ADVISORY: Confirmation of Caps to Family Path Settlement Visas

what do you specifically mean by interim changes?

is an age limit increase to 24 likely, is there any evidence to back that up?

for couples planning to have the FLR M meeting as soon as possible (i.e. early - mid  september), do you think that we need to worry about this at all?

What they did for the Tier 1 visas was to introduce a temporary limit at short notice while they considered a permanent solution.

I don't think there is any information to answer your other questions. You will just have to wait and see like the rest of us...

As already demonstrated the new Government is willing to make large changes and quickly. Who knows what they will do next?

Andy

What they did for the Tier 1 visas was to introduce a temporary limit at short notice while they considered a permanent solution.

I don't think there is any information to answer your other questions. You will just have to wait and see like the rest of us...

As already demonstrated the new Government is willing to make large changes and quickly. Who knows what they will do next? After all 29% of the population did vote for them...

Andy

with the tier 1 visas , how short was the notice?

can rules like this really come into effect without warning?

Why does everyone keep saying here a US spousal visa takes 1-2 years?

I've been watchiung the times taken on visa journey and it averages at 9 months?

My question is, why would anyone WANT to live in this country when we are clearly not wanted?

Yep, I am not wanted. I married a dirty foreigner, I'm not wanted.

A large % of the population is anti immigration, and this is sadly what they voted for.

I really want to get out, and get out as soon as is possible and yes, I'm ion the US visa process.

This new cap is positively disgusting.

This country makes me wretch.

I think this is the final straw, I'm not only leaving, I will be relinquishing my UK citizernship at the earliest possible opportunity. I want nothing to do with a country that caps immigration for skilled workers and family members. That is sick. It's vile.

Wish I could fly the flag upside down, but nobody would notice if I did.

Yep, I am not wanted. I married a dirty foreigner, I'm not wanted.

A large % of the population is anti immigration, and this is sadly what they voted for.

I really want to get out, and get out as soon as is possible and yes, I'm ion the US visa process.

I want nothing to do with a country that caps immigration for skilled workers and family members. That is sick. It's vile.

In the US there is a very vocal minority that doesn't like immigration as well. So you won't be escaping it by moving. Most (all?) developed countries have it.

Also the US has a cap on H1-B skilled worker visas and even I think family members of permanent residents. It has for many years now...

Update: I checked and the wait for a visa if you are from the Philippines and a brother or sister of a US Citizen is currently 20 (twenty) years... This is currently the longest wait for anyone and is because of a cap.

Andy

because the family settlement visas aren't point based can anyone speculate what the caps could be?

Alright, I'm not sure where I had gotten the idea that the age requirement may be raised to 24--I can't find the exact thread where I saw that mentioned, but in my searching I did find this post:
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=56852.0

Which had to do with the last time the age was raised, under the banner of stopping forced marriages.  So, apparently all the agencies involved, more or less, were against the jump from 18 to 21?  Or, at least didn't see any benefit?  I know, of course, that it happened anyway--but does that bode well for those of us currently just over 21?  I feel that if it was already considered a pointless venture to up the age before, that raising it once more would really be considered worthless.  I see that 24 was the age considered after 21, so I guess I didn't arbitrarily choose that number.

I swear though, I saw someone in a thread recently mentioning that one of the changes could potentially be an increase in the age of the applicant--I definitely can't find the thread where that is suggested, so it is possible I'm just misremembering something else entirely.  I know at this point they could pretty much change any requirement to be anything at all, at anytime, so I understand no one can know anything concretely.  I guess I'm just complaining.

edit, hours later: to assuage my own fears, I think it was nice to read that the last time they upped the necessary age for settlement visas there was a pretty good amount of warning time.  The first mention I found of that particular change (from 18 to 21) was posted in July of 2008, and the change was officially underway, it seems, in late November of 2008.  So, a good few months of notice were given.  Here is to hoping that if an age increase is in the works, which so far I'm just sort of mindlessly worrying about without any real proof other than a vague memory of seeing it mentioned on this forum as a possible change, we'll at least all be given a bit more warning than the Tier 1 & 2 groups unfortunately got.

To change something so quickly and ferociously just seems unlikely, or so I keep telling myself.

