Wedding and honeymoon and still can't be together

My wife and I got married in canada three weeks ago. It was a blissful wedding and a good honeymoon but we had to return to our separate countries. She is from Wales and I am American. I am on the plane back to LA as I write this.
I hope you all will indulge a short venting but I am absolutely in misery. Every time we say goodbye it is hard but this time parting as now a married couple is excruciating.
My uk spousal visa paperwork is almost done. Will be doing app online by end of next week. I really want to hop on the next plane to London which theoretically I could do since I am off work but we wanted to get this visa thing done ASAP. And our solicitor said it may be difficult to gain entry as now married but without a spousal visa. Presumption of staying and all.
Has anybody ever gone through this?
Thanks.

First of all: Congratulations on your marriage!

Second: Hang in there.

My husband and I got married in the US last August - I didn't make it over to the UK until November, long after he'd gone back home. I could have gone earlier (my spouse visa was approved in September) but I made the choice to finish my time out at work with my friends an colleagues, aware that my particular location was closing November 8th.

It is hard - SO hard. There seems to be a switch that just flicks in your head after marriage that makes parting with your spouse so much more agonizing. We're married now, right? Why can't we just be together?

Because, as a couple in an LDR spanning two countries, we have to play by the rules. That's what my husband always said to me. "We have to play by the rules for now, and when we're done, they'll be playing for us." And now they are.

All I can say is hang tough, and you can do this. When it's all said and done, being together will be that much sweeter. <3

Hope you have a safe flight back to the States.

Has anybody ever gone through this?

In theory pretty much everyone has gone through some version of this as you can't apply for a settlement visa from within the UK (with some exceptions). I myself decided to go the fiance visa route, and we may not have been married yet, but the anticipation was killing us! Luckily I was able to get everything taken care of in less than one month because I used the expedited service. So worth every penny.

Don't worry! You'll be with your DW soon. Trust the system, as they say.

In theory pretty much everyone has gone through some version of this as you can't apply for a settlement visa from within the UK (with some exceptions). I myself decided to go the fiance visa route, and we may not have been married yet, but the anticipation was killing us! Luckily I was able to get everything taken care of in less than one month because I used the expedited service. So worth every penny.

Don't worry! You'll be with your DW soon. Trust the system, as they say.

How much does the expedited service cost?? I am engaged to my beloved fiance who lives in the UK. and I am over here in the US.  And what are the exceptions for a settlement visa, does that mean you go over there first and realise you are living there and get the settlement visa or what??

How much does the expedited service cost?? I am engaged to my beloved fiance who lives in the UK. and I am over here in the US.  And what are the exceptions for a settlement visa, does that mean you go over there first and realise you are living there and get the settlement visa or what??

Expedited service is $300 in addition to the visa fee. 

You can't change from a visitor visa to any other visa.  An exception might be made for an asylum seeker so not someone in your situation.

How much does the expedited service cost?? I am engaged to my beloved fiance who lives in the UK. and I am over here in the US.  And what are the exceptions for a settlement visa, does that mean you go over there first and realise you are living there and get the settlement visa or what??

The 'settlement priority service' (it's not actually called an expedited service) is something that you purchase in the US when you apply for your visa there, which will get the application processed more quickly. It costs $300 extra on top of the £851 visa fee, and it should give you 15-working-day processing.

The 'exceptions' dels was talking about are for people who are already living in the UK on a different type of visa, such as a work visa or a student visa, and who wish to switch to another type of visa... for example, if they get married to a UK citizen and then want to switch from their work/student visa to a spousal visa based on their marriage, or if they are in the UK on a student visa and want to switch to a work visa when they graduate - they can do this in the UK without going back to their home country.

However, you can't just go to the UK on a visitor visa and then apply for a settlement visa, because it is illegal to switch from a visitor visa to any other visa from within the UK. You have to apply for a fiance or spousal visa in the US first, before you can move to the UK.

The process for applying for either a fiance or spousal visa in the US is:

- Gather up all the documents required for the visa (your fiance's bank statements, payslips, accommodation evidence, letter of support etc.) - most of the documentation will have to come from your fiance/spouse in the UK so they will have to mail it to you.

- In the US, fill out the online application form for a fiance/spousal visa (depending on whether you are married yet or not)

- Submit the online application, pay for the visa and book a biometrics appointment (you will be prompted to do this when you submit the online application).

- Attend the biometrics appointment to give your photo and fingerprints (this will be done at one of the 129 USCIS Application Support Centers in the US)

- Mail your application and documents to the British consulate in NYC. - they must arrive within 14 days of your biometrics appointment.

