Applying Now, My Application Questions Thread

Hello,

I'm so excited to say that my wife and I are finally ready to apply for my spouse visa after 2 years of waiting, first for financial reasons and then due to a legal issue regarding our accommodation (I'll have a question about how to word that in our application in the next few days, too).

First, I was hoping to get some guidance on which category to file under. My wife qualifies under Category A as both salaried and non-salaried, and I'm not sure what would be best for us to file under. Let me explain:

In January 2018, my wife started a new job as a Sales Advisor at a gym. She was paid a base salary of £15,600, plus a monthly commission of £400 every time they reached their sales target. A few months later, she was promoted to Senior Sales Advisor, with a base salary of £17,600 plus £400 and lots of overtime. However, in April of 2019 they did away with commissions and started her on a salary of £21,500.

I have been visiting her in the U.K. for several weeks, and I am flying back to the U.S. in early Sept. to finally apply and get this over with. I initially figured it would be the most straightforward for us to wait until she received her September payslip and bank statement and file under Category A Salaried. September would mark six months since she started getting a straight salary of £21,500 (or £1,791 per month). I've seen rejections where the HO screwed up calculations, so I thought that six straight months of £1,791 per month would be harder for them to mess up and one less thing for us to worry about.

HOWEVER, if we applied under Category A Non-Salaried and used her payslips from March through August, she would still qualify and we wouldn't have to wait an extra three weeks for her September payslip and bank statement. The downside is that those payslips would include one month (March) where she made £1,487 plus commission, and I live in terror that someone in the HO will see that £1,487 and reject the application instead of doing the Non-Salaried calculation of adding up everything she made during those six months, dividing by 6 and x by 12.

Plus, she IS a salaried worker now, not non-salaried, so the Employment letter could get a bit messier to explain.

Bottom line is that she qualifies either way and we want to apply NOW, but I'm wondering if we would be foolish not to wait until early October when she receives her September payslip and bank statement and just apply under an easy-peasey, straightforward Category A Salaried. Am I being overly cautious?

Thank you so much for any advice you can provide. I want to get this filed so bad! I'm tired of living in limbo.

EDITED TO ADD:

I think I messed up the calculation up there a bit. If I'm correct the two different calculations for her would be the following:

Category A -- Salaried

Payslips April to September 2019

£1,791.67 x 6 = £10,750.02
    divided by 6 = £1,791.67
    x 12 =
£21, 500.04


Category A Non-Salaried

March through August 2019

March £1,487.50 (plus £466 commission, £72.94 overtime)
April £1,791 (plus £1,028.67 commission - the last commission she was paid and it was huge because they had a massive sales month)
May £1,791
June £1,791
July £1,791
August £1,791

Calculation: £1,487.50 (the lowest base pay) x 6 = £8,925 +
March Commission £466
March Overtime £72.94
April Commission £1,028.67
May Commission £0
June Commission £0
July Commission £0
August Commission £0 =

£10,492.61 divided by 6 = £1,748.66 x12 =

£20,983

Is that correct?

Is it better to wait and file under Category A Salaried because it's a simple calculation?

EDITED TO ADD:

Or should we apply under Category B, as my wife is now a salaried employee at £21,500 per year. She has only been at that pay rate for 5 months, but we can show that she made well over £18,600 in the previous 12 months?

What about applying right now under Category B?  She has made at least £18,600 in the last 12 months, and now makes £18,600+ going forward.

Evidence-wise, the only difference between A and B is for B, you provide 12 full months of payslips and bank statements instead of six.  But it means you could apply sooner if she's had the income.

Also, to your original question, be aware that she may need to submit seven payslips and bank statemenrs to show six FULL months of wages.  If the pay period dates are not shown explicitly on the payslip, the ECO will count the six from the pay date, not the start of the pay period.  So have your sponsor check her payslips to see what the earliest date is on the ones you two decide to use, and cover six (or twelve) FULL months from that date.  Many of us provide seven (or thirteen) payslips to cover the time.

Edited to add: I glossed over your edit and didn't see your Cat B idea.  I would do that.

What about applying right now under Category B?  She has made at least £18,600 in the last 12 months, and now makes £18,600+ going forward.

Thank you for your reply. That is the conclusion we came to last night as well. I'd been so focused on the possibilities of Category A when thinking about this that I forgot about Category B until late last night. That seems like the safest option if we apply right now.

