Which Way to go and any other information you might be able to give.

Before I start my post, I just want to say that I am most impressed with the amount of information I have read here and thank everyone for sharing their knowledge and experiences. It has been most helpful.

I came to the UK a year and a half ago on a visitor passport with my 13 year old daughter to meet my current fiance for the first time in person.  We had been corresponding for several years on line and I had finally gotten brave enough to make the trip.  It was intended to be a month or two visit in which time we could see where things went.  We knew instantly that we were going to want to be together forever. 

My fiance is paralyzed and has a carer come in daily to help him with some very basic stuff...getting out of bed, dressing ..etc.  While I was there for that visit .. he carer passed away leaving me there to pick up some of that slack until he could find adequate help to replace the carer...but we applied for an extension to my visitor stay and were granted an additional 6 months stay in which to apply for a COA and marry.  We are currently awaiting the decision on our COA but do not foresee any issues as it was the reason stated for the extension.

After marrying we will need to apply for a spousal visa prior to the middle of July when my stay expires.  We are in the process of trying to determine if we should apply from here in the UK or if we should make the trip to the US and do it from there.  From what I have read here ... it sounds like it is a pretty quick process from the US and that we will have a right to appeal if it is denied. 

I have some concerns regarding our means of supporting ourselves, as my fiance is currently disabled and does recieve money from the government.  I recieve child support as my only means of income atm as I am not currently able to do any work in the UK at all .. including caring for my fiance.  We have been living together now for over a year and a half in the UK and have managed to live on the moneys we recieve without needing me to have any assistance from the government.  After I am granted a spousal visa ... I will also be able to take over my fiances care meaning that money he recieves specifically to pay for his care will no longer be needed .. will this count for anything?  I do have a degree and a pretty solid work history prior to coming to the UK and feel certain that I will be able to find employment if I need to but also want my fiances care needs to be met by me as well.

I have also been unable to find much information regarding the process for applying from the US for a spousal visa.  Can I actually fill out the forms and make the appointment for fingerprinting here from the UK and then fly home for that purpose or do I need to be in the US to do that?  I have also been unable to find locations for where you will need to go for fingerprinting.  Any information about this process would be much appreciated as well.

Thanks in advance to anyone that is able to help answer any of these questions for me.  It is much appreciated.

Eva

If you were issued a 6 month extension to a visitor visa (presumably for a 12 month stay), and they accepted a COA app off the back of that, you are doing a whole lot better than anybody here.  It was probably a compassionate.

In country spousal applications off the back of a COA is called 'queue jumping', and they don't like it.  But nothing stops you from using the same grounds you used previously, as long as you keep in mind that nothing stops them from refusing the app on the grounds of queue jumping.

So be careful to stay in time...

Garry, Thank you so much for the reply.  I had no idea there was such a thing as queue jumping and certainly do not want to do it if it is frowned upon and might cause the application to be denied.  I think that after reading as much as I can on applying for spousal visas, we have decided that it would be best for me to return to the US and do the process from  there.

My fiance has never been to America nor met my family, so we are hoping to be able to meet his needs there enabling him to make the trip with me.  The timing is perfect as my daughter will be out of school for the summer and I hate  the idea of pulling her out here only to ask her to try to readjust to a totally different school system in the states just to turn around and do it again here ... she has adjusted so well to the English school system already .. hate to mess it up.

So, either way ... I will be applying from the US and am now looking for any advice or information regarding the process.  What can I do here from the UK .. what do I have to do from the US .. What is the time frame fro a decision usually... will my fiance recieving disability as he is paralyzed be an issue for our income...do we have to travel to one of the 3 embassys to apply and do our fingerprints.... really anything that anyone can add  to give me more knowledge of the process so we can do everything we can to ensure a positive outcome would be so helpful.  I have found some information here on the forums and have printed it out and will use that as reference for the process as well.

How long should be plan to be in the US ... Is a month enough time or do we need to plan to be  there longer?  I have some concerns about my fiance having to return alone as he is not able to fly without someone there to assist him and need to be sure we have booked the return tickets with enough time for the process to complete.

