Just wanted to provide a positive story for those of you looking for hope right now. My partner and I got legally married at a local registry office on october 10, and had our premium appointment 9AM on the 13th. I applied for an FLR(M) under financial category A.
We got to the office a little early after not really sleeping the night before due to nerves. I was the seventh person checked in. They took all the documents (and copies) and left them in the colour-coordinated files I'd put together, with post it notes marking different sections (think lawyer's binders. I put it together exactly as I put together files as a lawyer). They seemed really pleased with the organisation. The pictures were in a clear ziploc bag, which they also appreciated.
Screens alert you as to where your number is in the system. After about 15 minutes of being on 'case registration' and where several people were called up, I was moved to the biometric data registration. It was easier than in the USA, no eye scans. The lady was very pleased when, as she asked why we came up from the south to Sheffield for the appointment, I told her we'd met at Sheffield Uni.
She then told me it would be about 1.5-2 hours before a decision would be made, and that we could leave and come back if we wanted to. It was pouring out, so we sat and read -- which was good, because about 40 minutes later, I was called up! They didn't announce my number on the big screen, she just leaned over and sort of whispered it in my direction, possibly because we skipped ahead of 5-6 cases that had been waiting longer. After barely more than an hour in the office, I was approved for the visa, super exciting!
So some recommendations: if you can afford it, do the in-person appointment. I'm extremely high strung and don't think I could have taken the wait otherwise, and I'm really glad we went in person.
-Organisation: they were very keen on the order everything was in, and that I had a separate file entirely for financial data.
-Proof of address: I was concerned about this (as a previous post could attest) because my partner had no mail to show for about a 6 month gap in the middle of the past year. We did have multiple pieces on either side of that gap, and a joint tenancy, so it didn't seem to matter.
Good luck to everyone else applying! So happy that I'm free till spring of 2017.
