visa form question

hi we are currently arguing about the section of when you met blah blah blah. bernie and i were friends and penpals long before we got together. do i give that date or the date we first met in person

I think I would be safe & put the day you met in person. Use the lettter of support to mention that you were corresponding thru letters & how that lead to your meeting & that lead to.....this application!  my DH's letter was so sweet & when the lady @ the consulate read it she asked if I'd like her to make a copy for me......I told her I already had 3!
Have fun!

we arnt using a letter of support. i feel its so important a matter for our life that i am flying out with tracey. im not so cruel as to put her through it alone. all being well in 13 days we will have this all behind us.

i dont think it really matters what you put down for when you first met - whether it is the date you met via letters or in person.  i get the impression that the more important part of that is that they get a sense that you have met before - thus the question "when did you last see so-an-so" and "have you been in contact since then"
i suggest that you two put whatever you feel most comfortable with.  if you strongly feel that your relationship started before that date you met in person, put that down.

Awww my DH wasn't cruel but he had to be in Norway w/ his job!   Which one are you going to?

Just a small suggestion but it might be in your best interests to work up a letter of support just incase they want one. Just because you show up doesnt mean that will satisfy their paper evidence requirement. They cant photocopy you and put you in the file ;-) Better to be safe than sorry. But thats just my suggestion - I could be way off! Its been a long time since I applied

Sarah

new york

yeah, go ahead and have a letter of support ready.  we went to the NYC consulate as well, and though they didn't ask to see ours, they did ask another couple (who were both there in person)...better safe than sorry!  :-)

My husband and I were penpals on and off since 1985 - didn't meet in person until 2001.  We put the 2001 date as the date we first met - but I took with me the March 1985 edition of Smash Hits that had his ad which I answered...

I mentioned this once before but I think it's worth mentioning again to anyone applying for a settlement visa to the U.K via marraige here in the States and applies to those people either doing it by mail or in person without their partner actually being there with them. Make sure that along with whatever paperwork that you submit you also include a letter from your sponsor stating that they are aware of your petition for a settlement visa and they "support" it. It's something that's easily overlooked on the list of required paperwork needed. It's a moot issue if both are applying together and in person at a Consulate here in the States but a MUST if one is doing it solo or via mail.

I mentioned this once before but I think it's worth mentioning again to anyone applying for a settlement visa to the U.K via marraige here in the States and applies to those people either doing it by mail or in person without their partner actually being there with them. Make sure that along with whatever paperwork that you submit you also include a letter from your sponsor stating that they are aware of your petition for a settlement visa and they "support" it. It's something that's easily overlooked on the list of required paperwork needed. It's a moot issue if both are applying together and in person at a Consulate here in the States but a MUST if one is doing it solo or via mail.

Good point Celtic...but you also need one even if partner is with you...that is one thing we did not have that almost had me turned down...Tom had to write it out on a piece of scratch paper there, before they would accept our application.

Same here Shel. After a 16 page application and enough evidence to frighten the French I forgot to add one too and received a phone call stating everything was in order except for the letter. I faxed it that afternoon and received the visa the next day via Fed-Ex.

and enough evidence to frighten the French

That's funny!

i submitted my forms by mail and noticed when they returned all of our documents that they kept my fiance's letter of support (and also those from the family memebers who are also helping us).  guess its just something they want to keep on file.

They kept my wife's also so you're probably right. What I appreciated was the fact that they phoned and said I could just fax it in instead of sending the whole package back like the I.N.S did to me when I included a money order in the wrong amount for something I filed for my wife, hence delaying the process by about 6 weeks