Spousal visa two ways: are they both ok?

Me = US
Husband = UK
Married for 6 years
Was resident in UK as spouse (on FLR) for 2 years
Currently resident in the US for 4 years (husband has condition-free green card)

So. If we were to move back to England, I believe there are two roads to a Spouse visa.

Road A is applying for the visa and paying for it, entering the UK on that 2 year visa, then at the end of those 2 years applying for the permanent visa which is ILE or ILR, at least it used to be ILR.

Road B is taking the Life in the UK test while in the UK for a visit, then returning to the US and instead of applying for the 1st visa, you'd skip that step and apply straight for ILE/ILR (again I apologize because I'm not sure which acronym collection is the best).

Here are my questions:

As far as I can tell, from rather casual looking and very little hardcore research, both would cost the same. That the money you'd be saving by taking Road B, you are spending anyway on a flight to the UK. Am I right in this?

That perhaps Road B is best if you are already planning a trip, but might not be more convenient if you aren't planning on that extra trip? Also - I see no *clear* benefits to either road. Are there any that I am obviously missing??

Are the rules about either road changing drastically any time soon?


Thanks in advance, from casual non-committal research lady. 

Actually just Amend Road A - Apply for the 2 year with the 'KOL Req' stamp, arrive in UK, take LiUK test ASAP and apply for ILR BEFORE July 2011 therefore you get ILR before they eliminate it on that date. If you arrive before July 2010 you may be able to qualify for citizenship before the change in July 2013. Currently Road A would cost you $936/£585 for the 2 year visa and £820 or£1020 (if you apply in person) for the ILR.

Road B offers a visa fee savings of £820/$1353 (using todays exchange rate) since you'd just be paying the settlement visa fee from the US of £585/$936 and get ILE right off the bat.

I'm sure you could get a return flight to the UK for less than $1353 if you're willing to go alone and stay with friends or family. The test fee (I believe) is £35.

You're most welcome, from the Queen of Research 

Thanks!

I'm asking this all as casual non-committal research lady because this is all a big MAYBE for us. But there is a possibility that we'd be moving back a year from now, around May/June-ish 2010. It is a big MAYBE because it depends a lot on my husband's job, which has headquarters in the UK and we're not sure if the job move would be possible.
 
So... speaking with a lot of assumed maybes and what-ifs in front of all these sentences...

We were considering going to the UK for Christmas this year, all 4 of us (we have a 2 yr old and a 5 yr old).  Just for a visit. Then this possibility of a move came up, and we are reconsidering. That flight money would go a long way towards visas, after all. So that's why I was asking about Road B... if we were going anyway would I just take the test, etc.

IF this move happens, I suspect we'll stay put over Christmas just to save money. But if going anyway, and me taking the test while I was there, would solve any kind of other hassles/problems, especially concerning visas in the future or citizenships etc, then we'd do it.

We'd probably know by Christmastime whether or not a move is possible. I assume the Life in the UK test results don't expire or anything?

You are correct in your assumption that the certificate does not expire.

So I guess it would just depend on where we wanted to spend our money?

Are there no other clear pros or cons to either path to a spousal visa?

Well, with ILE you'd be eligible to public funds immediately, in case something should happen. If you get the spousal visa you wouldn't have access until you get ILR.

UKBA is proposing a SIGNIFICANT fee increase to all visa applications. New visa fees go into effect each April. http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=55464.msg790830#msg790830