Need Help with Fiance Visa Process (US Male, UK Female Citizen)

I know this is from way earlier, but since we're on track to do a spousal visa now, does this change what we need to do in regards to the location I put down where I will be staying?  She is renting out her flat until June, so though we will be married (getting legally married in US, spousal visa route) is it okay to say I will be living at her parents house until June? Do we still just put I'm at her parents, that it won't be overcrowded, etc.?

It's 100% okay.  Yes, you'll provide the same documentation for the spouse visa and fiancé visa (for financial and accommodation requirements, the relationship proof is *slightly* different).

For more reassurance:
I am the USC, husband the UKC. I was on a different visa and had lived in the UK for 10 years. We flew to my hometown separately. When he entered the US, he was asked the purpose of his visit. When he said he was getting married and then going back home, the ECO asked, 'are you sure you want to do that?!'. Then he laughed and said, 'Congrats.' and stamped him in. He did have a letter from his employer saying when he was expected back at work and a copy of our lease agreement from home but wasn't asked for either.

It's 100% okay.  Yes, you'll provide the same documentation for the spouse visa and fiancé visa (for financial and accommodation requirements, the relationship proof is *slightly* different).

So she sent me pictures of her payslips and they are all at least 1,550 gross pay for the past six months.  Does the most recent payslip have to be within a certain period of the application submission?  Since we are now planning to get married in the US, her current most recent payslip is 28/2/18 which could be a problem if we get married at the very end of March or very beginning of April.  Would we have to wait for her payslip for March?  I really hope not.

Also would we have to wait for her most recent bank statement for March if we have to end up sending in the March payslip?

Since she meets the financial requirements by her salary alone, do we need to put anything down for the income she receives from her rental property (which is the same flat as the one we will stay in from July onward)

Just trying to understand better, you mentioned there were slight differences for accommodation and finances, as well as proof of relationship, what exactly would those be?

Since her flat is being rented out until June, I am going to put down that we will be living with her parents.  Is this okay?  Do I need to mention that we will be living at her flat once the renter is gone?

So she sent me pictures of her payslips and they are all at least 1,550 gross pay for the past six months.  Does the most recent payslip have to be within a certain period of the application submission?  Since we are now planning to get married in the US, her current most recent payslip is 28/2/18 which could be a problem if we get married at the very end of March or very beginning of April.  Would we have to wait for her payslip for March?  I really hope not.

Also would we have to wait for her most recent bank statement for March if we have to end up sending in the March payslip?

Since she meets the financial requirements by her salary alone, do we need to put anything down for the income she receives from her rental property (which is the same flat as the one we will stay in from July onward)

Just trying to understand better, you mentioned there were slight differences for accommodation and finances, as well as proof of relationship, what exactly would those be?

Since her flat is being rented out until June, I am going to put down that we will be living with her parents.  Is this okay?  Do I need to mention that we will be living at her flat once the renter is gone?

The latest of the financial evidence must be dated within 28 days of the online application.

If she meets the requirement with just her salary then don't include the rental income.

There is no difference in the financial or accommodation evidence between the spouse and the finance visa. For the relationship evidence you substitute the wedding planning for the marriage certificate.

Give the parents information as this is where you plan to stay initially, it doesn't really matter whether you mention her place or not.

The latest of the financial evidence must be dated within 28 days of the online application.

For the relationship evidence you substitute the wedding planning for the marriage certificate.

Give the parents information as this is where you plan to stay initially, it doesn't really matter whether you mention her place or not.

So her current most recent payslip is from 28/02/18 meaning we would have to submit the application on or before 28/03/18 to avoid having to provide the next month's payslip (31/03/18) correct?

Stupid 28 day months...

So her current most recent payslip is from 28/02/18 meaning we would have to submit the application on or before 28/03/18 to avoid having to provide the next month's payslip (31/03/18) correct?

Stupid 28 day months...

