Cover letter

Does this look appropriate for a cover letter for my application?

(Yes, I know I'm overthinking this, but I'm so nervous!!!!)

VAF2 Cover Letter

British Consulate General New York
845 Third Avenue
10th Floor
New York, New York 10022

February 15, 2004

Application number:  **********

To Whom It May Concern:

Enclosed please find my completed application form VAF2, passport, and supporting documents for my application for a fiancee settlement visa.  We have registered our intended marriage with the Kent County Council for the date of March 5, 2005. 

I apologize for submitting this application so close to the date of our wedding, but we were mistakenly advised that I could marry on a visitor’s visa.  We are very determined to do everything legally, and would be very grateful if there’s anything you can do to expedite the processing of our application so that we do not have to postpone the wedding.

Contents include:
-   completed application form VAF2
-   current passport for M.H.  (please note name change amendment on the last page of the last page of the passport)
-   two recent passport photos of M.H.
-   bank statements for three months
o   Wachovia joint checking account for S.B. and M.H. (US account)
o   Wachovia savings account for M.H. (US account)
o   Nat West checking account for S.B. (UK account)
-   written invitation from my sponsor, S.B. and copy of his British passport
-   tenancy agreement as evidence of our accomodation in the UK
-   job offer letter from S.B.’s current employer, and last three wage slips from his previous employer.
-   CV for M.H., showing my qualification for finding full-time employment as soon as it is legally permissible
-   Projected monthly budget for us as a couple after our marriage
-   Divorce certificate and name change order for M.H.
-   Divorce certificate for S.B.
-   Letter from the Registry Office confirming our wedding date
-   Evidence of our relationship and continued contact
1.   receipt for round trip airfare, February 7-17, 2003
2.   receipt for hotel, night of February 7, 2003
3.   receipt for round trip airfare, June 3-9, 2003
4.   receipt for hotel, night of June 3, 2003
5.   photos of us taken on various occassions from 2003 to 2005
7.   boarding passes for June 3, 2003, June 9, 2003, and January 7, 2004
8.   boarding passes for April 24, 2004 and July 11, 2004
9.   parking and news stand receipts for Dulles Airport, July 11, 2004
10.   Valentine’s Day card mailed 9 Feb 2005 from Stephen Bail to Michelle Hendrix
11.   Copy of Verizon phone bill showing daily telephone contact

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

M.H.

*******

Is this overkill?  Is there anything else I should include? The bank statements that we are including don't show much money in there, but they do show a regular flow of income.  I hope that including our monthly budget should show that we can live on his income.

Is there any hope of getting this back by mail in time to get married March 5?  I still haven't received his documents in the mail, but I'll be running to Fedex as soon as I get them (hopefully tomorrow?)

Help!   

Very nervous bride,
shell

I don't know the exact timelines (some consulates are faster than others), but most people on here seem to have their visas in around 2-4 weeks.  I'm just basing that on how long it takes people to come back and say "I GOT MY VISA!!!!!!!!"   

Are you the gal in DC?  If so, I'd suggest you do just head up to NYC and apply in person (you'll need to make an appointment online first -- about two weeks ahead of time).  That way, it'd be done in one day and you wouldn't have the stress of waiting for the post!

You might want to call or email the consulate and ask them if there's any way to expedite the process.  I'm sure they've had several cases of people who've been hit by the new marriage rules who need their visas ASAP.

Best of luck!

If I go in person, do I need originals of everything?  I can't get my fiance's original passport, but I do have a copy of all pages.

If you take copies, they'll need to be notarised.  Some people have only had the front pages and others have had every page.

I agree with Lola- if at all possible it makes a lot of sense to go to NYC.  I think you can make an appointment now for next week- I made an appointment yesterday for next Tuesday, the 22nd.  I have had really good luck with emailing questions to NY- they have responded to my few questions within a day or two and it was an actual person who responded, not a form letter!!    If you choose to mail your application, there is every possibility it could take a couple weeks.  Although on another forum someone posted that they received their fiance visa last week in 26 hours- I thought that was pretty amazing (though it was through the LA office).  Did your papers from your fiance arrive today?  

I'm afraid I won't be able to get a notarized copy of his passport, since it's been sent away to be renewed.  Will his birth certificate (long form) be okay?

No, the mail just ran, and the papers weren't in it

They'll need either his passport or a notarised copy.  We took our birth certificates and they didn't even look at them.  

No, the mail just ran, and the papers weren't in it

I'm sorry to hear that- I ran home on my lunch hour and my fiance's papers weren't there either.   

Hi Shell- Just wondering if you have received your fiance's papers and/or decided about mailing as opposed to going directly to the embassy?   

The papers came yesterday and I got them to a FedEx drop box by 6pm.  I just tracked it online, and it's already in NY, on schedule for delivery by 10:30 am!  And all for $24!

We really do live in an amazing world, don't we?

My fiance found out we can change the wedding date without having to pay an extra fee, so we thought that option was better than me trying to go to NYC.

-shell

Excellent -- good luck with everything!   

9:16 am:  Fedex delivered my package to the Consulate!

And they'll open it today, be completely convinced, and fedex my visa to me by tomorrow!

(Okay, not really... but a girl can dream, right?  )