Marriage Visa to ILR (application questions)

I am an American in the UK. 
We will be going to the states for a visit around Christmas.  I am a bit worried, as my Marriage Visa expires 28 December, 2005.

When do I need to apply for my ILR?  Can I get it in advance BEFORE my trip, so I can get back into the UK afterwards?  For example, what if we fly out of the states on Dec. 30th, after my visa expires?..  Will they let me back in under a visitor visa or deny my re-entry?

Also, can I do the application via post, or does it have to be in person? 
I hope this will not be too much of a hassle for me, with the expiry date being smack in the middle of the holidays and all.  *sigh*

Any help would be appreciated.  Cheers!

~Angel

You can apply for ILR up to four weeks before your visa expires (so from 1 December onward).  You can apply in person for £500 (Birmingham, Liverpool, Croydon, or Glasgow) or by post for £335 or so.  Some people get their postal applications back in a couple of weeks, but some seem to take a couple of months.  If I were in your situation, I'd apply in person as soon after 1 December as possible. 

Definitely get it taken care of before you leave the UK -- otherwise, you'd be attempting to enter the country with an expired visa and that's gonna cause you way more headache than just applying for your ILR before you leave the UK.

You can apply up to 4 weeks in advance of the expiration of your present visa.  Apply any earlier and they will send it back.  

You can apply by post, it's cheaper, but there are NO guarantees on processing times.  Mine took 2 months - but again, no promises.  The only surefire way to try to get it more quickly is to go in person and pay up for the privilege.

It's probably advisable not to plan holidays around times when you'll need your passport for visa purposes if you can't afford to do it in person.  It's only one time that you'll need to do this, so it's not so much of an inconvenience.  The Home Office doesn't work around peoples' holiday plans, so plan accordingly if you're planning to do your application by post.

Hi LostAngel. You definitely need to apply before your current visa expires otherwise you are back to square one.  IND advises people to apply a month before the expiry date.  You can do this by post but if you are worried about getting your passport back in time for your trip it might be worth paying the extra fee and doing it in person.  If your application is all in order they can stamp your ILR on the day.

Thanks so much for the info, everyone.  I guess I will probably have to pay the extra fee and do it in person then. 

I need to book my flight BEFORE December, and am not going to wait on the GOV to mail it out via post.  Since it has been 2 years since I have seen any of my family in the US, there is NO WAY I am staying here again for XMas this year!       *sigh*   (me so homesick! :\\\'()

Its pretty lame how you can't take care of this further in advance, and just get the bloody thing with the start date for the 28th Dec.   

I'll post more on my process as the time nears...   Thanks again!   


Cheers!
~Angel

Its pretty lame how you can't take care of this further in advance, and just get the bloody thing with the start date for the 28th Dec.   

I think it's set up that way so people really do have to wait as close as possible to the two-years in order to be eligible.  Otherwise, there'd be no point in having the 2 year rule.  Not all folks are honest, unfortunately, so the Home Office has to do the best it can to screen applicants, since ILR is a pretty big deal.