Anyway, I guess I am just really nervous and unsure about the process and what needs to be done  to ensure a positive outcome and can not imagine leaving my fiance alone for a long period of time so ... please please please .. if anyone has any words of wisdom or advice or tips or can direct me to a website or anything .. I would truely appreciate it.  Thanks

Eva

No No No he is entitled to this money off social services it is not recourse to public funds and believe me you will still need it to get some help in please do not give this up you will find yourself very stuck if you do not get this money off social services for anything even going to work or college for yourself, it is their to help you his informal carer also.

I am disabled and get this I am the USC my wife is the BC and she does most of the informal care stuff but without the extra help that Direct payments or what ever other help you partner receives you will be exhusted, Sonya ended up in hospital and that was what triggered the help we got.

Your partner is entitled to all of his benifits you just aren't and can not benifit off them, you will need to get some kind of work even part time till you can apply for your ILR, someone else had the same situation as you ie the UKC was disabled and they said that they could not use the DLA Disability living to support that person, you must not let social services try to bully you either into taking up all of the support you are giving your partner, they have to by law provide this help to him.

If you need any other info on this side of things pm me and you can talk to my wife she has alot of knowledge with this sort of thing she did it for me and she helps other people also.

Good luck with everything.

Indy

Your partner will not be able to fly by himself he will have to have someone with him, I asked about this and they said they would not let me on the plane if I were alone.

You will need to book everything in advance this side, your fiance might be able to approach a few charities for help with the cost of flights also, any of the ones that deal with spinal cord injuries they are great, we just found out about this it takes a bit of time but it might help with costs.

As long as you have all your paperwork with you and bank statements to show financial stuff, I would consider trying to be put on you fiance's bank account as a joint name also this will be another way of showing your relationship and help with the ILR paper work you will need to save from when you arrive back.

Indy

Indy, Thank you so much for replying.  I have felt at such a loss in this entire situation regarding how me and my fiance can remain together while we go thru this process and it is so nice to hear from someone who has been in the same experience.  It is nice to know that he will still be intitled to his benefits and that I will not have to work full time  to support both of us.  I feel that his day goes much better and he feels more confident about leaving the house when I have been the one to get him out of bed and assure that he has recieved the proper care he needs ... ie ... medicines applied where needed, he is bathed properly, and his clothes are not on backwards.  This is the main care need that I want to be able to do for him as it improves the quality of his life tremendously.  I should be able to take on some part time work as long as my hours are after he has gotten up in the morning.  He has several friends who have told me that they would also hire me as their PA's when I am able to work to do mostly light housework and laundry which they are unable to do themselves and are currently paying someone else to do...do you know if letters from them stating such would be helpful with our application.  The care agency he currently employs has told me they would also hire me when I am able to legally work but I am not sure the hours they would want me to work would allow me to get him up in the morning. 

I am going to have him phone our local CAB and have them help him figure out exactly what his benefits will be once we have married and returned back to the UK so that we can also include that in with our application.  That will also give us a better idea of what we are looking at.  He has never recieved any kind of care from Social Services so that is an avenue that we will need to investigate as well.  What kind of services do they offer and how does that process work? 

I would love to talk with your wife regarding his bowel care if that is something she is familiar with.  I am hoping that his nurses will teach me to do that so that while we are visiting in the states, we will not need to spend the extra money on a nurse 3 days a week.  We are already spending so much to make the trip back and do this application process from there.

Grrr ... the not being able to fly alone really irks me!  Seems totally unfair!  I am unsure if my application is denied if the UK will allow me back into the country to bring him back home but I am looking into other options such as my adult son being able to take some time off work to do that if needed.  I will definetely talk to SIA and Mobility to see if they have any grants to help with the cost and tyvm for suggesting that ... SIA was quite helpful with our initial immigration application.  Upon your advice, my fiance is adding me to his bank account tommorrow and has asked if I should also be added to the bills and credit cards as well? 

