Spouse visa questions (name change, US marriage, etc.)

Sorry, I am sure this information is elsewhere, but I'm in a hurry (wedding in only 3 days!)

How many copies of our marriage license should I order for immigration purposes? There's always a chance that UKVI won't return paperwork or it gets lost, right? So I am thinking 1 for my first spousal visa application, 1 for the renewal, 1 for ILR, and potentially 1 for citizenship application (thinking long-term as at this point the certificates are only $3 apiece, but they will cost a lot more to order later when I have to pay for overseas postage). I don't know if I'll actually get that far with everything as life can change, but seems best to plan ahead.

So 4 for immigration plus 1 each for us, just in case.

Does that sound like enough?

Honestly, I think most people only have the one copy, maybe two and just use the same one for each visa.

As long as you send a photocopy of the certificate, UKVI will send it back to you. In the last 10 years I can't remember anyone's documents getting lost and only a couple of people have not had them returned, but they just complained to UKVI and their documents were sent back.

I'd get maybe 2 or 3 extra copies at most - one for your personal records and a couple of extras for visa applications


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I'd go with 3.

There's a good chance during the name change process that there could be two sent away at once.  Then one as a backup at home.   

Honestly, I think most people only have the one copy, maybe two and just use the same one for each visa.

As long as you send a photocopy of the certificate, UKVI will send it back to you. In the last 10 years I can't remember anyone's documents getting lost and only a couple of people have not had them returned, but they just complained to UKVI and their documents were sent back.

I'd get maybe 2 or 3 extra copies at most - one for your personal records and a couple of extras for visa applications


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We'be got a total of two copies. One to send off to various places and an extra.

We haven't had any issues with needing more. 😊

Our registrars office could only give us two right then and there, any more would have had to be posted to us. So we just went with two and have had no issues.

We only have two. An original and a apostolate seal copy. (I was incorrectly advised before finding this forum that it was needed! And spent a lot of money I didn't need to on it)

I just got my visa back yesterday and literally everything was returned including copies other than the appendix and application.

Thank you for replies!

We got 10 copies. (Yeah, we went overboard... ) Just in case.

I know I've seen this information elsewhere, so please pardon the repetition.

The process is:

1. Submit online application and get receipt for biometric appointment.
2. Go to biometric appointment in the US.
3. Biometric center mails my passport, etc. to the UK.
4. UK (eventually) mails my passport and visa to me in the US.
5. Once I get to England, I pick up the BRP.

Is that correct? Is the biometric appointment fee included in the visa application? Is the shipping of stuff to the UK separate from the biometric stuff?

And sorry, noob question but where is a link to the shipping site for sending visa stuff to the UK? I seem to remember that there was a special, really expensive way to do it. Does $270 sound about right?

Thank you!

No, not quite correct - the biometrics centre has nothing to do with submitting your passport. They are just a US immigration centre who are kind enough to take your photos and fingerprints there on behalf of UKVI.

All you take with you to biometrics is your passport, your appointment confirmation sheet and the first page of your application form. They will check out ID, stamp the confirmation sheet, take your fingerprints and photos and send you home.

After your biometrics you have 5 days to mail your passport(s), stamped confirmation, application forms and all your supporting documents to Sheffield.

There is no fee for biometrics - that's included in the application fee.

If you want to purchase pre-paid shipping and/or priority processing you will need to visit the VFS Global website before you mail the application: http://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/usa/user_pay_services.html

It's about $230 for the round trip shipping which is about normal price for shipping visa documents with UPS - if you were doing it yourself I'd budget $100-150 each way with UPS or DHL.


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So the process is:

1. Submit application, pay for it, pay IHS surcharge, book biometrics

2. Print application and receipts and biometrics confirmation sheet

3. Attend biometrics with passport and confirmation sheet. Get sheet stamped.
Go home with sheet and passport

4. You mail your passport, stamped sheet, both application forms and all supporting documents to Sheffield within 5 days, purchasing priority and/or shipping from VFS if you wish

5. Wait for visa to be processed and passport/documents to be returned (visa will be inside passport)

6. Fly to U.K.

7. Pick up BRP within 10 days


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Thank you!

Two questions.

1. Is it worth paying to get a passport card as a backup proof of citizenship (since I don't currently have my naturalization certificate, which is what I would use instead of a birth certificate to prove US citizenship) in case my US passport gets lost, stolen, or damaged?

