Post your UK visa timeline here!

[cccapps]

Country applying from: USA
Type of visa applied for: Settlement - Spouse
Date application submitted (online or in person): 10/12/2011
Date biometrics taken: 10/18/2011
Date documentation was received by UK Border Agency office: 10/21/2011
Office location processing your visa: New York
Projected timeline given: 15 business days or more (paid for priority)
Date your visa was received: TBD

I am a bit nervous about it but I do have a FT job lined up, he has a flat, and enough benefits to support us until my first pay check. I have money in the bank but not a lot; just enough until my first paycheck. The only concern is the age difference and that I had a couple of snags before we married which I won't go into. But all the documentation that they requested was submitted, including plenty of photos, travel documentation when we met, stuff that we did and bought together, and the other legal documents they requested. I did it all in an orderly notebook with another of copies of everything that was submitted. Keeping my fingers crossed and hope that I am there by Thanksgiving week.

[cccapps]

Originally Posted by tbonetedh

LOL, totally nerve wracking... your whole future in the hands of some nameless, faceless bureaucrat... send it off (My application packet was weighed 8 pounds) with the payment and cross you fingers, and say your prayers...

and when you get it it is party time... wwhhheeeeeee......

My application packed weight 13 pounds including the copies I submitted with it. With that being said though I had it in 2 notebooks with sheet protectors and lots of supporting documents.

[MayB]

Originally Posted by MayB

Country applying from: USA
Type of visa applied for: Settlement (spouse)
Date application submitted (online or in person): Online Oct. 17, 2011
Date biometrics taken: Oct. 20, 2011
Date documentation was received by UK Border Agency office: Arrived Oct. 21, 2011 but haven't received an email confirming this yet.
Office location processing your visa: NYC
Projected timeline given: TBA
Date your visa was received: TBA

I had a pretty simple, straight forward application, but I'm sooo nervous. I have been checking my email every hour even though I know it's too soon. I'm hoping to travel by November 18th at the latest so fingers crossed.

Date visa was received: Friday, Oct. 21

Date visa was APPROVED: Wed. Oct. 26th!!!

My visa was approved!! yay yay yay! this is the best feeling EVER!

[vivkiik]

Originally Posted by MayB

Date visa was received: Friday, Oct. 21

Date visa was APPROVED: Wed. Oct. 26th!!!

My visa was approved!! yay yay yay! this is the best feeling EVER!

Congratulations!!

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum

[tbonetedh]

Originally Posted by MayB

Date visa was received: Friday, Oct. 21

Date visa was APPROVED: Wed. Oct. 26th!!!

My visa was approved!! yay yay yay! this is the best feeling EVER!

5 days... Brilliant... mine also took 5 days, but I had two holiday weekends in there so it was two weeks on the calendar... ooowwwweeeee.....

congratulations....

[KylieJ]

Originally Posted by tbonetedh

it's on it's way back?? Then it was never delivered, if you are tracking the same number. It would have a different number if they were returning it after processing. There must have been some problem with the address... Please let us know how it turns out.

Sorry, I should've been more clear. I was tracking the return self addressed envelope. Our visa was rejected. They said they have concerns that I overworked on my working holiday visa, and that we did not quite meet the two year living together requirement.

We are appealing, not objecting to their grounds for refusual, but expressing how important my partner's job opportunity in the UK is (It's a job working FOR the damn British government!!!) We know it is a very long shot, but as it is free to appeal, and we are devastated, and we paid $1296 for that rejection, we are going to try anyway.

I'm so upset, and feel like we have no options that would make us happy in any way. Either he gives up his career in the UK, or we separate at the point in our relationship where we want to get married and start a family. We can't win!

It's awful to open up that packet and see that it's a 'No'

If anybody has any advice, that would be great.

[Joppa]

Originally Posted by KylieJ

Sorry, I should've been more clear. I was tracking the return self addressed envelope. Our visa was rejected. They said they have concerns that I overworked on my working holiday visa, and that we did not quite meet the two year living together requirement.

