spouse visa reapplication questions

Hello, sorry, I tried searching but it only shows me one page of results mostly from 2005 for some reason ... a few questions ...

ACCOMODATION
My spouse and I are going to live at his family home in the UK. His father owns it, paid off the mortgage several years ago. It has 7 bedrooms and just 3 people other than my husband and me living in it, Home Office refused us in part bc they weren't convinced the five of us wouldn't 'overcrowd' a 7 bedroom house (omg such nonsense ... it's a mansion!! The five of us use 3 of the 7 bedrooms and it has many other non-bedroom rooms like a music studio)

We are providing a letter from his father detailing exactly how huge this house is to show we definitely won't overcrowd it -_- We also have a copy of the land register. Other than a utility bill, what else should we include? Do we have to show some kind of blueprint of the house? We're thinking about including photos of the house. Do we have to send a copy of the deed? Does the land register printout have to be official?

EMPLOYMENT
Is there need to address anything about my spouse's father being his employer in some kind of cover letter? His father is one of the directors of a UK registered company with the power to hire employees. His father has signed the verification of employment letter, employment offer contract. As long as it is a UK-registered company, everything is on that company letterhead, and he has payslips, that's all that matters right? Even if the registered office is also the house we will be living in? (It's a small company, his father prefers to receive business letters here because his office is in this house.)

PREVIOUS REFUSAL
Should I provide some kind of cover letter discussing this? We didn't meet the financial requirement because even though he exceeded the financial requirement in the US, he was going back to the UK to pursue further postgraduate study, not starting a new job with an income. Now he has a job in the UK that does so that is straightforward. The housing thing we're also taking care of.

Where it gets complicated though:

We applied Feb 2018. We were already married in the US but had the big ceremony for UK and other abroad fam/friends coming up Aug 2018. We thought we'd hear back in time. We didn't. Basically, it was the last week of July and we still hadn't heard back so we left for the UK border (thru France bc w had two dogs with us we wanted to take in-cabin, and do eurotunnel). We got refused at the UK border because I said we still haven't heard an answer on my spouse visa application, but Border Force's database showed that a decision had actually been reached in May (later we found out there was an administrative error that caused this delay). I showed Border Force documentation to prove that as late as July, the Home Office told us and our MP that no decision had yet been reached. Didn't matter, Border Force agent thought I was lying/had actually received a refusal and was pretending I never got it (omg -_-), didn't let me in. So I was refused. We contacted the press, and as soon as our story was published, Border Force called us and asked us to come back for re-interview and let us in.

So - I should include that explanation of the prior entry refusal, yes?

But here's another complicating factor.  Before the second time we went to the border, the border force agent had indicated over the phone we're almost definitely going to get in, but suggested maybe book a flight back earlier than the one I originally showed them the first time (Nov), so we booked one for Aug. It was clear from the start they were going to approve us this time, but we also showed them the return flight booked for end of Aug. The next day after I got in, I received an email stating I passed Part I of the two-part exam to transfer my credentials as a US lawyer to be a UK solicitor - meaning I could take Part II in November. But if I left in Aug, I wouldn't get approved to return to the UK on time by Nov and the exam costs 3,500 GBP to sit (big risk in case of further complications/delay in re-entering UK).

We called the Border Force agent who had called us for the re-interview, and he said that if my passport says I have six months entry clearance, then it's fine for me to stay for the Nov exam, as long as I leave before the six months elapse, that it's ok for me to not go back in Aug. So we took his word for it, my passport didn't say anything about needing to leave by end of Aug, just said six months and the date it was issued. But we didn't get any written evidence from the Border Force agent saying not leaving in Aug was fine. Is this a problem? Does Border Force keep a record of the date of the return flight shown them? I have a flight booked before the six months elapse and plan to reapply as soon as I leave. I have not overstayed six months, but I actually ended up not taking Part II of the exam bc the waiting list for it took way too long and I wasn't sure if I'd be granted a space, and I also decided I actually needed more time to prepare for it, so plan to take it in May instead.

Question is, do I include this whole explanation anticipating that the original return flight at the end of Aug will be an issue? Or am I good, as the border force agent said over the phone, since I was given six months in my passport with no indication I have to take the end of Aug flight home ... I would just absolutely hate to get my spouse visa application refused a second time on this issue- our lives have been in limbo for almost a year since the last application and it has been really stressful.