Next question: We need to get 12 months of statements stamped by Halifax bank. (I've read mixed results about their cooperation with providing bank statements.) Do we actually need the FULL statement, or just the page of the statement that shows the pay deposit each month?

Thank you for your reply. That is the conclusion we came to last night as well. I'd been so focused on the possibilities of Category A when thinking about this that I forgot about Category B until late last night. That seems like the safest option if we apply right now.

Next question: We need to get 12 months of statements stamped by Halifax bank. (I've read mixed results about their cooperation with providing bank statements.) Do we actually need the FULL statement, or just the page of the statement that shows the pay deposit each month?

You need every single page of every statement. For 12 months, it's much easier just to have them send the original statements through the post. Make sure when you order them that the full date range you require is covered.

You need every single page of every statement. For 12 months, it's much easier just to have them send the original statements through the post. Make sure when you order them that the full date range you require is covered.

Thank you. I thought my wife said she didn't get bank statements through the post, but today I found out she did. Problem is, they are quarterly. Why do I fear I'm going to hear that isn't good enough?

As long as they cover the entire time period and are complete statements quarterly should be fine. Make sure each paycheck deposit you're including on the visa is reflected in them. Once you move, switch to monthly because they can also be used for proof of living together.

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Thanks for the replies!!

I am leaving for the U.S. in 8 days. In the last 12 hours, we decided to change plans and file under Category B, so we can apply in September instead of October (which was necessary if we filed under Category A). So I'm going to be going nuts over the next week trying to gather as many documents as I can before I go back. (My wife hates that sort of thing and it stresses us both out more if she has to do it.) So bear with me, I'm going to be very active here. Thanks for your help in advance.

I have located three quarterly statements. I just need to find the quarterly one for last summer, to get August 2018's payment proof.  Then that leaves August 2019. Since they are quarterly, we can't wait for October for the new one to arrive. I hope we can get the local Halifax bank branch to print out one out on their stationary for August.

Now for another big issue: Our accommodation.

My wife lives with her mother, who is getting on in years, and I will be living with them. The house is a three-bedroom, semi-detached, and it is paid for. However, the house is in my wife's father's name only, and he had a stroke 15 years ago that left him mentally and physically incapacitated. He lives in a nursing home. My mother-in-law completed an Enduring Power of Attorney kit back in 2004, but never registered it because she didn't understand she had to. All the banks and hospitals just accepted it unregistered. This put us in a legal bind for the visa because we felt the HO wouldn't accept her granting us permission to live here without a registered Power of Attorney. Luckily, though many years had passed, we were able to get the EPA registered with the Office of the Public Guardian in April, so it is now legally enforceable. But the whole thing is still kind of confusing and I'm not sure how to explain it all to the HO.

I have:

1)  A multi-page Land Registry document in a massive folder from 1980 in my Father-in-Law's name - Is this huge thing the Land Registry document I need?

2) The Council Tax Bill is in my Mother-in-Law's name because she has been occupying the house without her ill husband for all these years

3) A registered Enduring Power of Attorney granting my MIL powers over FIL's financial and property affairs

I don't have:

1) Proof the mortgage was paid off. My MIL paid it off on her own about five years ago. Do I need to materialize this somehow?
2) Any clue how to explain all this to the HO

Thoughts??

Thanks for the replies!!

I am leaving for the U.S. in 8 days. In the last 12 hours, we decided to change plans and file under Category B, so we can apply in September instead of October (which was necessary if we filed under Category A). So I'm going to be going nuts over the next week trying to gather as many documents as I can before I go back. (My wife hates that sort of thing and it stresses us both out more if she has to do it.) So bear with me, I'm going to be very active here. Thanks for your help in advance.

I have located three quarterly statements. I just need to find the quarterly one for last summer, to get August 2018's payment proof.  Then that leaves August 2019. Since they are quarterly, we can't wait for October for the new one to arrive. I hope we can get the local Halifax bank branch to print out one out on their stationary for August.

Your statements don't have to be quarterly, you can have them sent monthly, you only have to request it. Anything they print in branch is fine but have them stamp it on each page if it doesn't say printed in branch on the statement.

Now for another big issue: Our accommodation.