2. If we are hoping to submit our visa application in early or mid April (i.e. once the summer rush begins), what is the potential "speed up" of paying for priority? Paying priority for a complicated visa application may not result in getting the visa much faster (as the visa review time may not be that short), but expenses for me will get exponentially higher if we don't get my visa in time to leave by the end of August (or very early September). We're currently paying to maintain two households, so money is a concern once we get into September with no visa.

I know there aren't any guarantees, but do you have any feel for how much paying priority might speed up the process?

Thank you!

1. I don't really know what a passport card is, so couldn't say, to be honest

2. Priority processing gets your application put to the front of the processing line when it arrives in Sheffield (behind other priority applications). So even if it takes longer to process the actual application, you could save several weeks of waiting in line first. the majority of the processing time is waiting in line - a non-complicated application takes about 2 hours to process, while a more complicated one could take a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on what they look into and if they need to request more documents.

If you're applying early April it shouldn't be too bad and I  imagine you'll get the visa by sometime in May. The processing times don't usually get really slow until late May or June so an early April application should hopefully still be relatively quick.

What sort of complications are you thinking might slow down your application?


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I had considered getting a passport card as my passport is my only form of id since I had been living out of the United States so long.

However when I checked the fine print all passports and cards had to go with the passport application. So I didn't end up getting it.

A passport card is, honestly, worthless for anyone except those who frequently travel by land to Mexico and/or Canada from the US. (Possibly sea as well, but definitely not air.) It wouldn't do me any good for travel, but since I don't have my naturalization certificate I thought that a passport card might be one alternate way to prove my citizenship (should the passport book get lost, stolen, damaged, etc.)

https://travel.state.gov/content/studentsabroad/en/beforeyougo/passports/whatisapassportcardandhowtoapply.html

Complications for the visa application in a nutshell: My wife is self-employed, which means a mountain of paperwork. And she has a joint bank account and mortgage with the father of her children (who still lives in the house due to neither being able to afford the brand-new mortgage on their own, and they still jointly own a limited company).

We have a mountain of paperwork documenting the special circumstances (such a child's disability that makes relocation impossible and requires additional support of the father), and we've hired an immigration lawyer recommended by this forum. We even have a letter of support from my wife's MP.

Is the priority fee an extra 500 pounds? I'm hearing that it may be worth it, even if it only means a few weeks off the waiting time. My lease is up in August, and then I will have to go month to month. That means paying almost double my current rent, which I can't afford. So we need me out of the country by the end of August if at all humanly possible, and preferably sooner. If I had my druthers, I'd be on a plane to England next month. Sigh! Wouldn't we all!

None of that makes your application complicated, so it will be treated as a normal, straightforward application.

A complicated application is one where the applicant has serious criminal convictions, previous refused visas or previous illegal overstays or working in the UK which may mean they may not be allowed to enter the country and may need a lawyer to support their case to get them entry.

Edited: ah, yes, I do remember about the joint mortgage/company - so fair enough regarding using a lawyer for that.

I don't see how a child's disability means special circumstances though and so I don't really see the need to include any documentation about it, since there's no need to explain that in great detail anyway (it can just be a sentence in the sponsor letter, explaining why you are settling in the UK and not the US).

I would always recommend priority processing anyway if you can afford it, if only for peace of mind... though there's no reason why your application should take any longer than anyone else's.

Really, as long as you include all the required self-employment paperwork and have evidence of accommodation and relationship, the visa will be granted.

I think the only possible issue you could have would be the joint company/bank accounts though. Everything else seems straightforward to me.


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Thank you!

Now, OMG, I've realized that our paperwork needs to be dated and signed within 28 days of our application.

*insert frustrated head-banging against the wall*

It took 3+ weeks to get bank statements mailed the first time, and now it's going to be past the 28 days by the time we are ready to file.

We thought we were smart and were collecting paperwork as we went along, rather than waiting until the last minute.

Due to the self-employment and special circumstances, we have a TON of paperwork. That's including documentation, letters of support, etc. that were very difficult to get and will be an enormous pain to get a second time. (This includes letters of diagnosis from doctors, and the NHS moves so slowly that there is NO way we could get a replacement letter dated and received for sure in the 28 day window.) Plus, if things don't all arrive at exactly the right time, some papers will age out of the 28 day window while we wait for others to arrive.

OMG!!!!

Please help! What do we do?