I submitted a request for all notes including interview notes from the Home Office back in October when we filed a pre-action protocol for the negligence in handling our first application (they caused us to incur a minimum of 3000 GBP in damages bc of their delay and we nearly missed the wedding ceremony), but they didn't reply, so I sent a request through this other system that's been available since July of this year to get those records. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/requests-for-personal-data-uk-visas-and-immigration/request-personal-information-held-by-uk-visas-and-immigration

Thank you for all your time and help ...

Accommodation: 
1.  you need a letter from your inlaws stating the facts of the property (bedrooms, reception rooms and how many people live there
2.  You need the land registry
3.  You need the deeds showing the home is owned with no mortgage

Financials:  is your husband a shareholder of the company?  If so, you have to apply as self employed.  If not:
1.  Six FULL months of payslips (not one day less, if the payslips cover a full month but only have the last day of the month on them, you’ll need 7 months ofpayslips)
2.  Six full months of bank statements showing the pay deposits matching to the penny
3.  An employment letter (details in the guidance)
4.  His contract
5.  His P60 if he has received one

Yes, you absolutely want to include the paperwork from your refusal.  Both the first application and the visitor entry.  You’ll also want to explain in detail why you did not leave the UK when you originally said you would (especially after being granted special permission). Having not sat the exam won’t help, as the paperwork for that would have helped.  But if the stamp in your passport said six months, you may be okay.

This will nit be a straightforward case.  Plan for this to be a long processing time.  You may want legal counsel as there are a lot of circumstances for your case that could go against you.

Keep everything factual and non-emotive.

Best of luck.  Happy to help here if you choose to not hire counsel.

How long ago did your spouse begin his UK job?

Thank you both for responding to my post. KFDancer - you are a saint, thank you. I'll also ask for a copy of the deeds (does it have to be an "official/certified" copy though? Does a photocopy work?) and include the previous application/refusal copies, and will take extra care to keep it non-emotive.

With all those pages though, and this new scanning process in NYC instead of Sheffield now, I should not use a binder, correct? Just a table of contents with cover pages for each section?

We can't do six full months of payslips from the new job because he started Sept 1 with first pay received Oct 1. Looks like under Category B we should be okay though since it combines his pay from the US (ended in June, last pay received July), and the four months of pay he will have received at his new employment in the UK. Since I plan to submit the new application end of Jan, his payslips from the US Feb-July = roughly 15,000 GBP, UK Oct-Jan 8,000, so with 23,000 in the last 12 months should be fine, right?

Thank you so much again ...

Thank you both for responding to my post. KFDancer - you are a saint, thank you. I'll also ask for a copy of the deeds (does it have to be an "official/certified" copy though? Does a photocopy work?) and include the previous application/refusal copies, and will take extra care to keep it non-emotive.

You should be able to download an official copy of the deed/Land Registry from the Land Registry website for £3.

With all those pages though, and this new scanning process in NYC instead of Sheffield now, I should not use a binder, correct? Just a table of contents with cover pages for each section?

Correct.

Though you should never use a binder anyway, regardless of whether it’s sent to New York or Sheffield.

Also, New York seem to be having problems actually scanning everything, so Sheffield have been contacting applicants to ask them to send all their documents again by email. So, I would only send copies to New York and keep all the originals with you, in case you need them.

Having said that, there now seems to be an option on the VFS Global website to scan all the documents and upload them yourself.

We can't do six full months of payslips from the new job because he started Sept 1 with first pay received Oct 1. Looks like under Category B we should be okay though since it combines his pay from the US (ended in June, last pay received July), and the four months of pay he will have received at his new employment in the UK. Since I plan to submit the new application end of Jan, his payslips from the US Feb-July = roughly 15,000 GBP, UK Oct-Jan 8,000, so with 23,000 in the last 12 months should be fine, right?

Yes, you’ll need 12 full months of payslips and bank statements (Jan 2018 to Jan 2019), showing total earnings of £18,600 or more before tax. To make sure you cover 12 months and not a day less, you will likely need to send 13 months of each (Dec 2017 to Jan 2019).

You will also need a letter from his current U.K. employer and his U.K. job contract.



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