- If you wish to use the Settlement Priority Service, you will need to purchase it on the Worldbridge website for $300 on the day that you mail the documents, then you print out the receipt for it and out it with your documents, and you write 'Settlement Priority Service' on the package.

- When your application arrives in NYC, it will be forwarded to Sheffield in the UK for processing.

- You wait for the visa to be processed and mailed back to you

- When you have the visa, check it for errors, and if it's all okay, you can book your flight and move to the UK.

Oh I think we've almost all been there to some degree. Hubby flew to the US to marry me in December 2006. We got married on the 16th and he flew back to the UK on Christmas day  It was pretty horrible. I got my visa sorted and flew to the UK and landed March 1, 2007. You'll get through it...its horrible now, but worth it in the end.

PS
Oh yeah...and we did it all over again in 2011/2012 when hubby decided we needed to move BACK to the UK after living in the US for almost 4 years. This time we were separated for 6 months while he found work and a place to live. In the grand scheme of things in life, these little blips of time are nothing...but they hurt like hell at the time.
 
Good luck and I hope you're reunited soon!

The 'exceptions' dels was talking about...

Thanks for explaining, ksand. I probably should have listed these out so that I didn't send anyone into an exceptions frenzy.

To the OP: any update on your situation?

I don't know what OP stands for but yes, I will not have to do exceptions.  lolz.  So, don't worry about me going into a frenzy. lolz.  Wow. There are a lot of steps involved in getting the Visa.  But how far back does the bank statements and payslips have to be? One Year?? Or just a few months?? And where can I find the website for the USCIS centers?? I appreciate all the help I can get til I am home with my man in the UK! 

I don't know what OP stands for...

OP = Original Poster

Here's a link to the lingo most of us tend to use on the site. It took me forever to figure out what DH and DW meant. 
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=10959.0

Regarding the requirements for the visa you after, you should spend some time familiarizing yourself with the UKBA website (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk). And spend some time in the Visas & Citizenship section. I guarantee you will find more information than you can shake a stick at!

Congrats on getting married, that's wonderful news  I guess I'll be echoing others when I say everyone has been through this. I'm currently going through something similar myself. My fiancé proposed last month and had to leave a few days after that and believe me that was tough. I'm going to visit him next month before I submit my fiancé application, since I won't be able to see him during that time. The best thing to do is stay positive, keep in touch with one another (Skype, texts, sweet emails etc..) and get priority processing on your application. I know all will work out for you guys 

Yep, again like other posters, I'm in that same situation, just waiting for my flight in about 2 weeks.

 It is really hard isn't it. It feels so much better after you receive your visa though and you are for sure going to move. You will then be too busy preparing to be sad.

My husband and I thought about delaying our honeymoon so we could finish and submit the documents the day after the wedding, cutting down the time apart, but ultimately decided it was too much too soon after wedding planning, and I submitted them a few days after our honeymoon once he left. Now actually, I think we made the right move, since it only cost us a week or so more...and now when I arrive we'll be so happy we'll probably want to celebrate with a weekend away somewhere in more honeymoon like bliss. Almost like having 2 honeymoons .

So yea, can totally relate, we were in agony for a while...

...littlemisssarcasm...just curious, when you file for the spousal visa, after the fiancé, you have to file from the U.S.? Or do you get to stay in the UK and apply from there? I just went straight for the spousal since we were both together in another country before the wedding.

....just curious, when you file for the spousal visa, after the fiancé, you have to file from the U.S.? Or do you get to stay in the UK and apply from there? I just went straight for the spousal since we were both together in another country before the wedding.

If you enter on a fiancé visa and then marry you apply for the spouse visa from the UK.

Thanks everyone for your support. I am now in Wales again. Our solicitor is finishing our "package" to present to the UK Embassy in Los Angeles. I will take it home with me when I leave next week.
When I get home I will go online and fill out the form, pay the fee get an appointment.
For those who have more questions about this process, I am not the expert to ask but I know there are many posts here on the subject.

Thanks everyone for your support. I am now in Wales again. Our solicitor is finishing our "package" to present to the UK Embassy in Los Angeles. I will take it home with me when I leave next week.
When I get home I will go online and fill out the form, pay the fee get an appointment.
For those who have more questions about this process, I am not the expert to ask but I know there are many posts here on the subject.

All applications from the US are now filled out online, then mailed in paper form (along with supporting materials), to the UK Consulate General in New York City, which then forwards the application packet along to UKBA Sheffield in the UK. As far as I know, settlement visas are no longer processed in-person unless you are already settled in the UK on one settlement visa or another.