Please help save our Family!

I am a US citizen and have been living in the UK for a year now... Please read my story at the link below and let me know what you think I should do?

Many have let you know what they think you should do and you're not willing to listen, so I'm not sure what else you would like someone to offer you.

what was the refusal reason?

If i was not elligible, then why would the refusal be for a different reason?

What was the exact wording of the refusal letter?

Why would they do both with biometrics and also ask for additional information on seperate occasions...

Well, your visa wasn't even processed the first time they sent it back - they have to take your money and biometrics first before they will look at it... so at the point where they sent everything back and asked you to apply again with more documentation, no one would have realised yet that you didn't qualify... they just noticed that you hadn't sent all the required documents for the application.

I've also spoken to UK immigration advisors who should have told me the same if it were true.

Not all immigration lawyers know what they are talking about - there are some who have given advice that has (or would have) resulted in a visa refusal.

If i was not elligible, then why would the refusal be for a different reason? Why would they do both with biometrics and also ask for additional information on seperate occasions... Clearly, you don't understand the type of visa I'm applying for.

I've also spoken to UK immigration advisors who should have told me the same if it were true.

Thanks for trying to help, but I think I'll stick to listening to the professionals unless someone more knowledgable has anything to add.

So I've read through everything and totally agree that all the members on here are correct.

However, I saw on your link that you said the home office made their decision based on an incorrect assumption. What assumption was that exactly?

Can you post the exact wording of the refusal letter, and redact your personal details?  UKVI has very specific wording in their letters, and knowing exactly what they've said can be helpful in figuring out what snagged the application. 

I'm taking a guess that you do not qualify for the usual 5-year family route, and that's why you didn't apply for that?

And a note on immigration advisors - make sure they are reputable and know their stuff.  I've seen people on this forum who have followed advice from an immigration advisor, and that advice was incorrect to the extent that their visa was (or would have been) refused.  So just make sure that whoever you choose has a track record of giving accurate advice.

Thanks for trying to help, but I think I'll stick to listening to the professionals unless someone more knowledgable has anything to add.

For someone who comes on here asking for donations and help to 'save our family', you sure come across as pretty rude and dismissive. The simple fact is that you are applying for the wrong visa.  You don't seem to have YOUR facts straight, which is pretty important if you want to actually receive a visa. But if you don't want even want to consider what multiple posters on here are saying - posters who have been reading and talking about these rules for longer than you've even been in the UK - then keep doing what you're doing. Best of luck.

If i was not elligible, then why would the refusal be for a different reason? Why would they do both with biometrics and also ask for additional information on seperate occasions... Clearly, you don't understand the type of visa I'm applying for.

They ask for biomentrics before they look at the visa. They asked for additonal information to get the full picture, so that they made a correct refusal.

This man came to the UK on a visitor visa and tried to stay on in the UK with his wife under Article 8, but has been refused by the courts.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-30439592

Clearly, you don't understand the type of visa I'm applying for.

I've also spoken to UK immigration advisors who should have told me the same if it were true.

Clearly... you don't understand the immigration rules! Ksand, et al are correct. Having been here for over a decade on nearly every possible immigration route (will possibly be applying for FLR(M) in the coming months), I too agree with everything that has been said. It has not been possible to switch from a visitor visa to ANY longer term visa since 2001ish.

Quite a few (but not every single one) of these 'advisors' are out to take your money and run. So good luck with that.

Depending what type of benefits you're on, you don't have to meet the 18600 income req.
You're application can be so easy and straight forward if he goes back to the states and applies from there.

Otherwise you're screwed and screwing his immigration record in the process.

I don't understand this from your blog

 "we were living on just £40 a week from April 2014."

With 3 young children and your wife not working and being a single mother, the benefits calculator states she should be receiving cash benefits of about £300 a week. More if she claims ESA or DLA for her disorder.

In addition to that £300+ per week cash in benefits, most/all, of the rent will be paid for you as will most of the  council tax.

She should also receive maintenance from the childrens father/s, which won't reduce her benefits. If the fathers don't pay, then contact the CSA.

So why are you living on just £40 a week? You can check what she should be claiming here
http://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/AboutYou

If she is given DLA, then you don't need to meet the £18,600. ksand knows about visas, so she will be able to tell you that sponsor requirement if she receives DLA. You would still need to go home to apply for your spouse visa though because, as has been pointed out to you, you cannot apply for a spouse visa in the UK while on a visitor visa, or as an overstayer (which you are now).

Also, if you read the page, I would return to the US homeless with zero money whatsoever... Not very conducive of earning what i need to re-apply, and by that point our kids will be taken from us.

Depending on where you are living, she may end up homeless if you stay. Under the new Immigration Act, landlords will get fined up to 3K if they house an illegal.

This may just be me.....being a grouch like I am.....but this all sounds pretty fishy. Even if this person is on the up+up......they are not going about this having done any research. I should be applying for my spousal VISA this Spring and having been on this site for a while.....I would VERY much take things that ksand and others say VERY seriously.

This may just be me.....being a grouch like I am.....but this all sounds pretty fishy. Even if this person is on the up+up......they are not going about this having done any research.

I wouldn't say fishy, because this kind of thing does happen occasionally. But it is a case of not doing their research.

Usually what happens when people find themselves in this sort of situation is:

- They came to the UK with just their passport, and were given a 6-month visitor visa stamp at the airport (which is the only way to be let into the country)

- They either were married already when they arrived and just thought they could move here without applying for any kind of visa first, or they thought they could apply for a visa after they arrived... or they decide to get married while they are here and again, either don't know they have to leave the country to get another visa to stay or they try to apply for that visa from inside the UK.

