Any updates from recent applicants?

Interesting assumptions, I have no intention of staying after I enter. Clearly stated that I would leave and return on the visa. I have no indication of how long it's going to take. How does it look like I'm circumventing the system by visiting my spouse while waiting on the process?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Interesting, I just got a new perspective after reading another thread. You're asking me why I can't wait, why there is such a rush?

You mentioned you came over for work...alone...meaning you did not go through the agonizing mental separation that couples and families are required to endure. Is that right? If so, I don't expect or take much weight from your opinion of why I am trying to do everything I can to reunite my family.

My husband and I are best friends, we do everything together and our lives are completely interwoven and dependent on each other. That is why there is such a rush. My daughter is 10 months old and she needs her dad. That is why we're in a hurry.

We've been in limbo now for months and we're trying to gain stability as soon as we possibly can as I'm expecting our second child in January. For all of our mental states we need stability and for this process to end.

I know...that sounds like a hormonal pregnant woman just wrote it...well maybe because one did...but just to further answer your question. Husband is verifying details with immigration solicitors tomorrow (2 of them) to give us a definite yes or no for trying the secondary passport...since everyone seems so against it.

Another point, the source you posted was from 2012...so much can change, how do you know it's even credible still?

Yes, you do sound like a hormonal pregnant woman (been there, got the t-shirt). 

I'm simply trying to help.  I apologize for having moved to the UK ALONE (shock, horror, gasps) and therefore not qualified to give some friendly words of caution.

My hope is that you have your visa before next Wednesday and that none of this is relevant.

I would recommend that your husband contacts Victoria Sharkey at Medivisas.  Highly qualified immigration solicitor.  He'll probably find that someone from UK Yankee has already asked her this exact question.   

I appreciate that...thank you for the referral.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Guess who feels kinda silly now....**foot in mouth**

Two emails of correspondence this morning...

Dear Ilyse22tech,
 
Thank you for your UK visa application.
 
In order to complete the assessment of your application, please can you provide the following:-
 
 
·         Wage slips and bank statements showing your sponsor’s income for December 2014 – May 2015

·         A letter from your sponsor’s employer confirming his position and income in the US

·         Evidence of accommodation in the UK

 
This information can be sent to the following email address: - visasheffield@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
 
Please send these by the 13TH August 2015
 
Yours Sincerely,
 
 
 
RC
Entry Clearance Officer
UK Visas & Immigration
 
Home Office


This was received at 5:04am EST.

The other involved an inquiry I placed with a beta system the website has recently added.


Dear ilyse22tech,

Thank you for contacting the UK Visas and Immigration International Enquiry
Service.

Please note that as we have no access to processing data we unable to
advise if the retroactive fast track process has been applied.

We understand that you would like to know about the current status of your
visa application. I have tracked the status (GWF# and date of birth
#) and found that your application has not yet been assessed by an
Entry Clearance Officer (ECO). Each application is assessed individually
and processing times may vary, hence applicants are requested to be patient
whilst processing is completed. Your visa application centre or the entry
clearance officer (ECO) will contact you once a decision has been made or,
if necessary, during the consideration of your application.

Though we try our best to complete the visa application process in 15
working days, each application is subject to an individual assessment and
processing times may vary, hence applicants are requested to be patient and
wait for the processing to be completed. You can check how long you'll have
to wait for a decision on your visa application in your country (if you
applied from outside the UK) by entering your details at the following
link: :
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about/a
bout-our-services . Please note that the actual processing times may vary
depending on a range of factors.

We have service level standards for processing UK visa applications. We
will process 90% of non-settlement applications within 3 weeks, 98% within
6 weeks and 100% within 12 weeks of the application (biometric taken) date;
and 95% of settlement applications within 12 weeks of the biometric taken
date and 100% within 24 weeks of the application (biometric taken) date.
Please note that we define 1 week as 5 working days.

We strongly recommend not to book prepaid travel and accommodation before
receiving the visa.

For any further details, or should you need to contact us again please
refer to our website at https://ukvi-international.faq-help.com/, select
appropriate country, click next and then select 'E-Mail form' and complete
as instructed. We will aim to come back to you within 1 day.

Kind regards,
Pieter

UK Visas and Immigration International Enquiry Service

We would like to invite you to participate in a brief survey about the
service you received from us to identify strengths and opportunities for
improvements.

http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/S/130335JPJLG

Thank you in advance for your time.


This came at 4:00am prior to the other email....someone must have quite literally gotten to.

Hope this is useful for others!

In order to complete the assessment of your application, please can you provide the following:-
 
 
·         Wage slips and bank statements showing your sponsor’s income for December 2014 – May 2015

·         A letter from your sponsor’s employer confirming his position and income in the US

·         Evidence of accommodation in the UK

Great news.  You are lucky they are requesting the documents and not simply refusing the application.

