[Meepmeepy]

Hi all,

Just asking a few quick questions.

My wife is a US citizen we got married last year under a Marriage Visitor Visa.

They are now applying for settlement, we have been using a lawyer but quite frankly;y they have been fairly useless and I wanted to see if any of you could help clarify.

Today we submitted our application online. We have a biometrics appointment for next week, we have all the paperwork.

We did want to submit a priority visa, but my lawyer is telling me a spouse-settlement visa cannot be fast tracked in any way. This is in conflict with the information on the UKBA site and on VFS Global. I obviously don't want to pay for priority service it is useless however if we can use it I would like too.

CAN I use priority service for a spouse visa, via the VFS Global site? Anyone with experience on this matter, I would appreciate your help.

 

[clever-octopus]

A lawyer isn't too helpful unless you have a criminal record or really unusual circumstances. You still have to collect all of the documentation yourself, and the online application is not difficult to complete yourself.

Yes, priority service is a real thing. I've done so myself (spouse visa processed in 4 days), as have many others here. The VFSGlobal site will tell you under which circumstances you are NOT advised to pay for priority service, but yes, it's totally viable.

All it really does, though, is get your application pushed ahead of the non-priority applications. It won't be processed any faster as soon as it reaches an ECO, which is why you're not advised to pay an extra few hundred dollars if you have criminal convictions or something that will add complexity (and therefore time) to reviewing your application. The time between Sheffield receiving your documents and an ECO reviewing your case is mostly where you'll see a difference between priority and non-priority.

You should ditch this "lawyer". Seeing people being misguided by lawyers really gets my dander up. You're not the only one, I assure you...

 

[Meepmeepy]

We have nothing to add complexity. Im just pretty furious the lawyer is wasting our time with all this.

 

[clever-octopus]

I don't blame you. Hopefully you haven't put down too much... Most people do just fine by reading this forum (though it is NOT legal or official in any way, just anecdotal) and using a fair bit of common sense.

 

[Meepmeepy]

£2500 so far in fees, which really stretched my budget. Feeling completely ripped off if I'm honest.

 

[clever-octopus]

You severely overpaid. Most solicitors I've seen charge half that amount.

 

[Meepmeepy]

Yeh I'm beginning to suspect I've been fleeced. At least we have all the paperwork and documentation. I paid for the fast track on the VFS Global site (which is where they originally directed me too before telling me priority service did not exist) too so hopefully within a few months after attend our Biometrics in Brooklyn next week everything will be underway to live together in the UK!

Will post a timeline too on the timeline thread.