Applying for a spouse visa

First of all I would like to say hello and happy to join this community.

My American wife and I will be applying for a Spouse Visa for her to live here in England with me.

Is an immigration lawyer recommended for this process, and if so I would be grateful for recommendations.

I am very wary of responding to the ads for immigration lawyers that pop up on Google and would prefer to deal directly with a genuine lawyer as opposed to intermediaries.

Thanks very much.

Welcome to the forum .

Is an immigration lawyer recommended for this process, and if so I would be grateful for recommendations.

Not usually - if you have a straightforward situation (your wife doesn't have any serious criminal convictions or bad UK immigration history), then a lawyer is not needed at all.

All the information you need to know about the visa process, the requirements and the documents you need to send can all be found for free on the UKVI website and here on the forum.

There have been several instances where people have hired lawyers and then those lawyers have given them very bad and incorrect advice, because they are simply not familiar with how to apply for a spousal visa from the US.

On the other hand, here on the forum we see people applying for spousal visas from the US every single day, and have been giving advice on how to apply and the documents required every day for years. We know the visa rules and the UKVI website pretty much off by heart .

So, my advice, unless she has very complicated circumstances that give you a very real reason to believe she would be refused a visa for the UK and therefore would require a lawyer to argue her case, there's no need to waste your money on an immigration lawyer .

Feel free to ask any and all questions you have about the process here on the forum .

Welcome to the forum .

Not usually - if you have a straightforward situation (your wife doesn't have any serious criminal convictions or bad UK immigration history), then a lawyer is not needed at all.

All the information you need to know about the visa process, the requirements and the documents you need to send can all be found for free on the UKVI website and here on the forum.

There have been several instances where people have hired lawyers and then those lawyers have given them very bad and incorrect advice, because they are simply not familiar with how to apply for a spousal visa from the US.

On the other hand, here on the forum we see people applying for spousal visas from the US every single day, and have been giving advice on how to apply and the documents required every day for years. We know the visa rules and the UKVI website pretty much off by heart .

So, my advice, unless she has very complicated circumstances that give you a very real reason to believe she would be refused a visa for the UK and therefore would require a lawyer to argue her case, there's no need to waste your money on an immigration lawyer .

Feel free to ask any and all questions you have about the process here on the forum .

Hi,

Thanks very much for the quick response - I have been away so apologies for the late reply.

Yes we do meet all the requirements as far as we can tell although I do have a question.

I live in a fully owned 4 bed detached house with just one adult son living here, so have plenty of bedrooms, space etc. A few years ago I transferred ownership of the house to my three sons although the agreement is that I own and control the house.

Does the requirements specify that I must personally own the house or will they accept the fact that I have unrestricted permanent use of it?

My wife is a retired attorney so completing paperwork is not really an issue for either if us - we just want to avoid inadvertently making any mistakes which would delay or cause it to be rejected.

Thanks for the info on UKVI. Do you have the links to the application paperwork, preferably one that can be completed by typing the answers?

Thanks again.

Hi,

Thanks very much for the quick response - I have been away so apologies for the late reply.

Yes we do meet all the requirements as far as we can tell although I do have a question.

I live in a fully owned 4 bed detached house with just one adult son living here, so have plenty of bedrooms, space etc. A few years ago I transferred ownership of the house to my three sons although the agreement is that I own and control the house.

Does the requirements specify that I must personally own the house or will they accept the fact that I have unrestricted permanent use of it?

My wife is a retired attorney so completing paperwork is not really an issue for either if us - we just want to avoid inadvertently making any mistakes which would delay or cause it to be rejected.

Thanks for the info on UKVI. Do you have the links to the application paperwork, preferably one that can be completed by typing the answers?

Thanks again.

Make sure you do your research before you apply.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525708/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

Here is the starting point on the .gov site.

https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk/overview

There are two forms to complete. One is the online application which you will complete and print a copy of to include with your package. But submitting the online application is the last thing you should do. Make sure you have all your evidence in hand first.

This is the paper equivalent of the online application. You don't send this but it will give you an idea of the content.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/274029/VAF4A.pdf

You will also need to complete appendix 2 on paper.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270484/VAF4A-Appendix2.pdf

Please feel free to come back with all your other questions, we're happy to help! 

I live in a fully owned 4 bed detached house with just one adult son living here, so have plenty of bedrooms, space etc. A few years ago I transferred ownership of the house to my three sons although the agreement is that I own and control the house.

Does the requirements specify that I must personally own the house or will they accept the fact that I have unrestricted permanent use of it?

It is not a problem as long as you provide the correct evidence.

 Who owns the property? Do you mean that you have transferred the property ownership to your three sons but have reserved the right to live there?

You should include the land registry document proving their ownership. You would also need to include the legal agreement  granting you permission to continue living there.
As well as this, each son would need to provide in writing permission for your wife to live there too.

If your arrangement with your sons for you to be permitted to live there is an informal one, just have them write in their letters that both you and your wife have their permission to reside in the property.

It is not a problem as long as you provide the correct evidence.

 Who owns the property? Do you mean that you have transferred the property ownership to your three sons but have reserved the right to live there?

You should include the land registry document proving their ownership. You would also need to include the legal agreement  granting you permission to continue living there.
As well as this, each son would need to provide in writing permission for your wife to live there too.

If your arrangement with your sons for you to be permitted to live there is an informal one, just have them write in their letters that both you and your wife have their permission to reside in the property.

It is an informal arrangement. I owned the house outright until transferring it to my three sons 5 years ago. The agreement is that I have full unlimited use of the house for life - they would sign a letter to that extent.

I noticed from the application I just skimmed over that there is a question about council tax benefit which I receive. Would this affect my wife's application. When she moves in here upon receiving the Visa I would no longer qualify anyway by virtue of her income.