In my experience (which I know you don't care about, as I moved here alone and therefore you don't consider my opinion valid), you will have your visa issued within moments of them receiving the missing items from you.

Great news.  You are lucky they are requesting the documents and not simply refusing the application.

In my experience (which I know you don't care about, as I moved here alone and therefore you don't consider my opinion valid), you will have your visa issued within moments of them receiving the missing items from you.

Passive-Aggressive, much! I apologize for offending you...I was out of line...crazy emotional-hormonal pregnant woman has left the building after getting some sleep.

Hello everyone, here is my wife's (Spouse settlement, Cat B) timeline:

Submitted Application Online - Forget exact day, early June.
Biometrics Taken - Around the 16th of June
Sent Documents to Sheffield (NON-PRIORITY) - Around 24th of June
Received Acknowledgment - July 1, 2015
Paid for Retrospective Priority and Emailed Sheffield the Receipt - August 4, 2015

-

I have not had any notification that the application has been upgraded.

-

Total Work Days Since Acknowledgment - 27
Total Work Days Since Retrospective Priority Upgrade - 2

In order to complete the assessment of your application, please can you provide the following:-
 
 
·         Wage slips and bank statements showing your sponsor’s income for December 2014 – May 2015

·         A letter from your sponsor’s employer confirming his position and income in the US

·         Evidence of accommodation in the UK

And there you have your exact reason why your application has been taking so long to process. As KFDancer said, you're lucky that they are requesting the missing documents and not just refusing the visa.

There are 3 requirements you must meet and must send evidence of in order for the visa to be granted and from the email from UKVI, it sounds like you didn't send the required evidence for 2 of the 3 most important requirements:

Relationship evidence
- Marriage certificate
- 1-2 photos of you together
- evidence of living together if you have lived together in the US/UK
- evidence of contact while apart

Employment evidence:
Assuming Category A (he has been earning at least £18,600 in the UK for a minimum of 6 months)
- 6 full months of original payslips from your husband showing at least £1,550 per month earned in the UK
- 6 full months of original bank statements from your husband showing the deposit of each payslip
- A letter from his employer stating:
1) How long he has been working for them
2) His current salary
3) How long he has been earning his current salary
4) Type of employment

If he hasn't been with the UK employer for 6 months yet, it will be Category B and he will need to send essentially the same as above, but include 12 full months of payslips and bank statements showing a total earnings of £18,600 in the last 12 months.

Accommodation evidence:
If he rents:
- original tenancy agreement
- a signed letter from his landlord giving you and the children permission to live there too

If he owns:
- land registry document
- mortgage statements

If you will be staying with relatives:
- their land registry document
- a letter of permission to live there, stating the home will not be overcrowded.

This is one of the reasons (if not the main reason) why the advice you received here was to be patient and not to try to get a second passport to travel to the UK as a visitor - what if you had already got the new passport, flown to the UK and then you got an email from Sheffield asking for documents you couldn't give them within the timeframe because you would have to get them from the US?

Or what if the visa had been refused, meaning you wouldn't be able travel to the UK again without a visa... yet you were already there? That could look very bad for your immigration history on future visa applications... For example, when they are looking at your travel history and realise: 'how could she have entered the UK and physically been inside the UK at the same time that we refused her permission to enter the UK?'

I hope that you are able to get all the required documents to them and that they can make a decision and mail your visa and documents back to you before your flight next Wednesday, because I would not recommend trying to fly on the new passport before you have your visa.

The payslips are the issue, they're on the boat! UGH! He had packed them before I realized what was going on..husband admin fail...I have provided his W2 for 2014 which shows his income and the 6 months of requested bank statements showing the incoming come into our account...do you think this will be sufficient? Additionally I've included his redundancy payout  details as I can't access the payslips right now?

Will that be enough?

Crisis averted, found a copy of them!!!

Passive-Aggressive, much! I apologize for offending you...I was out of line...crazy emotional-hormonal pregnant woman has left the building after getting some sleep.

I am not trying to be passive aggressive in the least.  I simply reiterated your own statement of saying you don't feel my opinion is valid (when I was giving my opinion again).

Ksand is British and has never applied for a UK visa in her life.  I find her opinion and recommendations to be spot on.  She always sites official sources and I haven't seen her steer anyone wrong yet.  I would NEVER EVER say that because she hasn't been through this process personally that she is unqualified to respond.  She is the life line of this forum.

I genuinely hope nothing but the best for you.  Being separated from loved ones is horrible and it's a shame that you guys could not relocate together to the UK.  You'll look back on this time in the future and realize it wasn't actually that long to be apart and the end result will be worth it.  While I've been fortunate to not have to spend an extended time away from my husband or child, I am very far away from the rest of my family.  I have met one niece and nephew exactly once and have no idea when I will see them again.  Long distance isn't easy and it makes us all a little nutso from time to time. 