Update: I checked and the wait for a visa if you are from the Philippines and a brother or sister of a US Citizen is currently 20 (twenty) years... This is currently the longest wait for anyone and is because of a cap.

Andy

The US has a cap for family but not for immediate family--ie, not spouses and dependent, unmarried children under 21.  The UK doesn't allow anyone else, except under very extreme circumstances!  There's no path to immigration in the UK for parents or brothers and sisters at all.  So yea, 20 years is a bit extreme and all, but most people can bring their parents over in 2-3 years and even brothers and sisters from elsewhere have less of a wait. 

This whole thing is seriously stressing me out.  I feel like there's some new announcement about making immigration harder nearly every day.  We're planning on January but who knows what could change between now and then?  It's seriously frustrating and stress inducing to have no idea what we should be planning for. 

I cannot find any truth to what was written early. Kindly post your source so everyone on here has some piece of mind!!!


"An high ranking senior policy official with UKBA has confirmed that the caps to the Family Path Settlement Visas (Spousal, fiance(e), Unmarried Partner, Civil Partner, Proposed Civil Partner, Child and Dependent Relative)  in correspondence this afternoon are 'in the works'. They have been named as a 'priority' to UKBA and to expect movement on this area in the very near future. Exactly how and when this will happen we don't know, but it's not going to be pretty and it will be soon.


How I read this: Depending on how they implement and what changes they make those that would potentially qualify today may not when they do happen and we will get less than a months notice when the change is set to occur."

I think this is the final straw, I'm not only leaving, I will be relinquishing my UK citizernship at the earliest possible opportunity. I want nothing to do with a country that caps immigration for skilled workers and family members. That is sick. It's vile.

The US does have a cap for skilled worker visas  (H-1 visa) - 65,000 per year, with 20,000 visas reserved for those who hold a postgraduate degree from a US university.

It's much more difficult to get a work visa for the US than for the UK. In fact, US immigration is much tougher in general than UK immigration, although as it has been mentioned on this thread, UK immigration seems to be becoming more like the US system now.

I cannot find any truth to what was written early. Kindly post your source so everyone on here has some piece of mind!!!

It was an internal memo issued to Stakeholders contents of which were relayed to me to let everyone know. It's real...I wouldn't post the information if it weren't.

with the tier 1 visas , how short was the notice?

can rules like this really come into effect without warning?

21 days.

The caps limit to Tier 1 & Tier 2 were announced on 28 June and were implemented on 19 July for Tier 1 and Tier 2 respectively.

The announcement that they were going to limit these visas was made on the 28th of June, but it wasn't until the DAY the change went into effect that we found out HOW the changes would be made...so it very well could be the same for this category.

Alright, I'm not sure where I had gotten the idea that the age requirement may be raised to 24--I can't find the exact thread where I saw that mentioned, but in my searching I did find this post:
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=56852.0

Which had to do with the last time the age was raised, under the banner of stopping forced marriages.  So, apparently all the agencies involved, more or less, were against the jump from 18 to 21?  

I would be really surprised it they raise the age from 21. That was done to stop young UKC being forced into arranged marriages.

If you look on the points system for tier 1, they give more points for being young.

I have a gut feeling that they will base their criteria more on the US system for spouse visas, where they look at the type of person coming in and perhaps raise the mainentance amount that the sponsor has to have. I don't think they will stop someone on a spouse visa from working.

I cannot find any truth to what was written early. Kindly post your source so everyone on here has some piece of mind!!!

I am happy to confirm it if that's of any use...

The caps limit to Tier 1 & Tier 2 were announced on 28 June and were implemented on 19 July for Tier and Tier 2 .

The announcement that they were going to limit these visas was made on the 28th of June, but it wasn't until the DAY the change went into effect that we found out HOW the changes would be made...so it very well could be the same for this category.

That interim cap was bought in for tier 1 & 2 to stop the mad rush for visas before the rule change in April.

BTW, I believe what Weby has said.

Someone asked futher up the thread and I will ask again - do you have any indication if this would be applicable to "initial" visas only?  Or would those of us currently on a spousal visa be subject to caps once applying for ILR (or equivilent)?