UK Visa Settlement Processing Time

Just wanted to say congrats to all those who have received their visas!  And good luck to those still playing the waiting game.  I hope those waiting hear good news soon.   

Hi,

Just decided to go to the UK yesterday on a visit for 2 days (Indian citizen, US resident - work permit)

Adding my timeline here:

6-July-2012: Online Application submitted
9-July-2012: Will be dispatching documents + paying priority fees
10-July-2012: Biometrics appointment at Queens, NY
.
.
25-July-2012: Flying for the UK

Hope that  I don't get steam-rolled

From the little email I got from UKBA last Thursday:
http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/other-locations/ny/news/ukba-news/

Looks like their goal for priority is 48 hours!

Hi.  No word yet on acceptance and I am really worried.  I found this site a little late to be as prepared as I could have been.

June 22 2012 Submitted Visa online and paid
June 26 2012 Biometrics appointment
June 29 2012 Fedex confirmed delivery of docs and printed app to NY Consulate
July 5 2012 NY Consulate email confirming sorting of docs

I did not pay for priority because I didn't realize when I was doing this that the rules were changing and there would be a rush that might hold everything up.  Nor did I realize just how much on edge I would end up being.  Link for processessing times the email included gave an 11 day processing time but when I looked at it a day later it was up to 12 day processing for regular settlement visa requests and 48 hours for priority.

@Sealpoint: Keeping fingers crossed for you that yours gets done soon. There are at least 3 of us waiting right now! Ugh!

Just wanted to add that my Visa was approved and I got notification today.

So 14 business days processing from the date the acknowledged receiving my docs to acceptance and I did not pay for priority service.

i applied FLR(M) visa and it's been three months and till now i have no news about my papers:( after the biometric no further notice from UKBA. this is frustrating.

i applied FLR(M) visa and it's been three months and till now i have no news about my papers:( after the biometric no further notice from UKBA. this is frustrating.

I have now been waiting over 5 months for my ILR (set O) outcome. Despite my MP Simon Hughes contacting the UKBA, all I have is an acknowledgment that they received my application (2o Feb 2012) and have taken my money. The response to Simon Hughes is dated 15 May but not received by his office until 13 June!

Still waiting and not encouraged.

Just sent in my fiance visa application yesterday via FedEx next day service and somebody from the embassy signed for it this morning. I paid for priority processing and I'm waiting for the email telling me that they have opened it. Mine is a bit complicated because it has to be sent to Guernsey after they review it so that they can also go over it. So, even though it's priority this could still take weeks. UGH! The waiting is going to kill me!

Hello everyone. Joining in the fun here of waiting for a Visa. Husband and 2 children are UK citizens, travelling on UK passport. I previously had ILR back in 1998 but we've been back in the US since 2000, so I did not qualify as a returning resident.

My application for spouse settlement was sent via FedEx today and I paid for priority processing, so I'd be happy to update on my progress as I hear from them. I live right near NYC, so hopefully they'll receive it and open it tomorrow.

We are hoping to make the October 2nd sailing of the Queen Mary 2 and are keeping our fingers crossed that all goes smoothly. 

My husband and I applied for a Priority Service UK Settlement visa from the New York Consulate. I am a US citizen and he is a UK Citizen. He accepted a position in London, which is why I applied for a Priority Service UK Settlement Visa. I received an e mail stating they received my application on September 19 and that it should be processed in 15 business days. I mailed all of the supporting documents, biometrics, photos of us, marriage license, bank statements, job acceptance letters, birth certificates, UK passport photos, passports, etc. They emailed me asking for 6 months of payslips from my sponsor, which I submitted that same day. I haven't received confirmation that they got the pay slips, so I mailed them again along with the email they sent me and asked for a confirmation of receipt. I haven't heard anything from the consulate.

Also, we thought i'd get my settlement visa by now but since i havent, my husband had to leave to start work in London. He needed to go to the British Consulate in NY to get an Emergency Travel Document (as his passport is with my application). They said that his Emergency Travel Document wouldn't affect my application. Is it possible that my application is not in the priority service department? What can I do on my end to better understand what the cause of delay is? Any help is greatly appreciated!

My husband and I applied for a Priority Service UK Settlement visa from the New York Consulate. I am a US citizen and he is a UK Citizen. He accepted a position in London, which is why I applied for a Priority Service UK Settlement Visa. I received an e mail stating they received my application on September 19 and that it should be processed in 15 business days. I mailed all of the supporting documents, biometrics, photos of us, marriage license, bank statements, job acceptance letters, birth certificates, UK passport photos, passports, etc. They emailed me asking for 6 months of payslips from my sponsor, which I submitted that same day. I haven't received confirmation that they got the pay slips, so I mailed them again along with the email they sent me and asked for a confirmation of receipt. I haven't heard anything from the consulate.

Also, we thought i'd get my settlement visa by now but since i havent, my husband had to leave to start work in London. He needed to go to the British Consulate in NY to get an Emergency Travel Document (as his passport is with my application). They said that his Emergency Travel Document wouldn't affect my application. Is it possible that my application is not in the priority service department? What can I do on my end to better understand what the cause of delay is? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Once they asked you for more documents your application stopped being priority. If there is any issue at all with an application and it's priority then it goes to being processed non priority.

Is it possible that my application is not in the priority service department? What can I do on my end to better understand what the cause of delay is? Any help is greatly appreciated!

There is no separate priority service department. All you are paying for with priority service is for your application to be put to the front of the line and opened first ahead of applications that did not pay for priority service, instead of it sitting around in the mail room for a few weeks before it is opened.

If, after your application is opened, there is extra processing required, such as they request more documents, or they need to look into any previous refused visas or criminal convictions, then the priority service timing no longer applies and it will take as long as it takes them to look at your documents and process the visa (anywhere from a few days to several weeks).

By paying for the priority service, you probably cut a couple of weeks off the overall processing time, but if they had to request further documents from you it still may take longer than 15 days for it to be processed.

Also, bear in mind that there is a backlog at the moment as the consulate has been extremely busy and even straightforward priority service applications with no extra processing required have been taking 3-6 weeks for processing over the summer.

[P.S. You didn't actually need to send your husband's passport with the application if he thought he might need it to travel - a notarised copy of his passport photo page is also acceptable to send]

Hi everyone,

I am writing under this old topic with the hopes that all thoes with settlement visa applications will continue to post their timelines.  The hope is that we all can get a better idea of current wait times since Sheffield has started processing the applications.

My application was received by the UKBA NYC hub on 5th Feb 2013 with priority status and haven't heard anything yet. Still no email to say they've received it, but a few people have said they never got one either. So I wait!

My timeline is below....