And thanks for all the other links and information which I am absorbing - see no other potential pitfalls so far.

With apologies if I missed it so far - is there a list of documentation that mist be submitted with the application?

It is an informal arrangement. I owned the house outright until transferring it to my three sons 5 years ago. The agreement is that I have full unlimited use of the house for life - they would sign a letter to that extent.

To clarify, whose name appears on the Land Registry/title deed?

- If it's your name, then you only have to provide the Land Registry document showing your name on it, and no letter from them

- If it's their name(s), then you'll need to provide the Land Registry document with their name(s) on it, along with a letter from them giving you and your spouse permission to live in the property and stating it will not be overcrowded.

I noticed from the application I just skimmed over that there is a question about council tax benefit which I receive. Would this affect my wife's application. When she moves in here upon receiving the Visa I would no longer qualify anyway by virtue of her income.

Nope, it won't affect her application - it's only the visa holder who cannot claim benefits. You can claim as many benefits as you are entitled to as a UK citizen... the only thing you can't do is claim more benefits because of her (i.e. you can only claim the amount for a single person and not for a couple).

Edited to add: I just deleted a post I made below this one as I realised it was redundant.

To clarify, whose name appears on the Land Registry/title deed?

- If it's your name, then you only have to provide the Land Registry document showing your name on it, and no letter from them

- If it's their name(s), then you'll need to provide the Land Registry document with their name(s) on it, along with a letter from them giving you and your spouse permission to live in the property and stating it will not be overcrowded.

The names of my three sons appear on the Land Registry records. Only one of my sons - adult- lives at home. It is a good size detached 4 bedroom house with 2 bedrooms - including master bedroom in use - so lots or spare room all round.

Thanks.

With apologies if I missed it so far - is there a list of documentation that mist be submitted with the application?

There is no one definitive list as circumstances vary from couple to couple.

I'll link below to a couple of threads which contain document lists just to give you a general idea of what is expected. Yours will need to be customized to your own situation.

Once you have had a chance to do a bit more research, you should post your own list so that we can check you have everything you need for a successful application.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=88794.15

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=88435.msg1148438#msg1148438

There is no one definitive list as circumstances vary from couple to couple.

I'll link below to a couple of threads which contain document lists just to give you a general idea of what is expected. Yours will need to be customized to your own situation.

Once you have had a chance to do a bit more research, you should post your own list so that we can check you have everything you need for a successful application.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=88794.15

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=88435.msg1148438#msg1148438

Thanks very much Larrabee.

I am sure we can meet the requirements noted. One concern is travel proof.

I have been to the US several times for up to 2 months at a time and she has been here to the UK several times for a similar amount of time. I have kept my flight itinerary confirmation emails but she deleted all hers. We did not keep boarding passes etc.

She does have the border control stamps in her passport to copy.

Unless the airline - BA - can help, could that be an issue?

I have another question regarding devotional evidence.

My wife and I exchanged numerous messages over the last 4 years, communicating every day. I have a screen shot showing the exact number.

How many screen shots of the actual messages should I include, presumably spread out over the years, and can I block out the text as they are obviously personal to us.

Thanks.

How many screen shots of the actual messages should I include, presumably spread out over the years, and can I block out the text as they are obviously personal to us.

You should not include any actual messages, just a selection of dates and times of the messages.

You don't want the screenshots to cover more than 1-2 sheets of paper, so what I would do is screenshot a selection of just the dates and times covering the 4 years.

For example, you might choose 1 message per month, giving you 48 messages in total, all screenshot/copied and pasted onto a couple of sheets of paper in a list.

We are compiling what we will require for the application, but still somewhat unclear about supporting documentation requirements.

I have read many posts on this and it seems people have submitted everything from a thick ring binder to a very few pages.

My usual approach when dealing with official paperwork is to provide only what is specifically requested. This seems to be most efficient and appreciated by those who are processing it. Information overload is never a good thing and can be negative.

We also assume that if they require additional proof etc they will simply ask for it and not just reject the application.

Words of experience would be much appreciated and in particular a list of the minimum we should submit along with the documents they actually require.

Thanks for all your ongoing help.

We are compiling what we will require for the application, but still somewhat unclear about supporting documentation requirements.

I have read many posts on this and it seems people have submitted everything from a thick ring binder to a very few pages.

My usual approach when dealing with official paperwork is to provide only what is specifically requested. This seems to be most efficient and appreciated by those who are processing it. Information overload is never a good thing and can be negative.

We also assume that if they require additional proof etc they will simply ask for it and not just reject the application.

Words of experience would be much appreciated and in particular a list of the minimum we should submit along with the documents they actually require.

Thanks for all your ongoing help.

You have the right idea, you should send just what you need to, to prove you meet all the requirements. Don't send piles of unnecessary padding.

A note of caution however. You cannot assume they will ask for more evidence. They don't have to do this and they don't always.
For example, recently we had a married couple who had neglected to include proof of their divorces. They were refused.

I wouldn't include a binder. Organize your documents in a sensible order in two piles, one for originals and one for copes of everything which you want returned and just use a rubber band or string to secure.

The list will vary according to your individual circumstances but feel free to post yours with the relevant background and we'll check it over for you.

Your approach is right, I can see where it could be annoying trying to wade through unnecessary paperwork. We actually included 3-4 pages each of skype and email evidence, which is a bit more than others have suggested, but that's more down to my annoying paranoia than anything else. I also included my entire phone bill as evidence of text messaging which, although i clearly marked the relevant pages, was probably a bit over the top.
As larrabee has said, you can't rely on them contacting you. We may be the couple larrabee is referring to who didn't include divorce evidence, unless there are others who missed this. I spoke to the helpline the following day and they were surprised that we weren't contacted, but there is nothing you, they, or anyone else can do at that point.