Hey everyone!
I'm getting ready to fill out my online application for my Marriage Visa and I have a couple questions.
Just to clarify to avoid any confusion: you are not actually applying for a marriage visa, you are applying for a spousal visa. A marriage visa is for people who are not yet married and wish to get married in the UK (also known as a fiance visa). A spousal visa is for people who are already married and wish to move to the UK to live with their spouse.
This distinction is important because if you select Settlement -> Marriage for the visa type on your visa application, you will be applying for the wrong visa (a fiance visa)! So you need to make sure that when you fill out the application form, you select Settlement -> Wife.
1. Please tell me if I have the right list for supporting documents:
Me (USC):
Passport photo, old passport, new passport, marriage certificate, picture of us, pay stubs (only to show I supported myself here), dissolution papers from my previous marriage.
Him (UKC):
Passport photo, passport, bank letter, mortgage statement, 6 months worth of pay stubs
I'm not sure that you need to include your pay stubs unless you will be continuing your job once you have moved to the UK and need to show how much you will be earning after you arrive (what you were earning in the US is irrelevant for the visa application if you will not be earning it once you move). You will definitely need his bank statements though (covering at least the last 3 months) as they are important, assuming that you will be using his income to meet the financial requirements.
I don't think you need to include a passport photo of your husband because he is not applying for a visa - your photo is needed because it will be going on your visa, so there's no reason they would need his photo too (they'll already have his passport with photo inside for ID anyway).
You will also need to include a letter from your husband stating that he supports your application.
You can find a list of documents you need and a sample letter of support on this site:
http://londonelegance.com/transpondia/spouse/ and the UK visa website also has a list of documents needed for a settlement visa:
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/resources/en/docs/1903073/supportingdocssettlement2. Will it tell me where I have to mail my application and documents or can I pick whether I want to go through Chicago or NY?
The consulate you send the documents to will be based on the state you live in - you don't have a choice as to where you send them. Having said that though, Chicago no longer accepts visa applications anyway, so you will either be sending your application to New York or Los Angeles. If you live in Ohio (as per your other thread), your visa will go to the New York consulate.
3. Does anyone know the processing times at this moment with regular service? Is it possible to be back before Christmas if I am applying next week? (I'm sure I probably won't be able to get an exact answer but a rough estimate would be good)
Regular service, you're looking at between about 35 and 50 business days (so 7-10 weeks). If you pay for settlement priority processing (details on the
Worldbridge site, under Additional Services in the United States section), you should have your visa within 15 working days (3 weeks).
