Hello - Just some background on us 
- I came to Expat looking for a TON of answers - not kidding 9ask the girl and Pepper Ann) LOL - We were trying to determine the best route to go..I am American my (now) Husband (Yay us heheheh) is British. We weren't sure if it was faster / cost effective to apply for a Fiance, or a Marriage Visa. after some really great answers here, and doing our own research, we decided for us, the marriage Visa was better.
Then it was decision time. How to apply - ahhhhh everyone's question - How do we do it, Where do we do it? How long will it take - I've asked all of them myself! Here's what we found out (my husband is a UNIX IT manager - he knows his stuff, SO understand something when you are searching...Just because a company comes up first, or a LOT on a search does not mean they are a really great company (It means they have programmers that know what they are doing lol)... Any how We were looking into using a Broker - namely Global Visas.. From here on out, this s our opinion - no more, no less.
Before using any broker (especially GV) please really look into your options... If you are able to fill out the Visa application ourself - do so. It is NOT hard - it is nothing more than Q's about you, your spouse (or fiancée or partner) - their situation, yours etc...) THE ONLY WAY TO APPLY FOR A VISA IS ONLINE.... Whether you do it - or pay someone else to.
We ultimately decided to use a Expediting service...I am not going to give their name just yet, (You'll understand why when you read below - check back in 11 days, and I will tell you if they were indeed able to process our Visas in the promised 2-3 business days).
You go online fill out your visa forms (be prepared to pay as soon as you're done). You will be scheduled your Biometrics apt. right then. save/print your application. When that's all done and you have your Bio's done... mail it to the expediter. Once they have it, they review to ensure you have all of your documentation - then they take your entire packet, and go to the consulate. they submit your paperwork, and are issued the visa. they then mail all of your paperwork (including shiny new visa) back to you. * I asked every possible question from every angle I could think of... 1. doing this forgoes having to have an interview.(assuming you have an actual relationship no trouble w/ the law etc)... Depending on where you live, determines how long it will take. - I was quoted 2-3 business days. So... I will keep anyone interested posted. I literally filed and paid for my, and my daughters Visa online today. On Mon is my Bio apt, Tues is my daughters. So - I will mail everything one Wed morning. They will receive my packet Thursday - which means that I should have my Visas in hand By Wed. 25 Nov. That will be 7 days from the day I send it ( Nov 18). I will keep anyone interested as to the actual time. The way I look at it, is we were willing to pay 2400 + 2000 + airfare, plus moving expenses etc... If this works, and takes even 2 weeks - we are still Waaaay ahead of the game!!
- I came to Expat looking for a TON of answers - not kidding 9ask the girl and Pepper Ann) LOL - We were trying to determine the best route to go..I am American my (now) Husband (Yay us heheheh) is British. We weren't sure if it was faster / cost effective to apply for a Fiance, or a Marriage Visa. after some really great answers here, and doing our own research, we decided for us, the marriage Visa was better. Then it was decision time. How to apply - ahhhhh everyone's question - How do we do it, Where do we do it? How long will it take - I've asked all of them myself! Here's what we found out (my husband is a UNIX IT manager - he knows his stuff, SO understand something when you are searching...Just because a company comes up first, or a LOT on a search does not mean they are a really great company (It means they have programmers that know what they are doing lol)... Any how We were looking into using a Broker - namely Global Visas.. From here on out, this s our opinion - no more, no less.
Before using any broker (especially GV) please really look into your options... If you are able to fill out the Visa application ourself - do so. It is NOT hard - it is nothing more than Q's about you, your spouse (or fiancée or partner) - their situation, yours etc...) THE ONLY WAY TO APPLY FOR A VISA IS ONLINE.... Whether you do it - or pay someone else to.
We ultimately decided to use a Expediting service...I am not going to give their name just yet, (You'll understand why when you read below
- check back in 11 days, and I will tell you if they were indeed able to process our Visas in the promised 2-3 business days).You go online fill out your visa forms (be prepared to pay as soon as you're done). You will be scheduled your Biometrics apt. right then. save/print your application. When that's all done and you have your Bio's done... mail it to the expediter. Once they have it, they review to ensure you have all of your documentation - then they take your entire packet, and go to the consulate. they submit your paperwork, and are issued the visa. they then mail all of your paperwork (including shiny new visa) back to you. * I asked every possible question from every angle I could think of... 1. doing this forgoes having to have an interview.(assuming you have an actual relationship no trouble w/ the law etc)... Depending on where you live, determines how long it will take. - I was quoted 2-3 business days. So... I will keep anyone interested posted. I literally filed and paid for my, and my daughters Visa online today. On Mon is my Bio apt, Tues is my daughters. So - I will mail everything one Wed morning. They will receive my packet Thursday - which means that I should have my Visas in hand By Wed. 25 Nov. That will be 7 days from the day I send it ( Nov 18). I will keep anyone interested as to the actual time. The way I look at it, is we were willing to pay 2400 + 2000 + airfare, plus moving expenses etc... If this works, and takes even 2 weeks - we are still Waaaay ahead of the game!!
