Application Day Documents

I live in Chicago so I am planing to show up and pursue my fiance visa in person to save myself the suspense of waiting....
Reading over advice on the internet I have found so many suggested bits and bobs I'm beside myself of what to take and what not to take.



For myself I am so far planing on:
COMPLETED VAF 2 APPLICATION FORM 
2 RECENT PASSPORT SIZED PHOTOGRAPHS 
VALID PASSPORT
My birthcertificate / social security card
A letter of reference from my longest running employer
A copy of my resume / CV
A copy of my diploma and proof of education
A copy of my current lease as demonstration of payment
A letter from an employer in the UK offering employment and wages
Copy's of phone bills
Receipt of phone cards purchased
Photographs taken during visits
Cards and letters from him

For him I am expecting:
A letter of support stating his intent to marry me and approval of my application
A copy of his Visa with each page included
A copy of his birth certificate
A letter of reference from his current employer & details of salary
A current lease with details of accommodations
A letter from his current landlord stating approval for me to live with him
2 months of bank statements to show financial income

WHAT ELSE WOULD HELP ?

and a few questions ~

Are we ok with out a planed date of marriage or can we opt to say that it will be a register office marriage to avoid setting it in stone?
Will the fact that I'm pregnant be good or bad for our Visa?
Does anyone know what the actual financial requirement is for him to make?
Does the copy of his visa need to be somehow certified?
Are there any other documents that I should be bringing to help the two of us get to one another faster and easier.... 

Any suggestions are helpful.
Thanks in advance.

A copy of his Visa with each page included
A copy of his birth certificate

When you say his "visa" do you mean his passport?  If that's the case, then you need to be sure that any copies you include are certified - and yes, that means every page.  Here in the UK, that can get rather pricey so you may want to consider just sending original documents.  I know this is a bit scary but they do take good care of them.  I have yet to hear of anyone's getting lost or not returned.

and a few questions ~

Are we ok with out a planed date of marriage or can we opt to say that it will be a register office marriage to avoid setting it in stone?

They will want to know what date you intend to be married because the visa is only valid for six months.  You don't have to have a whole wedding planned, but a date picked out would be good. 

Will the fact that I'm pregnant be good or bad for our Visa?

Won't make a difference one way or another offically.  Unoffically, it may I suppose.

Does anyone know what the actual financial requirement is for him to make?

There is not an actual amount.  You just need to show enough funds for the both of you (and anyone who might come along) to support you until the wedding, or for six months, whichever comes first.  If he's got a high rent or a lot of bills, you might need to prove more funds.  If not, less might do.  It's very subjective I'm afraid.

Does the copy of his visa need to be somehow certified?

See above.  Most definitely yes!

Are there any other documents that I should be bringing to help the two of us get to one another faster and easier....

I think you have it covered actually!  Oh, but don't forget the fees! 

Try not to worry about it too much.  It's very rare for fiance visas to be denied.  Best of luck. 

When i was calculating the financial requirements of how much i would need to support my husband, I worked on the basis of

"how much the law says you need to live on"

when calculating social security payments. (a quote from my own social security letter)


Weekly personal allowances for single people:

aged 18 - 24               44.05 GBP

aged 25 and over        55.65 GBP

Weekly personal allowances for couples:

both aged 18 or over    87.30 GBP

I'm not saying this is what they actually require but it was the only guideline i could personally think of to use.
I am on benefits and so money is very tight and we still got our visa, I'm sure you will be fine.
I think Garry said that %99.2 (?) of visas applied for in the USA were approved. I found this statistic VERY comforting.

Good luck

Jules

Here in the UK, that can get rather pricey so you may want to consider just sending original documents.  I know this is a bit scary but they do take good care of them.  I have yet to hear of anyone's getting lost or not returned.

do you have a suggested manner of sending them?

If it were me, I'd just send them by plain, ol' regular post!  We tried to send my husbands passport by recorded delivery and all that did was get it totally lost once it got to the US.  The Royal Mail tracks recorded delivery packages right up until they hit the shores of another county....then it's not their problem!  And US Post Office doesn't seem to have a clue what to do with them. 

On the other hand, I've never had anything sent by regular post ever take more than a week to arrive. 

does anyone have suggestions on how the actual letter from a landlord should be worded and also the fact that my fiance is self employed ?
what should he include to help with that as there won't be a letter from an employer?

This is the Landlord letter that worked for me:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am the Housing Manager for <real estate company's name and address>--the owners of <address of building where I will be living.> I certify that Sweetpeach has my permission to live in a two bedroom flat at Flat 4, <building address>, anytime after her fiance visa application is accepted.  I understand that Sweetpeach and <fiance's name>, the current tenant, will be living together as a couple, and that they are to be married later in the year 2005.

<Building manager signed and dated the letter, and stamped the letter with a stamp that has his name and title.>

what should he include to help with that as there won't be a letter from an employer?

He should send along his two most recent p60's or p45's, and a DPA authorization for Inland Revenue.  And two months of bank statements is a bit shy, why not send three months?  They seem to like that better.

As to how much is enough, there's no set amounts because it's regional isn't it?   As working figures only, for London anything over 32,453 pa is in the capability range.  For the rest of the UK except Wales, anything over 24,055 is good; and for Wales, it's 20,784.  Those numbers are my own reference points which I got from the ONS. 

It's a good idea to make the application the best and most complete you can, but they are not generally refusing fiance and spousal visas in the North American consulates.

Sorry to hijack this, but, in the Macarthur memorial statue cluster in Elsa and Rob's web page (in Garry's sig). Could you possibly make a cluster that was more phallic than that? The angles of the figures at a slight upward incline, the rear figure with a stiff arm jutting through his pants. I guess that adds new meaning to ours are bigger than yours.

alright -

his two most recent p60's or p45's, and a DPA authorization for Inland Revenue

i'm not too sure what those are but i will ask my little sweetie pie and see what he says.

thank you sweetpeach for the letter copey as well.
that gives me something to work with.

Make sure the copy of his passport and birth certificate are certified copies from a solicitor! I talked to immigration, and that's what they told me. DO NOT SEND ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS! I thought Jamie's documents were lost, they DO get lost! Send the certified copies! And if you really want to send the originals, send them FedEx. Don't use royal mail. They told me his things were lost and could have been stolen. They showed up yesterday, after me stressing out over a week. My boyfriend tried to track it online, and according to them, it's still in the UK.

i think he is planing on fedex.
i will suggest it to him as he is already freaking out about sending them.
i'm not sure but i think fedex has the 3 day option and we are already cutting this a little close

Just my experience, but FEDEX from the UK is a load of crapola.  DH sent his documents to me right before our wedding (we were going to get my spousal visa during the honeymoon) and they didn't arrive on the promised delivery date.  We had two or three VERY tense days waiting for them to arrive.....they finally got there two days before the wedding.   

Also, as mentioned, Royal Mail (and, it appears, FEDEX) pretty much gives up responsibility for packages once they arrive in the US.  You'll have a tracking number from FEDEX, but the UK FEDEX can only tell you which US airport the package went to.  From there, it's in the hands of the USPS and the people at the airport.  So basically, you're left with a tracking number that you can't use to track anything and will end up calling the airport to try and find the package.  NOT fun.

Just send it regular post.  Should take a week or so.

I'm planning on giving Jenni my passport and birth certifcate when she's visting me in the UK in May, hopfully I won't need my pasport between then and October when she moves.

it seems there must be some type of insured mail for important documents.
a birth certificate and passport are quite serious to send -
i know the u.s. postal service has 3 day document insured from here to the uk
anyhoo -
what a nightmare it all is