Advice on Unmarried Partner Visa

Hello,

I'm new to this forum and thought maybe some people who had gone through the unmarried partner visa process could give me some advice.

Here is our situation:
I met my boyfriend in England while there on a 6 month BUNAC visa (Jan-June 2002).  I actually met him when I moved into his flatshare.  When my visa ran out in June, we went to France for vacation and I entered the country on the 90-day visa waiver program.  I left the UK in August 2002, having lived with him for 7 months.  In February 2003, my boyfriend moved to the US on a J-1 visa.  We lived together from Feb 2003 to April 2004 (13 months).  We have now been apart since April of this year.  I believe we meet the 2 year requirement because we've been in a committed relationship akin to marriage (sharing bills, leases, insurance) together for more than two years - living together in London and in the US.   

My first question is - does anyone see any immediate problems with these dates?

My second question is - any advice on putting together the paperwork?  Anything that you found particularly helpful or unhelpful? 

And my third question is - assuming the dates are okay, how long does it take to get the visa once I've collected all of our paperwork?  I'll be applying via the LA Consulate.       

Thanks so much for any advice,
PJ

I was going to comment that if you haven't been together since April, that you would have crossed the 6 month threshold in October.  They may not notice it, or may not make a big deal about it if they do notice.  But if they do notice it, and they decide to pursue it, you'll need to think up something to say that explains it.

When my BF and I did the UP visa, we put together 5 pieces of info tying each of us singularly to our address (tax records, pay stubs), then we had 3-5 tying us together.  I was told it was overkill.

If you do the e-fasttrack system, it takes between 5-10 normally.  When we applied this summer, they were running behind to 3 weeks.  If you apply in person, you normally get the visa same day.