FORM UKM Shipping and Return of Documents

Yeah... don't expect that label to actually work. If it does it will be a pleasant surprise.

Cheapest you can ship from the UK is much more than that for fewer documents. My few documents sent with parcelforce was over £9 and that was 3 years ago.

I paid a bundle for the shipping to Liverpool, so maybe they factored that into the return cost.

A timeline update to reflect scheduling of citizenship ceremony.

Eligibility criteria: UKM (born before 1983 in USA to Scottish mother)
Nationality: USA
Method of application: form UKM
Date of application: 19 Sept 2016 (USPS Priority Express)
Payment method: Credit card
Date of receipt by HO/UKVI: 26 Sept. 2016
Date of acknowledgement: 3 Oct 2016
Date money gone off account: 30 Sept 2016
Date of letter requesting biometrics: 8 Oct 2016
Biometrics done: 18 Oct 2016 (USCIS Tucson, Arizona)
Date of approval: 9 Jan 2017 (Royal Mail int'l signed letter rcvd 24 Jan 2017)
Ceremony invitation received: 10 March 2017, email from British Consulate-General, Los Angeles
Date of ceremony: to be held 15 March 2017
Date applied for passport: pending (plan to apply after certificate received at ceremony)

Congratulations! That is exciting.

They only gave you five days to arrange a flight to L.A.? Or was this a date you requested in an earlier correspondence?

They only gave you five days to arrange a flight to L.A.? Or was this a date you requested in an earlier correspondence?

The consular officer's email said, "I have received your certificate to come to our office and swear in as a British Citizen. We are holding a ceremony on Wednesday 15th March. I would like to know if you can make it as you are in Arizona."

This gave me the impression that the consulate had only just received the certificate and wanted to give me the option of joining a ceremony already scheduled. Otherwise I would have been listed for the next ceremony, I imagine. If so, it was very thoughtful of them.

My schedule was clear. The only downside is the cost of a plane ticket on relatively short notice. It's a short flight on a competitive route, though, so I'll happily pay a few extra bucks to get this done.   
 

Good luck!

Once you get the certificate then you have to send it off to get the passport.  I was like nooo, I don't want to let it out of my hand.

Once you get the certificate then you have to send it off to get the passport.  I was like nooo, I don't want to let it out of my hand.

Ha! Luckily, the fellow who must verify my photograph won't be back in town until the following week. So I'll have several days to adore my certificate before putting it to work.

Below is my timeline for posterity. It took about five months from start to finish.

Eligibility criteria: UKM (born before 1983 in Canada to English mother)
Nationality: Canadian
Method of application: form UKM

Shipped materials to Liverpool (UPS ground): 21 Feb 2017
Delivery made to Liverpool: 27 Feb 2017
Application fee charged to credit card: Mar 5 2017
Acknowledgment of receipt (email): Mar 6 2017
UK requests my choice of location for biometrics: Mar 7 2017
UK notifies me of appointment at USCIS: Mar 11 2017
Biometrics given: Mar 23 2017
Letter from British Consular Services in Atlanta about arranging ceremony appointment: June 9 2017 (dated June 2 2017) (deadline to attend ceremony is August 2 2017)
E-mail from UKVI saying documents could not be returned: June 13 2017
Documents received, with approval letter: June 28 2017
Ceremony: July 17 2017, 1:00

The UPS return envelope I bought was not usable by UKVI, but they contacted me to arrange alternate shipping for my documents return. In the end I told them just to send it Royal Mail and it worked fine.

 

It took about five months from start to finish.

Congratulations! 

Congratulations! 

Thanks! And thanks for sharing your timeline in this thread. Very useful.

Below is my timeline for posterity. It took about five months from start to finish.

Congratulations Joel!    And thanks for posting your timeline, that's really helpful.