I really do appreciate all of your advice and know that you can truely understand our desire to not be parted for even a day.  Thanks so much.

Sincerely,

Eva

Garry, Thank you so much for the reply.  I had no idea there was such a thing as queue jumping and certainly do not want to do it if it is frowned upon and might cause the application to be denied.  I think that after reading as much as I can on applying for spousal visas, we have decided that it would be best for me to return to the US and do the process from  there.

Was your COA not accompanied by a letter which explained all the conditions and terms?

Garry, there was a letter from my fiance and myself attached to the COA stating that we would like the application approved prior to the date that my extension expired if possible and why.  Our solicitor also added a letter with more details regarding the history of our entire immigration process.  We have not heard back from the Home Office yet regarding the COA application but do not foresee any issues with it being approved. *crosses fingers* 

We had always just assumed that once we were married that the application process would take place here from the UK but it sounds as if that is not the proper way to apply, so we are now looking at the possibility of doing it from the US and really are just looking for any information at all about what we need to do to ensure a positive outcome.

Has your solicitor not advised on this?

Vicky

I agree with Vicky. 

Apart from what was sent to the BIA by either you or your lawyer, did your lawyer not provide *YOU* with a client care letter explaining the COA?

It's not all fitting together, hence my question...

Our solicitor has not given us anything regarding our COA .. except for a copy of the letter from the home office saying they have recieved it.  Our solicitor has given us our choices.. one being applying for our spousal visa from the UK and the other being applying for it from the US .. as well as telling us that he thinks it would be safest to do so from the US.  The decision will ultimately be up to my fiance and myself so we are trying to get as much information as we can.  Im not sure what the Client care letter is but we have not recieved anything from the Home Office regarding the COA with the exception of a letter notifying us they had recieved it .. no decision as of today.

To try to help clarify things .. I will do a timeline (est of dates as I do not want to get out all of my paperwork)

Dec 2006 - Came with my 13 year old daughter from the US on a visitors passport to visit my fiance

Feb 2006 - Fiancees caretaker passed away

March or April 2007 - Applied for an extention on visa form for other reason to stay until divorce was finalized in the US allowing us to marry as well as assisting fiance with his care until he was able to replace main caretaker.

January 2008 - Extension approved until July 17 2008 with reason stated being that it would allow us time to finalize my divorce and apply for a COA to marry.  Specifically stated that my fiances care issue did not play a part in the determination.  (he had long hired a caretaker by this point)

Feb 2008 - COA application sent in

July 17 2008 - will have to apply for another extension if we have not recieved an answer on our COA.  If we have .. we plan to marry the beginning of July and then need to decide prior to this date whether to apply for a spousal visa from the UK or in the US.

Im not sure if that fit everything together or not.  We are just now trying to decide what we need to do after we marry to ensure that we spend as little time apart as possible and would like very much to not have to yank my daughter out of school here, put her in school in the states and then yank her back to the schools here again.  The school system is totally different and it is a real hardship for her to adjust.  Also, my fiance is in a wheelchair and has some special needs which we will need to ensure are available prior to making the trip to the US and that will take some time ... as well as saving up the money needed for the 3 of us to fly back.  I guess we are just not sure which way to go to apply for the spousal visa after we marry and are just looking for any advice to help us to make our decision ... or any information that is available as well to ensure that our application is as complete as possible.

Please if you need more information .. let me know and thanks again.

The timeline clarifies it.  That's fine.  Except you should have received a client care letter based on all you've written so far.  It's obviously compassionate.

There's nothing to be done until the COA determination is made.  I don't think the internet is going to be of much help because there's not that much depth of experience in compassion out there.  And they make it up as they go along anyway.

It all sounds very positive tho'...

Our solicitor has given us our choices.. one being applying for our spousal visa from the UK and the other being applying for it from the US .. as well as telling us that he thinks it would be safest to do so from the US. 

Then this is probably the best idea.

Vicky