April Timeline

So. the last 3 times I called the enquiry line, they were very confused that i hadn't heard and had priority. Each time they found out they filled out a new escalation request on their end.

So I thought (even though I got a confirmation email that my application was moved to the priority line.. that somehow it wasn't marked well.. or was put back)... So on Friday I sent the priority receipt AGAIN to the email they suggested in April... hoping someone would see it and check on it.
My fiance and I both think that it somehow wasn't treated as priority. Our application was pretty straight forward, we had all the documentation, and so on and they contacted no one.
So either it was treated as non priority.. or after it hit the 30 day mark they werent as concerned with it.

My gut instinct is that they didn't treat it as priority.  But you got there in the end, that's what matters, right?  In a couple of days this nightmare will be a distant memory!

Great news!  Will the wedding be able to go forward as planned?

somehow I responded to this.. but it didn't show up.. so here we go again..

It looks that way (hoping)!!

My fiance had to fly back without me on Monday. I had to throw away that ticket because I didn't know when I could rebook it (so long another 400$), on a more positive note though.. the plane was packed and he had the only free seat next to him. Although now I am kicking myself for not sending my wedding dress to ride in that seat in lieu of me!

Also, since I am getting my passport back soon, I wont have to drive 3 hours away to apply for a temporary passport! woo! 400 dollars I wont have to pay!

Now it is just waiting to see if it is approved.
Happy to be on this end waiting though..

My gut instinct is that they didn't treat it as priority.  But you got there in the end, that's what matters, right?  In a couple of days this nightmare will be a distant memory!

yeah.

Now for data purposes.. that makes 2 people that upgraded retrospectively and heard under 30 business days.. and me.. that did not.

somehow I responded to this.. but it didn't show up.. so here we go again..

It looks that way (hoping)!!

My fiance had to fly back without me on Monday. I had to throw away that ticket because I didn't know when I could rebook it (so long another 400$), on a more positive note though.. the plane was packed and he had the only free seat next to him. Although now I am kicking myself for not sending my wedding dress to ride in that seat in lieu of me!

Also, since I am getting my passport back soon, I wont have to drive 3 hours away to apply for a temporary visa! woo! 400 dollars I wont have to pay!

Now it is just waiting to see if it is approved.
Happy to be on this end waiting though..

Great news about the wedding.  Boo about the flight, but we've all been there (money down the drain).

yeah.

Now for data purposes.. that makes 2 people that upgraded retrospectively and heard under 30 business days.. and me.. that did not.

For what it's worth as the summer rush begins, I'll recommend people do NOT try to retroactively upgrade.  As I don't trust the call centre, but do trust the website guidance.  I imagine the other two got lucky!

For what it's worth as the summer rush begins, I'll recommend people do NOT try to retroactively upgrade.  As I don't trust the call centre, but do trust the website guidance.  I imagine the other two got lucky!

I second that recommendation.

So. the last 3 times I called the enquiry line, they were very confused that i hadn't heard and had priority. Each time they found out they filled out a new escalation request on their end.

So I thought (even though I got a confirmation email that my application was moved to the priority line.. that somehow it wasn't marked well.. or was put back)... So on Friday I sent the priority receipt AGAIN to the email they suggested in April... hoping someone would see it and check on it.
My fiance and I both think that it somehow wasn't treated as priority. Our application was pretty straight forward, we had all the documentation, and so on and they contacted no one.
So either it was treated as non priority.. or after it hit the 30 day mark they werent as concerned with it.

Glad they finally sorted that out, even though it's ridiculous on their end to have dilly-dallied to such a degree.  Fingers crossed for a positive decision.

On a separate note, do you still happen to have the email address they suggested?

Also, just a curiosity question, do you think your app was treated as priority in the end?  I'm not convinced it was...  I'd need to study the non-priority timelines a bit harder.

Currently, for non-priority, we have one early March (67 Business days waiting), one late March (49 Business days waiting), and all the rest of April that haven't heard back.

