UPS saying not enough postage

We didn't go with the minimum requirements I wasn't brought up that way if you wanna do the minimum well expect minimum results back. We sent in the "minimum" requirements which is vague. It said it was up to us to send in the other evidence which is what we did. Yes it weighs 8lbs but we shaved all we could. Maybe 2 pics and one sheet of chat history and a few pages of all our other financial, housing, benefits, savings and relationship would have been enough but we don't have the time or money to hope that was enough and if not try again. We just want to be a family, every page of our 8lb parcel is just what they asked for.
We just want to be a family and enjoy the rest of our lives together in the UK.

Trust me, I've been there and TOTALLY understand what you mean, but I just have to point out for others who may use this forum that it isn't like that with the visa process.

It is a "tick box" process and having 14 months worth of chat history and 40 pictures will not help you or your case anymore than someone who sent in two pictures and two pages of chat. If anything it makes the process easier for the officer and a quicker. Things get lost when you go "above and beyond" the requirements.

I am just flummoxed by the 'more is more' attitude in regards to these applications. Doing your due diligence by having everything you could possibly need in your US citizen's hands is great, but you don't need to include everything when it's not part of the visa application requirements.

The Immigration Officer who is going over your application is only looking to see that you have the minimum requirements; so 'going above and beyond' isn't helping you. It just makes your application more difficult to process. 

It's always best to be clear and concise and only include what is needed. Make it easy for the immigration officer to tick the boxes and your application process will go quickly and smoothly.

Well if you look at the guide to supporting documents dated VER.09 09/12 page one is easy that's requirements.

But then page 2 all the way to the end which is page 4 it becomes "this could include" and so on.

On the first page it says "we do not expect you to provide all of these documents listed below, it is for you to decide which documents are most relevant to your application".

They don't say "put your documents in this particular order" or "only send in 2 photos maximum and one page of chat history with 8 chats on one side feel free to two side print".

I mean I thought the most important keys here was
1.Financial
2.Accommodation
3.Is the relationship genuine

I would have been more than happy to put our documents in a particular order and only provide maximum evidence of each tick box question but they don't advise is to do it that way.

There's just so many groups and forums with everyone trying to help which is great but that leads to so many different "do it this way".

For example after the biometric appt for months I looked and some ppl said you have 2 weeks to send documents in, others said 5 days.

Well I went to St Louis for my biometrics on Monday and the handout they gave me dated May 2016 said 5 days so that answered that I posted it on Thursday.

But when doing the online application it did say two weeks after the biometric appt so some of this stuff needs to be updated.

For weeks some ppl have been saying YES include the SU07 form while other have said ah you don't need it okay well which is it then?
Just throw it in heck it's two pages.

Maybe there has been hundreds possibly thousands of ppl successful providing a few pieces of paper I'm waiting for them to chime in and share their stories tho not seen one yet are they coming soon to enlighten us?

I mean I just want to say again THANK YOU to everyone who has helped is you're all a bright star.
And I'm not mad at anyone in this world I'm chill as you'll ever find it's just frustrating that going on 8 months of reading endless comments in groups and forums I still don't have a for sure answer on what to provide and what not to provide.
The gov.uk site is really vague on what to provide, then add lots and lots of ppls comments and advise over a period of 8 months the time comes..just send it in.  We did that and provided all we have as supporting evidence every paper in our eye is important. We didn't spam and send in a pile of sports scores, we sent in what we felt was right to prove our application and our relationship.

I mean bottom line is, I'm very proud of our application. Your 8lb application is one of the best, it organized with a appendix, important details are highlighted to catch the eye, most documents are certified, we've proved every single thing there is nothing more we could have done with it.

We've put all our hearts into this application, our future depended on this and in the end we made our own decision and provided what the UK asked for and filled in the blanks with our supporting documents proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are in a genuine loving relationship, there's plenty of money and the house is plenty big enough for all of us.
I miss my wife, I'll do whatever it takes to get back to her she's my Angel❤❤❤

I see you're listed as a guest now, but I'll reply anyway in case you see it.

