Spouse Visa Document Questions

Hi all,

I'll start with some background. I (UKC) meet my wife (USC) in Australia in 2012. We travelled around AUS and NZ for a few years. We applied for a K1 visa for myself and we where married at the end of 2014 and I got my Green Card etc. I started working in the US from the end of June 2015 till the start of September 2017.

We plan to apply under Category B of the Financial Requirements as I was earning over 18,600 at my job in the USA for over 12 months and I have confirmation (signed contract) that I will be starting a job in Belfast on 7th November, again making over the 18,600 needed.
Where the issue lies is that I was working for a multinational corporation while in America and saying it is the 21st century all my payslips and W-2's are in pdf form accessed through a website called ADP ipay. I have read in other places that they will only accept original's of all supporting items, i.e. stuff that has been posted to me. Can we get away with just the printed payslips and bank statements from the last 12+ months?

On a similar note the job I am starting in November is a large Multinational company and my contract had to be countersigned by a Director in the London office, so again all I have is a pdf version. Again will this be an issue?

One last thing. I am currently staying with my mother while I try to find suitable accommodation and she has obviously said that my wife and I can stay with her rent free until we do find somewhere to live. Apart from a letter from her do I need to gather any other proof? It is a large 4 bedroom detached house so there is no issue with overcrowding. 

The K1 visa and Green Card process was a cake walk compared to this!

Thanks for the help.

Hi all,

I'll start with some background. I (UKC) meet my wife (USC) in Australia in 2012. We travelled around AUS and NZ for a few years. We applied for a K1 visa for myself and we where married at the end of 2014 and I got my Green Card etc. I started working in the US from the end of June 2015 till the start of September 2017.

We plan to apply under Category B of the Financial Requirements as I was earning over 18,600 at my job in the USA for over 12 months and I have confirmation (signed contract) that I will be starting a job in Belfast on 7th November, again making over the 18,600 needed.
Where the issue lies is that I was working for a multinational corporation while in America and saying it is the 21st century all my payslips and W-2's are in pdf form accessed through a website called ADP ipay. I have read in other places that they will only accept original's of all supporting items, i.e. stuff that has been posted to me. Can we get away with just the printed payslips and bank statements from the last 12+ months?

On a similar note the job I am starting in November is a large Multinational company and my contract had to be countersigned by a Director in the London office, so again all I have is a pdf version. Again will this be an issue?

One last thing. I am currently staying with my mother while I try to find suitable accommodation and she has obviously said that my wife and I can stay with her rent free until we do find somewhere to live. Apart from a letter from her do I need to gather any other proof? It is a large 4 bedroom detached house so there is no issue with overcrowding. 

The K1 visa and Green Card process was a cake walk compared to this!

Thanks for the help.

Hi Gopher! 

Have a read here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

It explains the formatting of the evidence but in short, everything has to be original or a certified copy.

You can have your bank statements stamped on every page by the bank. Your pay statements should be accompanied by a letter from your job confirming that they are genuine.
The contract should be original with a wet signature.
As well as the letter from your mum, you need to include evidence that she owns the property. You can download that from the .gov website for £3 and is this is acceptable for the purpose.

Thanks for the link. I had never seen that one before. 

I'll see if I can get a letter off my previous employer stating that anything printed payslips are genuine.
If it weren't for Brexit i'd be renouncing my British Citizenship and going down the EEA FP route. A lot less hassle!   

Nothing much to add myself, just wanted to say hello to someone also moving to Northern Ireland! My husband is from Bangor, lovely little town. He also moved to the US with me for a little while, but now we're moving the other way around this time! It's so strange how different the visa processes are between the two countries. Best of luck!

Rather than create a whole new topic can some answer a quick question?
Is there a fee associated with the biometrics appointment in the USA via the visa4uk website? My wife said there was a $822 fee when booking the appointment but I can't find that info anywhere.

Cheers

Rather than create a whole new topic can some answer a quick question?
Is there a fee associated with the biometrics appointment in the USA via the visa4uk website? My wife said there was a $822 fee when booking the appointment but I can't find that info anywhere.

Cheers

No, the biometrics is included in the visa fee, so you just pay the visa fee and the IHS surcharge when you submit the visa application.

If she paid $822 for anything, it will have been be the £600 IHS surcharge which gives ‘free’ use of the NHS for the length of the visa (£600 multiplied by a UK-US exchange rate of 1.37 = $822)

Even if there was an extra fee for biometrics, it wouldn’t be anywhere near $822. For in-country postal applications made in the UK, you do have to pay a fee to the Post Office to give biometrics, but it’s only £19.20.


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No, the biometrics is included in the visa fee, so you just pay the visa fee and the IHS surcharge when you submit the visa application.

If she paid $822 for anything, it will have been be the £600 IHS surcharge which gives ‘free’ use of the NHS for the length of the visa (£600 multiplied by a UK-US exchange rate of 1.37 = $822)

Even if there was an extra fee for biometrics, it wouldn’t be anywhere near $822. For in-country postal applications made in the UK, you do have to pay a fee to the Post Office to give biometrics, but it’s only £19.20.


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That makes more sense. Thank you!