Correct - and you'll need to legally be married when you submit.

So her current most recent payslip is from 28/02/18 meaning we would have to submit the application on or before 28/03/18 to avoid having to provide the next month's payslip (31/03/18) correct?

Stupid 28 day months...

I'd say by 27/3/18 at the absolute latest. You would also have to have the employers letter and the bank statements dated on 28th Feb or later for that to work.

I'd say by 27/3/18 at the absolute latest. You would also have to have the employers letter and the bank statements dated on 28th Feb or later for that to work.

She is getting her employer to write the letter sometime this week.  Is it okay she has her employer write the letter this week or does it have to be after the most recent payslip (meaning would it have to be after the next payslip at the end of March since we won't be able to make the 28 days post Feb timeline)? 

Do the bank statements have to be for the entire month of March as well or do they only have to be within 28 days of the application?  Do the bank statements have to include her pay for the month?  If she flies over to the US on the 28th of March, she wouldn't be able to get her bank statement with March's pay until after she returned home in April.

She is getting her employer to write the letter sometime this week.  Is it okay she has her employer write the letter this week or does it have to be after the most recent payslip (meaning would it have to be after the next payslip at the end of March since we won't be able to make the 28 days post Feb timeline)? 

Do the bank statements have to be for the entire month of March as well or do they only have to be within 28 days of the application?  Do the bank statements have to include her pay for the month?  If she flies over to the US on the 28th of March, she wouldn't be able to get her bank statement with March's pay until after she returned home in April.

The employment letter simply needs to be within 28 days of the application.

The bank statement DOES need to show the payslip (and you also need an original payslip.  If printed off of an internal system, they need to be "verified" as authentic by her employer as well).

Options:

1.  Have her bring all the documentation she currently has with her
     Marry
     She returns to UK
     She overnights the items to you
     You submit the application (thus locking in the application date)
     You send the package to Sheffield for processing

2.  Have her bring all the documentation she currently has with her
     Marry
     You submit the application (thus locking in the application date)
     You send her back to the UK with the full application in her hand luggage (including your passport)
     She then adds the final payslip and bank statement
     She mails the package to Sheffield for processing
      **Keep in mind with this option she would need to send the package along to Sheffield within 5 days of the biometrics submission so the timeline could be tight.  While we've not seen an application rejected for being more than 5 days late - no one wants to be the first.   

The bank statement DOES need to show the payslip (and you also need an original payslip.  If printed off of an internal system, they need to be "verified" as authentic by her employer as well).

Options:

1.  Have her bring all the documentation she currently has with her
     Marry
     She returns to UK
     She overnights the items to you
     You submit the application (thus locking in the application date)
     You send the package to Sheffield for processing

2.  Have her bring all the documentation she currently has with her
     Marry
     You submit the application (thus locking in the application date)
     You send her back to the UK with the full application in her hand luggage (including your passport)
     She then adds the final payslip and bank statement
     She mails the package to Sheffield for processing
      **Keep in mind with this option she would need to send the package along to Sheffield within 5 days of the biometrics submission so the timeline could be tight.  While we've not seen an application rejected for being more than 5 days late - no one wants to be the first.   

Is it okay if her payslip only has her first and middle initial, but last name? (ex. AB Smith)  It has her place of employment on there as well.

If we get married, lock the application by submitting it while she is here, I get my biometrics done right before she leaves, and she takes everything back over how could she post it?  I thought the application had to be done and submitted from outside of the UK?

Also is it possible to pay for the application, priority processing, and NHS surcharge before submitting the application?  Just thinking we could guarantee the current rate if we are allowed to pay for the stuff before submitting it.  Or are you only able to pay after you submit?

Is it okay if her payslip only has her first and middle initial, but last name? (ex. AB Smith)  It has her place of employment on there as well.

Yes, that's fine.