Well if you look at the guide to supporting documents dated VER.09 09/12 page one is easy that's requirements.

But then page 2 all the way to the end which is page 4 it becomes "this could include" and so on.

On the first page it says "we do not expect you to provide all of these documents listed below, it is for you to decide which documents are most relevant to your application".

They don't say "put your documents in this particular order" or "only send in 2 photos maximum and one page of chat history with 8 chats on one side feel free to two side print".

Exactly - the document is very vague and confusing... which is why I don't usually recommend reading it, and instead point people to advice here, which we know is correct due to personal experiences of people applying in the past.

Because WE know on the forum which of those things actually do need to be included and which don't (for example, birth certificates are on the list, but they are not needed, the applicant's employment details are on the list, but they aren't needed etc.)

I mean I thought the most important keys here was
1.Financial
2.Accommodation
3.Is the relationship genuine

They are - those are the three sections in Appendix 2, and they are the only things you need to prove.

I would have been more than happy to put our documents in a particular order and only provide maximum evidence of each tick box question but they don't advise is to do it that way.

And that's what the forum is for - to help you wade through all the confusing information on the UKVI website and determine exactly what is required out of all the things listed there.

There is no particular order needed for the documents - just put them in sensible piles (i.e. accommodation, finances and relationship) and secure with a rubber band. Then include a photocopy of every original document you want back.

There's just so many groups and forums with everyone trying to help which is great but that leads to so many different "do it this way".

Not to brag, but UK-Yankee is generally considered the forum with the most accurate advice, particularly for US applicants. We are the only forum that specialises in US to UK applications, so we know exactly what is required of people applying in the US (as the process is different in every country).

Other countries have different means of submitting the application:
- only applications from 4 or 5 countries are processed in Sheffield, the rest are processed in the country where you apply, or in a nearby country.
- in some countries you submit the documents in person and have an interview, in others, you mail them)
- there may be more scrutiny of documents in some countries than others (i.e. in 'high risk' countries were people may be more inclined to embark on a sham marriage to get to the UK)

For example after the biometric appt for months I looked and some ppl said you have 2 weeks to send documents in, others said 5 days.

Well I went to St Louis for my biometrics on Monday and the handout they gave me dated May 2016 said 5 days so that answered that I posted it on Thursday.

This is also officially stated as 5 days on the UKVI website, specifically for applications made in the US:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/usa-apply-for-a-uk-visa/apply-for-a-uk-visa-in-the-usa#post-your-application

But when doing the online application it did say two weeks after the biometric appt so some of this stuff needs to be updated.

It was 2 weeks until September 2015, but then it changed. The reason we knew it had changed was because here on the forum, we were keeping up to date with the UKVI website - I clicked on the link I just gave above one day and discovered it was 5 days, so started advised people to ignore the 14 days that the online application was still giving and start sending it in 5 days.

Unfortunately, it takes UKVI months to update the online application - which is why forums like these are so useful. For months after the spousal visa processing moved to Sheffield, the online application was still saying to send it to New York... so here on the forum, we had to make sure people weren't doing that.

At first they were forwarding on any applications that arrived in New York, but then they started mailing them back to the applicant and telling them to send them to Sheffield instead - which added at least a month onto their processing time. If it hadn't been for the advice given on the forum, there would have been a lot more people accidentally mailing documents to New York instead of Sheffield.

For weeks some ppl have been saying YES include the SU07 form while other have said ah you don't need it okay well which is it then?
Just throw it in heck it's two pages.

The UKVI website states explicitly that is it only required for adult dependant visas, which are almost never granted as hardly anyone actually qualifies for them (only 14 adult dependant visas were issued across the world in 2015... compared with almost 10,000 spousal/child visas).