We are appealing, not objecting to their grounds for refusual, but expressing how important my partner's job opportunity in the UK is (It's a job working FOR the damn British government!!!) We know it is a very long shot, but as it is free to appeal, and we are devastated, and we paid $1296 for that rejection, we are going to try anyway.

I'm so upset, and feel like we have no options that would make us happy in any way. Either he gives up his career in the UK, or we separate at the point in our relationship where we want to get married and start a family. We can't win!

It's awful to open up that packet and see that it's a 'No'

If anybody has any advice, that would be great.

I don't want to be the harbinger of bad news, but I am afraid your argument will cut very little ice with UKBA. You must address the issues that led to your rejection and argue your case precisely on those points.

By 'overworking' on your WHV, does it mean you overstayed, or you worked full-time more than a year out of the two years allowed under the previous rules? If the facts were as they state, they you have broken the immigration rules and that's a legitimate reason for refusal.

By not quite cohabiting for two years (or not having evidence to substantiate it), does it mean you applied for an unmarried partner visa? If your intention is to get married, as you state, then you could have applied for a fiancée visa which has no cohabitation requirement (some couples don't live together till they are married!). UKBA is known to interpret the two-year rule very strictly, and there is normally no leeway allowed. So if you haven't lived together for two full years, or don't have evidence to prove you have, then again that's a ground for refusal.

So to have any chance of success in your appeal, you have to convince them they have made a mistake or applied the rules incorrectly. The fact that your partner is going to work for the British government is irrelevant to your application. He can still take up his important post - that's not the issue. You must still qualify for your visa by meeting all the conditions.

Let us know how you get on with your appeal. It may well be that you have to re-apply as a fiancée, and acknowledge you have made a mistake with your WHV in the past and that you fully accept the blame, and then stress the fact you have now moved on and want to start a new life in UK, obeying all the rules and doing things in the correct way.

[tbonetedh]

Originally Posted by cccapps

My application packed weight 13 pounds including the copies I submitted with it. With that being said though I had it in 2 notebooks with sheet protectors and lots of supporting documents.

13 pounds... and I thought mine was heavy at 8... I included a complete professionally created photo album of her visit to me a few months ago... didn't want to leave anything to chance... lol

[Charlie Browne]

Originally Posted by mamamamadou

Here is my sad little tale.
We got married in Togo in january and my contract ended in June so had to return to the UK minus my husband. I found somewhere to live, a nice 2 bed house and a great teaching job with good pay. We then applied for the visa so he could join me

Country applying from: Togo
Type of visa applied for: Settlement
Date application submitted (online or in person):10th July 2011 online and in person on 20th July
Date biometrics taken: 20th July 2011
Date documentation was received by UK Border Agency office: e-mail says 20th July 2011
Office location processing your visa: Ghana (big problem here I think)
Projected timeline given:none
Date your visa was received: still waiting 70 working days tomorrow and not a single word from them

No-one will reply to my e-mails for an update

Any tips? I am at my wits end

Hi

Any news yet? you must be tearing your hair out!! Have you checked the UKBA Ghana website to see if there have been any disruptions that may have caused delays? Some countries take longer than others to process visas . I will be facing the same issue as you i think as my husbands documents have to be sent to jamaica for processing!!

[cccapps]

Originally Posted by cccapps

Country applying from: USA
Type of visa applied for: Settlement - Spouse
Date application submitted (online or in person): 10/12/2011
Date biometrics taken: 10/18/2011
Date documentation was received by UK Border Agency office: 10/21/2011
Office location processing your visa: New York
Projected timeline given: 15 business days or more (paid for priority)
Date your visa was received: 10/28/11

I am so excited! I got my visa and it only took 4 days. I will be there in a little over a week ! I am so happy and all that worry for nothing I finally can start my life with my husband

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