UK Visa Settlement Processing Time

I've actually learnt to hate Fridays now. As soon as 10pm uk time rolls around I know it's another 2 days of waiting. We've got 2 weeks for him to get here before I have to move our wedding!  No pressure. FYI this forum keeps me a little sane so thank u guys

Sending good thoughts out to everyone still waiting. It was the longest wait of my life, even after a six year LDR. It's stressful, and you second guess everything you sent or didn't send and obesessively check for that email. It is beyond hard. But when the approval comes, it will be the biggest relief you have ever known. Hang in there everyone, you have lots of people out there rooting for you. 

SillySprite you are awesome for sticking around and being supportive even though you got your visa a while ago! Thank you!

Anglechrome, I'm glad you got the email. Welcome to the waiting game.

Rebotting, I agree, never thought I'd dread weekends so much. On the bright side, I thought they would take off this bank holiday Monday, but it seems like it counts as a working day here. And ditto about the forum. I think I'd be in a straight jacket if it weren't for all of you!

Sorry to hear about the wedding being up in the air. Sounds incredibly stressful and frustrating. It's bad enough for me and I don't have anything pending. Exept the rest of my life, of course.

Huge congratulations to Slowloris! You've been my LA buddy through this and I'm so happy for you! I'm on day 41 and I am hoping, wishing, needing for my application to be coming up on top of the pile.

Nickiboo and EmmJayye, I'm hoping for you guys too! Not gonna say 'have a good weekend', but try and have a bearable weekend. Good luck.

Good luck rebotting. My husband was coming over to the US on a fiance visa back in Oct 2002 and was only approved 7 days before the wedding. It was awful. On the the plus side we planned a honeymoon to start right after the wedding and managed to decompress for a full week without any interruptions. Hope your approval doesn't take quite so long to come though!

This is the response I got back today from the NY office.....I had sent an email stating that my kids were about to lose school spots.

Dear Mrs Colgan

Your application for settlement is in our New York Office. Please be advised that in line with the published UK Border Agency target processing times settlement applications can take up to 12 weeks to process. The current processing time here in New York is 8 weeks.

You will hear from us via e-mail within 8 weeks of the date your application was submitted.

Regards

UK Border Agency
New York

This is the response I got back today from the NY office.....I had sent an email stating that my kids were about to lose school spots.

Dear Mrs Colgan

Your application for settlement is in our New York Office. Please be advised that in line with the published UK Border Agency target processing times settlement applications can take up to 12 weeks to process. The current processing time here in New York is 8 weeks.

You will hear from us via e-mail within 8 weeks of the date your application was submitted.

Regards

UK Border Agency
New York

Yeah, that's what I thought they'd say. Oh well...didn't hurt to ask. There's always the option to withdraw your application and re apply & do biometrics and resubmit using the settlement priority service. Or if it is just yourself that is waiting for a visa, then it is possible for your family to travel ahead of you whilst you wait for the visa.

Just a couple of options...hope you hear something soon.

I wish I had known about priority processing! But as it is all 4 of us awaiting it will be way to expensive to re-submit. My husband is an Irish citizen too and unfortunately we didn't know about the EU family visa ( for free! ) until after we submitted our docs. I hear they are pretty fast. I think it's going to take a little longer too as we submitted just my husbands original UK birth certificate and is Irish passport showing N.Ireland as is birthplace because my husband lost his UK passport! I think I need to add something to my diet pepsi....and I didn't drink at ALL before this endeavor!

Thanks for sharing that, Mrs. Colgan!!

As a fellow NY application, I'm not too thrilled to learn I have another potential 4 weeks of waiting... Let's hope they're over estimating to be on the safe side.

I wish I had known about priority processing! But as it is all 4 of us awaiting it will be way to expensive to re-submit. My husband is an Irish citizen too and unfortunately we didn't know about the EU family visa ( for free! ) until after we submitted our docs. I hear they are pretty fast. I think it's going to take a little longer too as we submitted just my husbands original UK birth certificate and is Irish passport showing N.Ireland as is birthplace because my husband lost his UK passport! I think I need to add something to my diet pepsi....and I didn't drink at ALL before this endeavor!

Another option (a bit less expensive) is to withdraw the applications. Get your doc's back -- reapply under the EEA Family Permit & Use the Priority Service for the applications ($150 + tax each and you could have it back sooner) The estimated processing is 48 hours once arriving at the Consulate.

I am hoping the same thing! But at least they got back to me at all. And they didn't say business weeks so that is a little better! And it's not a million degrees in Boston anymore....

Thanks Peggles and Angelchrome for your kind words. It's so good to know we aren't the only ones going through this process.  Just a quick question. Does anyone know if my soon to be husband is able to leave the country for a honeymoon without problems re-entering the uk?  I read somewhere that he couldn't leave for two years.  I know it's not related but could really do with a holiday somewhere warm in the sun after all this, as our english summer has deserted us!!!!

Does anyone know if my soon to be husband is able to leave the country for a honeymoon without problems re-entering the uk?  I read somewhere that he couldn't leave for two years.  

If he's going to the UK on a fiance visa, once you're married you have to apply for and receive the FLR(M) with the ID card before he can leave the UK...if you don't he'll have to return to the US and get a spousal visa before he can return to the UK.

Once he's married the fiance visa is no longer valid for travel and he must have an FLR(M) before travelling as he no longer meets the conditions for the visa as he is a spouse not a fiance and will run into problems trying to get the FLR(M) as he technically made illegal entry on a fiance visa as a spouse. Here's a helpful thread: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=50714.msg721186#msg721186.

SillySprite you are awesome for sticking around and being supportive even though you got your visa a while ago! Thank you!

Aww thanks Peggles. I have been around UKY on and off for over 5 years and have received tons of support, not only on the visa process but through lots of ups and downs. I am happy to try and pass along some of the good vibes. Hoping the wait will be over soon for you and everyone else. I am still waiting, but just in a different way now. Best of luck. 

Hi everyone!
I'm new to this forum but thought I'd like to get involved

 08-30-2010 - This morning I sent off my settlement application to Chicago!! Whew! Now the wait begins! Should arrive by noon tomorrow!!
My fiancee and I paid for the priority service after reading comments posted here about delays in processing times..

This really has been a stressful time for both of us so I feel for every one of you in the same situation! Knowing that there are those of you going through this too helps me when it comes to being apart from my fiancee while this is being resolved!

- Melissa

This really has been a stressful time for both of us so I feel for every one of you in the same situation! Knowing that there are those of you going through this too helps me when it comes to being apart from my fiancee while this is being resolved!

Fingers crossed for you, Melissa!  Good luck!  Keep us posted 
(Yet to file my app but getting prepared - will be in a couple weeks - so it's nice to know people like you have *actually* made it through to the *actual* submission which feels so far away to me right now!)