If we get married, lock the application by submitting it while she is here, I get my biometrics done right before she leaves, and she takes everything back over how could she post it?  I thought the application had to be done and submitted from outside of the UK?

It does have to be submitted from outside the UK, but it's okay to send or give the documents to her and then she can forward them on to Sheffield... as long as YOU are physically outside the UK at the time, it's fine.

So, what you could do is:
- get married and get the marriage certificate
- submit the online application
- get the package ready
- attend biometrics
- give her the package, with your passport, biometrics sheet and return shipping label inside
- she flies home with the package
- she adds her final payslip and bank statement
- she forwards the package to Sheffield
- when the visa has been processed, Sheffield will mail the package back to you in the US using the return shipping label

Also is it possible to pay for the application, priority processing, and NHS surcharge before submitting the application?  Just thinking we could guarantee the current rate if we are allowed to pay for the stuff before submitting it.  Or are you only able to pay after you submit?

No, all of that is part of the online application, or required to be done after the application has been submitted

The order is:
- complete the application
- submit it and sign the declaration
- you will be directed to pay the IHS surcharge (you have 30 minutes to do this and return to the online application)
- you will be directed to book the biometrics appointment
- you will be directed to pay for the visa
- you finalise the application
- you print the application and biometrics confirmation sheet
- you can then purchase shipping labels and priority processing from the VFS Global website... you need your GWF application number to do this, which will be generated when you submit the online application

So, what you could do is:
- get married and get the marriage certificate
- submit the online application
- get the package ready
- attend biometrics
- give her the package, with your passport, biometrics sheet and return shipping label inside
- she flies home with the package
- she adds her final payslip and bank statement
- she forwards the package to Sheffield
- when the visa has been processed, Sheffield will mail the package back to you in the US using the return shipping label

Okay thanks, really helpful timeline.

Question: The awful immigration lawyers already set up an account for me on visa4uk using my business email.  Is it okay if I set up another account using the joint email my fiancee and I use? 

I believe the application initially started by the crappy immigration lawyer hasn't been worked on since the end of August 2017, so the application was discarded because it's been more than 120 days right?

Question: The awful immigration lawyers already set up an account for me on visa4uk using my business email.  Is it okay if I set up another account using the joint email my fiancee and I use? 

Yep, you can go ahead and create a new account - some people have had to do that in the case where they've made mistakes with the application (i.e. selected the wrong visa type) and have had to start over.

I believe the application initially started by the crappy immigration lawyer hasn't been worked on since the end of August 2017, so the application was discarded because it's been more than 120 days right?

Yeah, it's likely to have become in-active by now. If you can get into the that account, you can always see if it will let you cancel that application completely.

I never like the idea of a lawyer completing the application for you, because personally, I would like to be in charge of what I put in it and how I apply. Also, there's the danger of any correspondence from Sheffield going through the lawyer and not you.

For example, someone was contacted by UKVI asking for the IHS surcharge payment for their child (there's a glitch in the payment site where it won't let you pay for children, even though they have to pay it), but the email went to their lawyer, who didn't tell them about it... and it held up their application by a few weeks!

I never like the idea of a lawyer completing the application for you, because personally, I would like to be in charge of what I put in it and how I apply. Also, there's the danger of any correspondence from Sheffield going through the lawyer and not you.

Sounds like those people had our lawyers! If we would've known better we wouldn't have even attempted this with a lawyer all they did was cause problems.  We are going to try and get our money back as they never really provided us with any service, though I doubt we will see the money again (if lawyers in the UK are anything like they are in the US).

Making the new account now and starting to fill out the spousal visa application! 

What exactly is the type of visa I am applying for?

Is it settlement, settlement, husband?

Yes.

For my US Passport, there isn't a "Place of Issue" which is required for my spousal application.  Do I simply put "United States" for place of issue?

On the same issue: For "Issuing Authority" my passport says "United States Department of State" but I can't put that, the maximum it allows me to enter would be "Department of State" is this okay?