- So they either become an illegal overstayer by not leaving the UK within 6 months, or they try to apply for a spousal visa from inside the UK... which takes months to be processed because they applied when they didn't qualify for it and the application is treated as outside the rules.

- They end up having problems because UKVI correctly refuses their visa and tells them to leave and go back to their home country to apply.

- Instead of leaving like they are supposed to, they stay in the UK and try to appeal the decision... which isn't gonna be approved because they shouldn't have applied in the first place.

- They decide that UK immigration is treating them unfairly and that they are infringing on their human rights, even though the applicant was the one in the wrong in the first place

- They contact local MPs, they go to the newspapers, who run a sob story about how the government are unfairly tearing their family apart... and they get loads of comments from people who also do not know what the immigration rules are - which gives the general public yet another incorrect assumption about immigration.

- In the end they usually have to leave the UK, return to their home country and apply for a spousal visa... and if they had just done that in the first place, they wouldn't have had any of these immigration problems at all.

So, if Soryn had just left the UK back in June and applied for a spousal visa, none of this would be happening now. The problem is that they don't actually qualify to apply for a spousal visa, because they can't meet the financial requirement (unless perhaps his wife receives one of the benefits that means they are exempt from meeting the requirements).

What they have done instead is try to apply for the 10-year path, which is for people extending their current visa but who don't meet the financial requirements. However, the 10-year path can only be applied for from inside the UK, which they weren't legally allowed to do because they did not hold a visa that would allow them to extend their immigration status from inside the UK.

As the 10-year route immigration rules state (page 9):

The requirements to be met under the 10-year partner route are set out in paragraph R-LTRP.1.1.(a), (b) and (d) of Appendix FM. In order to qualify for a grant of leave under the 10-year partner route, an applicant must meet all of the requirements at every stage which are:

a) the applicant and their partner must be in the UK;
b) the applicant must have made a valid application for limited or indefinite leave to remain as a partner (subject to the exceptions set out in GEN.1.9. of Appendix FM and as outlined in Section 12.1 of this guidance); and
d) (i) the applicant must not fall for refusal under Section S-LTR; Suitability leave to remain; and
(ii) the applicant meets the relationship requirements of paragraphs E-LTRP.1.2-1.12 and the immigration status requirements in E-LTRP.2.1.(a) and (b); and
Appendix FM 1.0 Family Life (as a Partner or Parent) and Private Life: 10-Year Routes
November 2014
(iii) paragraph EX.1.(a) or (b) applies.

Where paragraph E-LTRP.2.1 of Appendix FM states:

Immigration status requirements

E-LTRP.2.1. The applicant must not be in the UK-
(a) as a visitor; or
(b) with valid leave granted for a period of 6 months or less, unless that leave is as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner, or was granted pending the outcome of family court or divorce proceedings

Soryn seems to believe that this does not apply to him because he doesn't think he is a visitor in the UK... not sure exactly what he thinks he is then, because if you arrive in the UK with just your passport, you are admitted as a visitor, under visitor visa rules.

There is no other option - if he wasn't in the UK as a visitor, he wouldn't be here at all, because he wouldn't have been admitted into the UK in the first place.

I doubt Soryn is still following this thread, but what I think happened is that he applied for the 10-year family route thinking it was the appropriate option because his partner did not meet the financial requirements.  (and therefore, he could not apply for the normal 5-year route)  It seems there was confusion as to what status he was in the UK (visitor or not), and believed he was eligible to apply in-country.  Not knowing the exact wording of the refusal letter, that may have been a contributing (if not the main) reason for the refusal.

Depending on what benefits his partner receives, they may not need to even meet the financial requirement.  It may have been that he was totally eligible to apply for the usual 5-year route, and simply applied for the incorrect visa.  If this is the case, the quickest and cheapest option would likely be to return to the US, find a cheap hotel to stay at, and apply for the usual spouse visa.  The processing times are likely to be longer due to his circumstances (previously refused visa, lengthy overstay), but assuming there aren't any other things snagging the application (like significant NHS use while as a visitor), it would likely be cheaper and faster than proceeding with professional representation or assistance. 

If his partner truly does not meet the financial requirement, I guess they could attempt to get discretionary leave.  But this path would likely be lengthy and expensive due to employing legal aid (this is not something I would recommend people do by themselves).  And it may not even be successful in the end anyway.  For Article 8 arguments, I believe the circumstances must be truly exceptionally compelling, and usually the courts get involved as this type of leave is considered outside the immigration rules.  While the applicant and family may believe they have outstanding circumstances, the courts may take a different view (ex. what prevents the UK sponsor from moving to the applicant's home country, what prevents them from settling together in another EU country, etc and etc).  It may be (in the long run) easier, faster, and cheaper for the family to be separated for a bit while the UK sponsor attempts to meet the financial requirement... and apply the usual way in the end.   

I am a US citizen and have been living in the UK for a year now... Please read my story at the link below and let me know what you think I should do? Donations are obviously optional, but also welcomed.

Our local paper, the Plymouth Herald, will be running this story tomorrow as well for any doubters.

We also have our local MP looking into this for us as well.

Thanks in advance fo any help offered!

The link: http://donation-tracker.com/u/The_Kelly_Family

This might be spam because the OP is on the apple message boards and the UK Expats boards as well asking for money.  BTW The Expats have backed up the advice given here.  But surprisingly this story has not made their local newspaper.
http://iosgods.com/topic/3088-please-help-save-our-family/