Advice for fiancee visa

Hi

My fiancee is a US citizen residing in the US. I am a Brit living in the UK, and we intend to wed and live in the UK. She has applied for the Settlement Visa, paid, provided biometric information, and I have provided the appendix 2 along with supporting data, and she received a generic email confirming receipt by UK Visa & Immigration Service on 25 March 2019. We used an immigration lawyer to guide us as to what visa to apply, what evidence to provide, and to check the completed application prior to submission. We took these extra steps as a previous application was refused because we had not provide sufficient evidence of a substantive relationship and I had missed out some bank statements. Our lawyer said the only practical action was to reapply.

So, the application is 'somewhere' in a virtual in-tray being busily ignored by the staff in the 'Decision Making Centre'. Ive look at the processing times for settlement visa, which indicated 93% responded in 60 days. Are we just unlucky that ours is taking 70+ days? I know the the help lines are anything but. I have contacted my MP, as I don't know where else to go, and their response is that they have contacted UK VI and typically MP's question get a response in 20 days! WTF!

What advice do people have? Do we just continue to wait? If there's no response after 90 days what action can we take? I'm absolutely incandescent with rage concerning the opaque and glacially slow service. I have arranged to meet my MP in 14th June. What success have people had in getting support from their MP, and what help or questions are likely to bring benefit?

I apologise in advance for the laundry list of questions. I didn't realise marrying my love was going to result in PTSD.

Hi

My fiancee is a US citizen residing in the US. I am a Brit living in the UK, and we intend to wed and live in the UK. She has applied for the Settlement Visa, paid, provided biometric information, and I have provided the appendix 2 along with supporting data, and she received a generic email confirming receipt by UK Visa & Immigration Service on 25 March 2019. We used an immigration lawyer to guide us as to what visa to apply, what evidence to provide, and to check the completed application prior to submission. We took these extra steps as a previous application was refused because we had not provide sufficient evidence of a substantive relationship and I had missed out some bank statements. Our lawyer said the only practical action was to reapply.

So, the application is 'somewhere' in a virtual in-tray being busily ignored by the staff in the 'Decision Making Centre'. Ive look at the processing times for settlement visa, which indicated 93% responded in 60 days. Are we just unlucky that ours is taking 70+ days? I know the the help lines are anything but. I have contacted my MP, as I don't know where else to go, and their response is that they have contacted UK VI and typically MP's question get a response in 20 days! WTF!

What advice do people have? Do we just continue to wait? If there's no response after 90 days what action can we take? I'm absolutely incandescent with rage concerning the opaque and glacially slow service. I have arranged to meet my MP in 14th June. What success have people had in getting support from their MP, and what help or questions are likely to bring benefit?

I apologise in advance for the laundry list of questions. I didn't realise marrying my love was going to result in PTSD.

Hi Maurice, welcome! 

Actually, the days are counted as business days, not calendar days so you're somewhere in the region of 48 rather than 70+.

As you have had a prior refusal, your application may take on the longer side anyway and it also seems like you may not have purchased priority service which again will add to the wait. 

Hi

Thanks for the response. Some uk.gov websites refer to weeks, others in days. For an application received on March 25, what is a realistic timeframe to receive a response? If refused again, would it be an easier/better process to get married in the US and then apply for a spouse visa?

Thanks, Maurice

Hi

Thanks for the response. Some uk.gov websites refer to weeks, others in days. For an application received on March 25, what is a realistic timeframe to receive a response? If refused again, would it be an easier/better process to get married in the US and then apply for a spouse visa?

Thanks, Maurice

Applying for a spouse visa over a fiancee visa is the same in as much as all the criteria still need to be met. It is however better from the point of view that you don't have another visa to apply for (with all the associated expense and stress) so soon after the first one. Also, work and free use of the NHS are both possible immediately on entering the UK on the spouse visa.

Hopefully the point is moot though!   

The non-priority timeline is here. https://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=90536.4245

The official timelines are here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about-our-services

They say:
Customers applying for settlement from outside the UK.
95% of settlement applications within 12 weeks of the application date and 100% within 24 weeks of the application date (where 1 week is 5 working days)

So, 12 weeks is 60 working days and 24 weeks is 120 working days.

As you are non-priority, with a prior refusal, I would allow at least 60 working days, possibly longer, depending on how busy they are and how long it takes to look at your application (some priority applications with no refusals were even taking 60 working days a few months ago, so it can fluctuation).

So, if your application was received on March 25th, then 60 working days will be up on June 20th, though it could take longer.



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