Spouse Visa When to Apply; re: Cash Savings

Hi guys, I'm new here

I'm married to a British citizen and planning to submit my settlement visa application in July.

For the financial requirement, we are going to use cash savings. We had to make some arrangements and only had all the cash savings ready on January 9 this year. Now, the rule says we need to have the money for 6 months before I can apply. So when would be the first day that I can submit my application and still meeting the financial requirement? Does it make any difference if I wait for one or two more days to apply?

Also, we are going to use bank statements to show the cash savings. Because our January bank statement covers January 6 to February 6, the beginning balance on January bank statement doesn't show enough funds, although the balance on January 9 shows. Would it cause any problems? Does the visa processing officer normally read through the bank statements? Should I make a note or highlight the balance on January 9?

Thank you 

For the financial requirement, we are going to use cash savings. We had to make some arrangements and only had all the cash savings ready on January 9 this year. Now, the rule says we need to have the money for 6 months before I can apply. So when would be the first day that I can submit my application and still meeting the financial requirement? Does it make any difference if I wait for one or two more days to apply?

You can apply from July 9th onwards, but not a day before that.

Also, we are going to use bank statements to show the cash savings. Because our January bank statement covers January 6 to February 6, the beginning balance on January bank statement doesn't show enough funds, although the balance on January 9 shows. Would it cause any problems? Does the visa processing officer normally read through the bank statements? Should I make a note or highlight the balance on January 9?

No, you don't need to do anything, though you could put a note next to it if you wanted. However, you MUST make sure that the latest bank statement you send covers up to July 9th.

So, if your statements are issued on 6th of the month, then you will need to wait until AFTER you have the July 6 - August 6 statement before you can apply. Unless, however, you can get an official statement from the bank dated after July 9th but before August 6th.

Hi guys, I'm new here

I'm married to a British citizen and planning to submit my settlement visa application in July.

For the financial requirement, we are going to use cash savings. We had to make some arrangements and only had all the cash savings ready on January 9 this year. Now, the rule says we need to have the money for 6 months before I can apply. So when would be the first day that I can submit my application and still meeting the financial requirement? Does it make any difference if I wait for one or two more days to apply?

Also, we are going to use bank statements to show the cash savings. Because our January bank statement covers January 6 to February 6, the beginning balance on January bank statement doesn't show enough funds, although the balance on January 9 shows. Would it cause any problems? Does the visa processing officer normally read through the bank statements? Should I make a note or highlight the balance on January 9?

Thank you 

It depends how you came upon the money. If it was from the sale of a house  which you have owned for more than 6 months then you can apply any time.
If it was a gift for example, you would have to wait the 6 full calendar months so you wouldn't be able to apply before July 9th and you would have to show bank statements covering the whole period.

It's fine to apply any time after you have held the savings for the full 6 months.
The statements will be scrutinized closely so no need to highlight anything, they know what they are looking for.
It does not matter that there was less money in your account earlier as long as the balance has not dropped even a penny below the 62.5kgbp during the period you are relying on.

Also, is your money in the UK or the USA? If it's in the US you're going to need to watch that you hit the required amount depending on the exchange rate on the day.

It depends how you came upon the money. If it was from the sale of a house  which you have owned for more than 6 months then you can apply any time.
If it was a gift for example, you would have to wait the 6 full calendar months so you wouldn't be able to apply before July 9th and you would have to show bank statements covering the whole period.

It's fine to apply any time after you have held the savings for the full 6 months.
The statements will be scrutinized closely so no need to highlight anything, they know what they are looking for.
It does not matter that there was less money in your account earlier as long as the balance has not dropped even a penny below the 62.5kgbp during the period you are relying on.

I had to sell one car that I owned on January 9, so the last amount of money that went into the bank account was that. I had owned that car for three years. Does that mean I might be able to apply before July 9? Or it is different  from selling a house?

Also, is your money in the UK or the USA? If it's in the US you're going to need to watch that you hit the required amount depending on the exchange rate on the day.

The money is in dollars. We should have enough cushion to deal with the exchange rate fluctuation, although I have been watching it closely. 

You can apply from July 9th onwards, but not a day before that.

No, you don't need to do anything, though you could put a note next to it if you wanted. However, you MUST make sure that the latest bank statement you send covers up to July 9th.

So, if your statements are issued on 6th of the month, then you will need to wait until AFTER you have the July 6 - August 6 statement before you can apply. Unless, however, you can get an official statement from the bank dated after July 9th but before August 6th.

With our moving schedule, we can't really wait until July 6 - August 6 statement comes out. The account is with Chase. I'm planning to ask the bank to print and stamp a transacting history and current amount balance sheet. Hopefully that would work.

I have read about certified bank letters and bank statements, but I was told by my local banker that Chase private client bankers can't sign on any letters and all they can do is stamp on each single page of my bank statements and provide an account information sheet to verify the length of my account and current balance. I checked their stamp. It only has the bank name and address on it. It doesn't say certified or show a date. I'm planning to visit other Chase branches to see if someone else can sign a certified letter, although I am worried that they can only do stamping. 

I had to sell one car that I owned on January 9, so the last amount of money that went into the bank account was that. I had owned that car for three years. Does that mean I might be able to apply before July 9? Or it is different  from selling a house?

It's different. If it came from selling a car then you must hold it for the whole 6 months.

The money is in dollars. We should have enough cushion to deal with the exchange rate fluctuation, although I have been watching it closely. 

That's good! They use the closing spot rate on Onada.com on the day you apply, which is the date you submit and pay for the online application.

With our moving schedule, we can't really wait until July 6 - August 6 statement comes out. The account is with Chase. I'm planning to ask the bank to print and stamp a transacting history and current amount balance sheet. Hopefully that would work.

I have read about certified bank letters and bank statements, but I was told by my local banker that Chase private client bankers can't sign on any letters and all they can do is stamp on each single page of my bank statements and provide an account information sheet to verify the length of my account and current balance. I checked their stamp. It only has the bank name and address on it. It doesn't say certified or show a date. I'm planning to visit other Chase branches to see if someone else can sign a certified letter, although I am worried that they can only do stamping. 

The bank stamp on every page will be fine.
If it is not dated, you should do a small deposit into your account just before you visit so that last transaction will effectively date stamp the whole lot.

With our moving schedule, we can't really wait until July 6 - August 6 statement comes out.

Are you aware of the current processing times? Even with priority it's taking up to 6 weeks at the moment and things only slow further as summer goes on.

Are you aware of the current processing times? Even with priority it's taking up to 6 weeks at the moment and things only slow further as summer goes on.

Yes! I just recently realized the processing time has changed. I was freaking out last week , because we are planning to move out of the US early/mid September. We will definitely have to buy the priority service. If everything goes smoothly, I will submit my application on July 10. It will only give us about 35 business days. Hopefully it will all work out. Fingers crossed. I'm just glad I found this forum.

Yes! I just recently realized the processing time has changed. I was freaking out last week , because we are planning to move out of the US early/mid September. We will definitely have to buy the priority service. If everything goes smoothly, I will submit my application on July 10. It will only give us about 35 business days. Hopefully it will all work out. Fingers crossed. I'm just glad I found this forum.

Absolutely! Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly! 
When you're ready, feel free to post a list of all the evidence you plan to submit so that we can check it over for you.