Spouse Visa

So my husband(UK citizen) and I just got married November 2nd in Las Vegas!

Now that we have the marriage situation taken care of now it is time to get the spouse visa situation sorted.

Here are my questions:

-Do I send the marriage certificate and license?

-Is it better to send them my husband's passport or a copy of it-if so do I need all the pages photocopied and can it be something along the line of a kinko copy or certified copy?

-I get paid in cash from my work and I hate banks and have not had an account in ages. Would it be best to create a bank account or can I have a letter from my work stating how much I make each month? I would only have 3-4 months of statements to show them if I do get the bank account. Would it be acceptable even if it would be considered a new account?

As this is my first marriage how would I go about with changing my last name and should my name on my passport be changed?

If anyone else has been through this and has more info they would love to share besides what I have asked let me know!

I really do not want to screw this up!

Thank you.

-Do I send the marriage certificate and license?

Certificate

-Is it better to send them my husband's passport or a copy of it-if so do I need all the pages photocopied and can it be something along the line of a kinko copy or certified copy?

Originals are always better and certified copy if not possible.

-I get paid in cash from my work and I hate banks and have not had an account in ages. Would it be best to create a bank account or can I have a letter from my work stating how much I make each month? I would only have 3-4 months of statements to show them if I do get the bank account. Would it be acceptable even if it would be considered a new account?

Not having a bank account become difficult to prove you can support yourself officially.  It is far less about what you make today then what you have at your disposal, because you are likely to not have that job when you move to the UK, right?  What does your husband situation look like?

As this is my first marriage how would I go about with changing my last name and should my name on my passport be changed?

I will let someone else answer this about how to change a name, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter.  People have all sorts of combinations.

Re:  Passport - you MUST get a certified copy of the details page if you are not sending the original.

Re:  your name.  It is up to you.  The visa will always be issued in the name on the passport, so if you want to change everything, do so so before you apply.  But it's up to you, plenty of women don't change their name on marriage (I certainly won't!).

Vicky

But it's up to you, plenty of women don't change their name on marriage (I certainly won't!).

You just want to continue to strike fear in the hearts of UKBA when they see your name associated with a case, right?

Damn straight!

 


Vicky

First, congratulations!

You will need to send a lot more than just your marriage certificate.  If you search for "documentation" on this forum you will find some posts about supporting evidence that needs to accompany your visa application.  You will need to prove not only that you're married, but provide details about your relationship, your financial situation (his and yours), your living arrangements and also your employment.

You don't have to change your name to get your visa, but your visa will be issued in whatever name is on your passport.  I opted to change my name in the states before doing my visa application because I didn't want the hassle of having to get to the American embassy to do it in the UK later.

To change the name on your passport, I think you need to do a new application (unless your current passport is less than a year old, in which case they will amend it for free) and you will need to provide your marriage certificate.   I changed my driver's license ahead of time, too, and that seemed to be helpful.  In IL, I just needed to take my marriage certificate to the DMV and they did it lickety split.  To change your Social Security card, there is a form on their site you can mail in.

Hope that gets you started!

Thank you so much. That helps me out a lot. I have a lot of pictures of us before we were married during my visit to Scotland and a lot of emails while we have been apart.

My passport is under a year old so that is awesome! They will do that at the nearest passport office in my city?

I'm excited! This is now my final steps to go home to Scotland!

Wherever you got your last one should be able to do it, as can any post office.  Double check the forms.  I am pretty sure that within a year, for just a name change, they will do it free, but it wouldn't hurt to double check me. 

Wherever you got your last one should be able to do it, as can any post office.  Double check the forms.  I am pretty sure that within a year, for just a name change, they will do it free, but it wouldn't hurt to double check me. 

That is what is was in 2007. 

http://travel.state.gov/passport/fri/ChangeName/ChangeName_851.html