Visa applications are HARD emotionally and drive anxiety.  I just think you were panicking with getting a second passport and booking a flight when it's likely you'll have your approval as soon as you send the required documents.

Sit tight, send the documents.  You'll have your visa in your hands in no time and your life in the UK can begin.   

The payslips are the issue, they're on the boat! UGH! He had packed them before I realized what was going on..husband admin fail...I have provided his W2 for 2014 which shows his income and the 6 months of requested bank statements showing the incoming come into our account...do you think this will be sufficient? Additionally I've included his redundancy payout  details as I can't access the payslips right now?

Will that be enough?

Crisis averted, found a copy of them!!!

As far as I know, they're supposed to be original.  I think combined with the W2 it will probably be ok as long as they're clearly legitimate.

What category did you go under? A or B?

The payslips are the issue, they're on the boat! UGH! He had packed them before I realized what was going on..husband admin fail...I have provided his W2 for 2014 which shows his income and the 6 months of requested bank statements showing the incoming come into our account...do you think this will be sufficient? Additionally I've included his redundancy payout  details as I can't access the payslips right now?

Will that be enough?

No, it won't I'm afraid.

The requirements are VERY specific and even just one missing document means a visa refusal... which will happen if you don't get every document to Sheffield before the 13th.

The visa is tick-box and they have to be able to tick off every required document in order to issue the visa - wage slips and bank statements are on that list, W2s and redundancy information are not.

You MUST provide
- Every single original payslip from the previous 6 months (if printed from the internet or a copy, they must be confirmed to be authentic by HR)
- Every single original bank statement from the previous 6 months (if printed from the internet, they must be stamped and signed by the bank branch on EVERY page)
- The letter from his UK employer confirming his employment in the UK

Crisis averted, found a copy of them!!!

Copies are not acceptable so if you only have a copy of the payslips and not the originals you will need to get his former employer to either stamp/sign them or write a letter to confirm their authenticity.

No, it won't I'm afraid.

The requirements are VERY specific and even just one missing document means a visa refusal... which will happen if you don't get every document to Sheffield before the 13th.

The visa is tick-box and they have to be able to tick off every required document in order to issue the visa - wage slips and bank statements are on that list, W2s and redundancy information are not.

You MUST provide
- Every single original payslip from the previous 6 months (if printed from the internet or a copy, they must be confirmed to be authentic by HR)
- Every single original bank statement from the previous 6 months (if printed from the internet, they must be stamped and signed by the bank branch on EVERY page)
- The letter from his UK employer confirming his employment in the UK


Copies are not acceptable so if you only have a copy of the payslips and not the originals you will need to get his former employer to either stamp/sign them or write a letter to confirm their authenticity.

The email didn't state any of the specifics you're referencing regarding former employers to stamp/sign the pay slips or to confirm their authenticity? How would we know to do this as it doesn't explicitly say this?

It just requests that we email them over. I'm confused...and now really concerned!

No, it won't I'm afraid.

The requirements are VERY specific and even just one missing document means a visa refusal... which will happen if you don't get every document to Sheffield before the 13th.

The visa is tick-box and they have to be able to tick of every required document in order to issue the visa - wage slips and bank statements are on that list, W2s and redundancy information are not.

You MUST provide
- Every single original payslip from the previous 6 months (if printed from the internet or a copy, they must be confirmed to be authentic by HR)
- Every single original bank statement from the previous 6 months (if printed from the internet, they must be stamped and signed by the bank branch on EVERY page)
- The letter from his UK employer confirming his employment in the UK


Copies are not acceptable so if you only have a copy of the payslips and not the originals you will need to get his former employer to either stamp/sign them or write a letter to confirm their authenticity.

The only thing I would say here is that I have talked with others online who have used copies for bank statements and have been fine and had the visa granted.  Not that I would ever suggest going that route but it might not be total doom if they're not obtainable.

Edit *They also said the information could be emailed*

-

I'm curious about their category.  If payslips were shipped, then would that not mean he was working in the US?

The only thing I would say here is that I have talked with others online who have used copies for bank statements and have been fine and had the visa granted.  Not that I would ever suggest going that route but it might not be total doom if they're not obtainable.

Edit *They also said the information could be emailed*

-

I'm curious about their category.  If payslips were shipped, then would that not mean he was working in the US?

The past payslips they are requesting are in our files which hubby packed up whilst trying to be helpful before everything was collected for moving. We do have color scans though and he is requesting the rest of the ones for January - May 2015 from former employer. I have 1 months worth (from when we purchased our home in December 2014...good timing...!)