state you live in. You will need to print a copy of your application and mail it in with your info.

You will also be prompted to pick a location and date for you biometrics info. They will give you a list of states and locations to pick from so pick one that works for you.

When you make your biometrics appointment, you will get an email confirming the date. They will also give you a list of what you need to bring. I just brought the whole file folder with me including the application.

Now this is very important. In that biometrics confirmation email there is a link that says, "to cancel or change your appointment, click here"...you need to click this link, sign in with your username and password and print the appointment page out. It has a large bar code on it. They stamp and scan this sheet at the biometrics center and you need to submit it with your supporting documents when you mail your application in.

You will be told to mail your application within two weeks of getting your biometrics taken.

I sent my application/file folder through the post office and asked them to ship it overnight. It was less than $20 to do that and they gave me a tracking number so I could see when the package was received.

The consulate sent me an email once they received it...told me they would review the application and get back to me.

Five days later, I got an email saying the visa was issued and the next day, they sent everything back via UPS. You'll have to sign for it, by the way. Inside the package should be all of your original documents and your passport with the visa sticker on it.

As long as your intentions are good and you can show proof that you can support yourselves, you should be fine. Keep in mind that YOU will not have access to public funds so you need to show that you have money and a sponsor to help support you. Your husband, being a citizen, shouldn't be an issue.

I hope I helped. I SO wanted someone to do this for me when I was applying. It was nerve wracking.

GOOD LUCK!!

[Starla]

Originally Posted by Pippa1960

Your advice is very very helpful, and something I was hoping to find when I just joined this forum in need of marriage visa input for our upcoming move. Thank you so very much.

A couple of follow-up questions:

1. How much supplementary, non-required information did you submit, and what would you recommend to add in, besides what you noted in your post (or perhaps, that is the list).

2. Were you recommended to have a certain amount of readily available cash in your bank accounts? If so, what amount?

I can't thank you enough for your post,

Best,

Suzanne

You're welcome, Pippa!

Supplementary info that I submitted was:
Tags from Christmas gifts that his mother or sister gave me
Birthday cards (with their envelopes) from his family
Engagement cards sent by his friends and family
Copies of emails we had sent each other from when we first met til now
Copy of an email that his boss sent me (his boss is a great guy)
Plane ticket stubs from each time I traveled to the UK (as well as confirmation emails from the airline)
Photos of us on vacations i.e., standing in Times Square and proof that we traveled to New York (a hotel receipt, ticket stubs from The Top of The Rock, etc)

Basically I wanted to put anything in there that would prove that what I told them about our relationship was true. We got engaged in May...the engagement cards were post-marked from the beginning of June... things like that. You have to ask yourself, "If someone were trying to prove to me beyond a doubt that they were in a legitimate relationship, what would I want to see as evidence?" I wouldn't go overboard with photos or letters... just show that if you told the consulate you had been in a relationship since 2006...prove that you even knew each other in 2006 with a post-marked card or an email, phone records, etc.

As far as the money in the account goes, they never specified an amount. I believe they just wanted to see that he and I had money saved, had a good work history and that we weren't going to take advantage of the system. We each put in six months of pay stubs to show that we had a steady income. I also added one pay stub for each year prior that I had been with the company I work for....I've been here a long time.

Other than what I told you here, my post pretty much explains exactly what I did.

I hope that helps!

[babystace806]

Hi there,

I've turned in my UK spouse visa application three and a half weeks ago now. I still have not heard anything back. I didn't use a lawyer or anything because my husband and I had a pretty straightforward folder of our information. I included all of the extra things mentioned in the list you wrote above (emails from when we met till now, cards from his family members, photos, previous travel itineraries for the last 2 years etc.). It was a very detailed folder with a table of contents. He's also on a very good salary to prove that he earns enough to support us both until I get hired in a position over there. I've also been working while in the US and I sent all of my pay stubs from the last year (along with his/and his P60). I'm just getting worried because every thread I see, people are saying how they received theirs in 3-5 days. And its been weeks now. Should I be concerned?

[thegirl]

Thanks for writing this! I looked for a step by step when I first started and had no luck. I ended up starting a blog about my visa/moving experiences which I hope helps people out!

[thegirl]

As far as how much money you need, my lawyer told me they look at how much you spend every month based on bank statements and they want you to have enough to spend that same amount for 3-6 months. Hope that helps!

[thegirl]

Originally Posted by babystace806

Hi there,

I've turned in my UK spouse visa application three and a half weeks ago now. I still have not heard anything back. I didn't use a lawyer or anything because my husband and I had a pretty straightforward folder of our information. I included all of the extra things mentioned in the list you wrote above (emails from when we met till now, cards from his family members, photos, previous travel itineraries for the last 2 years etc.). It was a very detailed folder with a table of contents. He's also on a very good salary to prove that he earns enough to support us both until I get hired in a position over there. I've also been working while in the US and I sent all of my pay stubs from the last year (along with his/and his P60). I'm just getting worried because every thread I see, people are saying how they received theirs in 3-5 days. And its been weeks now. Should I be concerned?

I sent mine in mid June and it has yet to come. I was told that over the summer months, you should expect much longer waits, 40-45 business days was the average the Brit consulate in LA told me. so I wound t be worried! Though I know how you feel..I'm anxious to get the thing already!

[babystace806]

Originally Posted by thegirl

I sent mine in mid June and it has yet to come. I was told that over the summer months, you should expect much longer waits, 40-45 business days was the average the Brit consulate in LA told me. so I wound t be worried! Though I know how you feel..I'm anxious to get the thing already!

Thank you for your message. I still haven't heard anything. I did hear that there's been delays at the Chicago Consulate because of an IT system upgrade they performed at the end of August for about 6 business days. Still concerned though. Hopefully I'll hear something soon. I'm really missing my husband. Have you heard any word yet on yours?....