After 11 painful weeks of waiting, I just found out that I was rejected from HSMP. I'm devastated, but I have become a detective to find out what my other options are.
I'm so sorry it didn't go thru. I'm sure the last 11 weeks have not been easy!
1-go home, apply for a waitress/bar staff visa (since there is a shortage) does anyone know anything about this? I graduated in 2002 so I've been out of school too long for BUNAC.
I haven't heard of this one actually. Is this a special or new visa? I would think this would be pretty unlikely since to hire someone they have to prove that no one in the whole of the EU can do the job the way you can. But maybe this is not the case....sorry I can't help more on this one.
2- get engaged, go home apply for the fiance visa and wait to come back. How long do fiance visas usually take to process? And what do people do for the 6 months that they can't work? How do they make sure you get married within the 6 months? Can you automatically start work after 6 months, or do you have to get married to work?
The fiance visa can take one day (if you go in person and apply) or a couple of weeks (if you apply by post). It is not a terribly difficult visa to get as long as you follow the process and send them all the documentation they require. But you must apply for it from the US.
You have six months to get married from the day the visa is issued (note: *not* six months from the day you arrive in the UK). Part of the documentation they will want to see from you in order to grant this visa is that you have enough funds to support yourself for the entire time that you will be unable to work. So, if you apply for the fiance visa in March and plan to get married in June, you'll only need to really show that you can support yourself for three or four months.
If you stay in the UK and do not get married within 6 months, you will have overstayed your visa, which is illegal and may result in you getting deported and/or any future entry in to the UK may be denied. Plus you won't be able to work here. You must get a marriage visa before you are able to work, so no, you cannot automatically work after 6 months.
3-get married. How risky is it to skip the fiance visa? I would love to be able to work sooner than later. We are very much in love, but its such a huge step! Scary!
It is only risky to skip the fiance visa if you get married in the UK without it. If you are going to skip the fiance visa, the best thing to do is to go back to the US for a trip, get married there, and then apply at the consulate for the spousal visa to come back on. This way you will be able to work as soon as you arrive here and the process is very straightforward and simple.
If you get married here in the UK without the fiance visa, you will still have to go back to the US and apply for your spousal visa and the scrutiny about why you didn't follow the rules about this sort of thing may be greater than otherwise.
4-try to get my boyfriend into America. I have heard that this is equally impossible. . . does anyone have any advice? (He's a construction engineer with about 3 years of experience).
This is a much harder, and more complicated, drawn-out process that getting you to the UK permanently. Your boyfriend can visit you in the US for 90 days on a visa waiver. However, if you want him to come be with you in the US forever to settle, you will have to do one of two things- 1) go back to the US without him and apply from there which will mean he cannot enter the US even for a visit while the application process is going on, or 2) get married here (without breaking any of the immigration rules, preferably) and then apply from the UK together. Both of these options take considerable time, effort and money.
I'm not sure what the specifics are for him coming to the US on anything besides a marriage visa, but from what I understand, it is very difficult. I'm sure the US immigration website will have other options for you to look into.
Does anyone know if my rejection from HSMP will negatively affect any of the other visas I might apply for?
I wouldn't think so but I do remember there was a question on one of the forms for one of my visas that did ask about any time I had been refused entry to the UK. Since you're already here I don' t think this applies so it really shouldn't matter.
Good luck on your appeal though!
Does anyone else think its crazy that they leave us no options other than to get married or break up!?!?!? Is there anything else I can do that I haven't thought of?
I know it seems like they are very much against people being in love and being together, but when you see things from the other side of the fence there is some logic into why the immigration rules are the way they are. They aren't there to make your life miserable, or just to be mean. They are there to protect the UK and to ensure that the country's public services, etc do not get overwhelmed by immigrants. There's no question that the process is not designed to be easy, but it is workable!
Best of luck with everything and I hope this has helped a little bit!
