Spouse visa, almost time to apply! Questions o'plenty

Great news about the 401K letter .

In regards to the online application, I would print it as soon as you can after submitting - if you can’t get to a printer right away, I think you can go back in and print later, or you can save it as a PDF to your computer.

You will book the biometrics appointment when you pay for the visa... not sure which order you do it all in but you will be prompted for it. Settlement priority processing ($771) and shipping labels ($141 for just the return or $227 for round trip) are purchased through the VFS Global website - I would do this soon, as sometimes the website has glitches and it can take a couple of days to receive the payment receipts and shipping labels by email

- you don’t receive any paperwork at the biometrics... it’s your responsibility to take the relevant paperwork with you:
 - you print the biometrics appointment confirmation with the barcode on it
 - you take this confirmation and your passport to the biometrics appointment
 - they will check your passport, stamp the appointment confirmation, take your fingerprints and photo and then send you home
 - you then place your passport and the stamped confirmation in the package with your documents to mail to Sheffield

- if you want to ship the package through DHL, just take it to our local DHL store and they’ll tell you what to do. If you are using priority processing you MUST write SETTLEMENT PRIORITY SERVICE in large letters on the outermost packaging AND place your priority receipt on the very top of your documents.

Alternatively, for shipping to Sheffield, you can purchase the VFS Global round trip shipping labels and take the package to a UPS store instead.


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Online application submitted!  Biometrics appointment is set for Monday the 6th, and we've paid for all fees (visa, priority processing, IHS, and round trip courier through VFS).  I picked up the DHL package today with all my wife's evidence & supporting documents, and will be adding in my evidence and forms over the next couple of days.

I didn't have access to a printer at the time, so I selected that my VFS receipt and shipping labels be e-mailed to me.  How long should I wait before I worry that they haven't arrived yet?  It's only been about 2 hours, and I've read on here that it can take a couple of days.  I just want to make sure I have everything in my hands, ready to go, before my biometrics appointment.  Hoping to go to UPS on the way home from that to ship everything to Sheffield.  Exciting!

Still no e-mailed receipt or shipping labels from VFS, so I send them an e-mail with my GWF, name, application date, etc yesterday in the hopes that they'll receive it Monday morning and get that sent out to me.  I have my biometrics appointment this afternoon at 1pm and was hoping to send out everything to Sheffield on my way home.  Hope they get it to me in time

As for my cover letter, is it required?  And is there a format you could point me towards?  Don't want to say too much, but don't want to leave out anything that's important.

Thanks!

As for my cover letter, is it required?  And is there a format you could point me towards?  Don't want to say too much, but don't want to leave out anything that's important.

Your cover letter is just a contents letter detailing what's in the package. It can also address anything that makes your application complicated, like previous refused visas/entry to the UK, previous illegal working or overstaying in the UK, or any criminal convictions you have that might affect the decision.

So, if your application is straightforward, then your letter can just say something like:

To The Entry Clearance Officer,

Please find enclosed my completed application and supporting documents for a settlement visa to join my wife in the UK. I would like my visa to be made valid from X date, as listed as my Intended Travel Date on the application form.

The following documents are included in this package:
(list of your documents, in order)

Yours Faithfully,

Your Name

Biometrics done and package sent off to Sheffield!

Thank you so much for everyone's help, couldn't have made it through this without it.  I won't post anymore on this thread unless there's a problem or something comes up that I think could  be helpful to someone else in the future.

Let the countdown begin!

I've seen it mentioned here before but I don't remember exactly what was said, and it's hard to find things amid all the different posts, so I'll ask it here.  If/when my approval arrives, it'll be time to book my flight.  I've noticed that one-way flights aren't much differently priced than round trips for some ridiculous reason.  I have seen people on here mention that they've booked a round trip because it was cheaper, and then reschedule their return trip and get a credit from the airline.  How exactly does that work?

Even if the rescheduling/credit for the return flight isn't an option, can I still book a round trip (if it's cheaper), and just no show for the flight back to the USA?  I've obviously never just not shown up for a flight before - what happens?  Lol.

And what websites do y'all use for finding well-priced and reliable flights?

Thanks!

I haven’t heard about getting a credit from the airline, but many people book a return trip and then either just don’t use the return portion or they use it for a visit back to the US (either by booking it for a date they will want to return or by rescheduling it later). Nothing happens if you don’t show up for the return... you just don’t show up, and carry on with your life.

The only thing you can’t do is miss the outbound leg but then only show up for the return leg... because if you don’t take the first flight they will assume you are not travelling at all and will cancel your return flight.

I usually use sites like Kayak or Skyscanner to find flights.


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Nice, OK thanks for the info!