The earliest of April is 42 business days waiting at the moment. So it is possible that hawkphx was treated as a non-priority and got super lucky. But that means that UKVI has skipped over a bunch of other people again.

Currently, for non-priority, we have one early March (67 Business days waiting), one late March (49 Business days waiting), and all the rest of April that haven't heard back.

The earliest of April is 42 business days waiting at the moment. So it is possible that hawkphx was treated as a non-priority and got super lucky. But that means that UKVI has skipped over a bunch of other people again.

Hmmm..  do you think she DID get priority in the end then?

I still will not recommend people to upgrade after sending... if nothing else as that's exactly what the guidance says!  I can sleep easy at night knowing I haven't suggested people spend an extra $700 with no guarantees.

Hmmm..  do you think she DID get priority in the end then?

I still will not recommend people to upgrade after sending... if nothing else as that's exactly what the guidance says!  I can sleep easy at night knowing I haven't suggested people spend an extra $700 with no guarantees.

So I think the 3 escalation requests in a row (Friday, Monday, Wendesday) along with me resending the email about the change in priority status (Friday) .. maybe all aligned at the right time? Not sure.
But I definitely think emailing the receipt again helped. I basically resent the first email. Which would have made it look like i JUST bought priority (obviously the purchase date was on the receipt), but it might have been seen by someone who went to go check on it...

Who knows. But I am in the middle land.. haha not really priority times.. not really non priority times
I do NOT recommend doing what I did.

unrelated question.
Does UPS do deliveries on Saturday? Or is the two days.. business days?

Hmmm..  do you think she DID get priority in the end then?

I still will not recommend people to upgrade after sending... if nothing else as that's exactly what the guidance says!  I can sleep easy at night knowing I haven't suggested people spend an extra $700 with no guarantees.

I would hesitate to say yes because she's on par with the latest of the April priorities, but I also agree with you. I wouldn't recommend upgrading with no guarantees especially since the wait is only getting longer nowadays. 

unrelated question.
Does UPS do deliveries on Saturday? Or is the two days.. business days?

On weekends, UPS works Saturdays but not Sundays. UPS delivers UPS Worldwide Express, UPS Next Day Air® Early, UPS Next Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS Ground and UPS 3 Day Select® packages on Saturdays.

Air packages must be processed and labelled for Saturday Delivery. The shipper pays extra for Saturday Delivery. Note: If the shipper sends a UPS 2nd Day Air package on Thursday, it will be delivered on Monday – unless Saturday Delivery is specified. Pickup service is available for air and international packages on Saturday via a regular Saturday pickup, UPS On-Call Pickup service or at retail outlets such as The UPS Store.

Source: https://compass.ups.com/asktheexpert/?id=8589934759

It seems like UPS is saying that it does not deliver on Saturday unless the package is specified for delivery on Saturday, which is an extra fee. Might be worth it to call UPS to ask?

So. the last 3 times I called the enquiry line, they were very confused that i hadn't heard and had priority. Each time they found out they filled out a new escalation request on their end.

So I thought (even though I got a confirmation email that my application was moved to the priority line.. that somehow it wasn't marked well.. or was put back)... So on Friday I sent the priority receipt AGAIN to the email they suggested in April... hoping someone would see it and check on it.
My fiance and I both think that it somehow wasn't treated as priority. Our application was pretty straight forward, we had all the documentation, and so on and they contacted no one.
So either it was treated as non priority.. or after it hit the 30 day mark they werent as concerned with it.

I kindly ask you to confirm email you sent the priority receipt)

I would hesitate to say yes because she's on par with the latest of the April priorities, but I also agree with you. I wouldn't recommend upgrading with no guarantees especially since the wait is only getting longer nowadays. 

I agree -- it seems most likely she was processed as priority but in the unfortunate pile of the other April applicants who have seen 32+ wait times.

Nonetheless, I agree that upgrading retroactively is not good advice, as it seems like a crap shoot.