That is the official guidance, so that's what you should be paying attention to:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/undertakings-ecb12/ecb12-undertakings#ecb123-sponsor-undertakings-on-maintenance-and-accommodation

Maybe there has been hundreds possibly thousands of ppl successful providing a few pieces of paper I'm waiting for them to chime in and share their stories tho not seen one yet are they coming soon to enlighten us?

Well, most of them aren't on the forum anymore, because they got their visas years ago and many are UK citizens now.

However, you're welcome to search back through the last 10 years of posts here on the forum to find them all.

This thread details the people on the forum who have applied between 2014 and 2016, most of them successfully, and most of them sending exactly what I have suggested:
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=82258.0

Here's another thread showing the people who applied between 2010 and 2014 (the majority also taking our advice on documents):
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=64030.0

But if 6 years of evidence of successful visa applications based on sending only the minimum documents isn't enough proof for you, then I'm not sure what will be.

Maybe there has been hundreds possibly thousands of ppl successful providing a few pieces of paper I'm waiting for them to chime in and share their stories tho not seen one yet are they coming soon to enlighten us?

Almost everyone on this forum has been helped by ksand24 and all of us who followed her advice were granted our visas. (Those few that we have seen refused typically found this forum too late.) 

We are the success stories.

Almost everyone on this forum has been helped by ksand24 and all of us who followed her advice were granted our visas. (Those few that we have seen refused typically found this forum too late.) 

We are the success stories.

Those of us who found it too late (I'm one of those people) were able to do their second application perfectly because the mistakes we made were explained by our regulars after posting the reason for refusal in a thread. Not posting any personal details, being safe of the Internet is important.

I got my Marriage Settlement Visa with Ksand's help and she went over my document list for my first Further Leave to Remain in 2014. I've been in the UK for 2.5 years now thanks to this forum and will be applying for my second FLR in early 2017. I hope Ksand or someone just as knowledgeable is around when I apply!

There's just so many groups and forums with everyone trying to help which is great but that leads to so many different "do it this way".

For example after the biometric appt for months I looked and some ppl said you have 2 weeks to send documents in, others said 5 days.

Well I went to St Louis for my biometrics on Monday and the handout they gave me dated May 2016 said 5 days so that answered that I posted it on Thursday.

But when doing the online application it did say two weeks after the biometric appt so some of this stuff needs to be updated.

We all know it needs to be updated, but you try telling that to a bureaucracy.

I know I mentioned it when I got the "how did we do?" Survey from UKVI. That and mentioning there wasn't an option to choose fiance ( I had to choose Other) on the Web application. I think they've fixed the fiance thing but they haven't fixed that time frame for mailing. And that was 2 years ago.

I couldn't say thank you enough when I got my visas sorted thanks to all the help here! I probably would still be in America trying to figure out what I did wrong after getting wrong advice from UKVI themselves AND immigration "advisors" in person! Yes, that's someone who gets paid stupid amounts of money and was willing to take my money and jeopardise my future applications for it. This forum has been a god send for me and many others and it's easy to see that on other posts.

Going by the advice here, my in person appointment for my FLR(M) was quick,  and that was down to having what was suggested here. I could have added so much more and I even brought extra paperwork with me just in case but submitted only what was required. Nothing extra was asked for. I also believe the 5lb limit on VFS global is there for a reason...because it really shouldn't be more than that.

We all really want you to get your visa. Nobody will give you information to keep you from that because the biggest reason many of us are here is because we were in the same situation and would've done anything to get back with our loved one(s). If we're unsure about something, we'll leave it for someone who is or share our own experiences.

Ksand is seriously worth the weight of the world in gold to everyone on this board.  She goes above and beyond for each and every person - while holding down a full time job that involves shift work and someone's working in crazy obscure countries.  If you only ever follow one persons advice, follow hers.  She gets it right every time.

Best of luck.  I have no doubt you will be successful!  (Yea!!). I just hope the misinformation from others doesn't slow your application down.