Notes on a Successful ILE Application

Some notes to help others that come after us.

My wife applied for ILE based on us being married for more than four years. She took the Life in the UK test back in March as a visitor and declared this to the IO at the time.

Biometrics: When filling out the online form it asks for any other names you have been known by. We put in my wife's nickname that she has used since she was six and everyone uses and knows her by. When the biometrics form was printed out it had her name as Firstname Middlename Nickname Lastname. When we got to the BCIS Application Support Center they freaked out and initially didn't want to do anything. They eventually relented and told us it would be "at our own risk" and the application will "likely be denied". We stuck to our guns knowing that this is a known problem. On the computer they removed the nickname and took the fingerprints and photograph. Well, it wasn't a problem.

Trips: The section on trips to countries other than the UK was a problem for us. We live 60 miles from Mexico and we have taken many long weekends and day trips there with no records. Our solution was to write out a list on a separate sheet with a best guess, state it was a best guess and get it notarized. When filling in the form we wrote "See attachment B".

Cover letters: My wife put in her cover letter a request for ILE and listed how she qualified for it and what evidence of each was included. In my cover letter I explained my job situation.

In the additional comments section of the form we again noted that we were requesting ILE.

My wife has no employment income as she is disabled, but she does have rental income. Also I am lucky enough to be able to keep my job after the move. My boss wrote a letter confirming this along with my salary in US dollars and my length of employment.

We received everything back except the application form. Which means cover letters, Life in the UK pass letter, letter from my boss and everything else. I.e. everything that was address to the entry clearance officer was returned.

The visa type is "Settlement Spouse/CP" and then my name. Under observations it says "Indefinite leave to enter the UK". Interestingly the start date of the visa is not the estimated moving date we put into the form (Oct 16th), but the date the visa was approved (Sep 24th).

The application was divided with regular ring binder dividers and everything was held together with binder clips.

It looks like they didn't bother looking at the items in "Financial Part II", but I was happier doing overkill for the application anyway.

Below is a complete list of documents that we sent. A = my wife (USC) and B = me (BC).

I want to say thanks to everyone that has answered our questions, especially WebyJ and Transpondia.

Andy

Priority processing receipt, printout
Table of Contents, Printout
Cover Letter, Original
Sponsor's Support Letter, Original
A's Photograph, Original
Application Form, Original
Attachment A – Trips to UK in Last 10 Years, Original
Attachment B – Trips to Other Countries in Last 10 Years, Original, Notarized
A's Life in the UK Test Pass Letter, Original
Biometrics Appointment Sheet, Original

Government Documents

A's Current US Passport, Original
A's Previous US Passport, Original
B's Current UK Passport, Original

Personal

Marriage Certificate, Certified Copy
A's Divorce Settlement, Certified Copy
A's Driving Record, Certified Copy
A's Traffic Ticket Records from City Court, Printout

Sponsor's Employment

Letter from B's Employer, Original
B's Employment Contract, Copy
B's National Insurance Number Card, Certified Copy
B's Paystubs, Original

UK Accommodation

Rental Agreement, Original

Relationship With Sponsor

Honda Vehicle Record – Both Names, Certified Copy
Jeep Vehicle Record – Both Names, Certified Copy
Mortgage Statement – Both Names, Original
Homeowner's Insurance Statement – Both Names, Original
Car Insurance Statement – Both Names, Original
B's TV Bill, Original
B's Newspaper Bill, Original
B's Life Insurance Policy Statement, Original
A's Health Insurance Statement, Original
B's IRA Statement, Original
A's IRA Statement, Original
House Deed of Trust – Both Names, Copy
      
Financial Part I

A's Social Security Proof of Income Letter, Original
Bank and credit union statements, Original

Financial Part II

2006 Tax Returns, Copy
2007 Tax Returns, Copy
2008 Tax Returns, Copy
2009 Tax Returns, Copy
2006 Federal Tax Return Transcript, Original
2007 Federal Tax Return Transcript, Original
2008 Federal Tax Return Transcript, Original
2009 Federal Tax Return Transcript, Original
B's 2009 W-2, Original
B's 2009 Farm 1099-MISC, Original
A's 2009 SSA-1099, Original
B's 2009 Schedule K-1, Original

Just wanted to say "Thank You" for your post. It's always comforting to see someone posting their success story and your detailed list is most appreciated! 

Thanks for the post! I agree, it's nice to see everything other people included in their apps.

I know this is a really old thread, but since I saw a link to it in the signature of a recent post I thought I'd comment on a couple of points the OP mentioned (re: "other names" and other international trips). In both cases it helps to understand what the spirit and intent of the question is (making sure you're not circumventing a visa ban or covering up a bad history by assuming a different name and whether or not you've previously had a visa denied or other similar issues with traveling internationally respectively).

I've talked about the "other names" question before, and what they're primarily interested in are 1) Other names that may appear on relevant documents and records and 2) If you've ever applied for immigration anywhere under another name. A nickname that isn't normally used on legal documents wouldn't count here (now if it was then it'd probably be best to mention it). Additionally, because of the way the printout is done as the OP described, if the other name situation is more complicated than a maiden/former married name case it's probably better to explain it on a separate sheet rather than put the full former name in the space (so you don't end up with a very unwieldy printout). This kind of question that you sometimes see on forms has different scopes for different purposes (e.g. for an employment background check the birth name of someone adopted as an infant or young child would be meaningless and typically not need to be included, but for immigration if you are aware of the name go ahead and mention it).

With the other international travel, they'll understand that if you've lived near an international border you likely have traveled over numerous times and that you may not be immediately aware of every single time. Here an explanation of that should work as long as you haven't crossed illegally (and if so mention that and when you have too).