My wife lives with her mother, who is getting on in years, and I will be living with them. The house is a three-bedroom, semi-detached, and it is paid for. However, the house is in my wife's father's name only, and he had a stroke 15 years ago that left him mentally and physically incapacitated. He lives in a nursing home. My mother-in-law completed an Enduring Power of Attorney kit back in 2004, but never registered it because she didn't understand she had to. All the banks and hospitals just accepted it unregistered. This put us in a legal bind for the visa because we felt the HO wouldn't accept her granting us permission to live here without a registered Power of Attorney. Luckily, though many years had passed, we were able to get the EPA registered with the Office of the Public Guardian in April, so it is now legally enforceable. But the whole thing is still kind of confusing and I'm not sure how to explain it all to the HO.

I have:

1)  A multi-page Land Registry document in a massive folder from 1980 in my Father-in-Law's name - Is this huge thing the Land Registry document I need?

2) The Council Tax Bill is in my Mother-in-Law's name because she has been occupying the house without her ill husband for all these years

3) A registered Enduring Power of Attorney granting my MIL powers over FIL's financial and property affairs

I don't have:

1) Proof the mortgage was paid off. My MIL paid it off on her own about five years ago. Do I need to materialize this somehow?
2) Any clue how to explain all this to the HO

Thoughts??

Go online and print out the land registry document from there. https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Send that along with the power of attorney and a letter of permission from your MIL.
You don't need proof that the mortgage is paid off .

Thanks. So no Council Tax bill?

Thanks. So no Council Tax bill?

No, the council tax bill of your MIL is not relevant.

Well, that makes my life easier.

I'll download the Land Registry today. I'll also write up a draft Accommodation Letter from my MIL and post it here for opinions. Should I explain why a Power of Attorney is being used, or just write a straight-forward accommodation letter signed by MIL as FIL's Attorney? I've read that the proper way to sign as someone's Attorney is to sign their name first (FIL) and then the Attorney's name (MIL) with "Attorney" after it. That would mean the letter would be "written" by my FIL but signed by my MIL, as in "I, Mr. Father-in-Law, give permission for blah, blah, blah....Signed FIL and MIL Attorney."  Or should I write it as "I, Mrs. Mother-in-Law, who is the Attorney for FIL who owns the property, give permission to blah, blah, blah....Signed MIL, FIL's Attorney."

Sorry for all the questions. This particular issue has given us fits.

Thank you so much.

I'm also confused about whether I'm supposed to send copies or originals of our evidence to New York?  I know you were supposed to send originals to Sheffield, and then they did away with that in favor of scanning, but self-scanning isn't available in the U.S. right now, so we have to send them to New York. I've seen some people on other boards say they sent originals and some say they sent copies.

Can someone clarify which one it is?

Thanks!

I'm also confused about whether I'm supposed to send copies or originals of our evidence to New York?  I know you were supposed to send originals to Sheffield, and then they did away with that in favor of scanning, but self-scanning isn't available in the U.S. right now, so we have to send them to New York. I've seen some people on other boards say they sent originals and some say they sent copies.

Can someone clarify which one it is?

Thanks!

Send the copies.  This has been confirmed as being acceptable but make sure that the US applicant has the originals in hand just in case they are asked to provide them.

Thanks for the advice about the copies, larrabee! I really appreciate it.

Now for my wife's Employment Letter. Her boss just said to draft him a letter and he will print it on company letterhead and sign it. How does this look? 


To whom it may concern,

I am writing to confirm that XXX is a full-time, permanent, salaried employee at the XXXX in XXX, West Sussex, which is owned by XXX Ltd. She was hired as a XXXX on 1 Dec. 2017, and promoted to XXX effective 1 Sept. 2018.

Effective 1 April 2019, XXX is paid a base annual salary of £21,500 before tax and National Insurance. From 1 Dec. 2017 until 31 August 2018, she was paid a base salary of £15,600 plus commission and overtime. From 1 Sept. 2018 until 30 March 2019, she was paid a base salary of £17,850 plus commission and overtime. She works 40 hours per week and is paid on a monthly basis.

I can further confirm that the attached 12 months of electronic payslips, dating from 28 Sept. 2018 until 28 August 2019 and showing a total gross income of £23,461.98, are genuine and correct. Here is a summary of their contents:

Date      Total Gross Pay
28/09/18   1797.59
26/10/18   2026.44
26/11/18   1687.51
28/12/18   1903.50
28/01/19   2211.50
28/02/19   2277.50
28/03/19   1570.92
26/04/19   2820.34
28/05/19   1791.67
28/06/19   1791.67
26/07/19   1791.67
28/08/19   1791.67

Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions.

Sincerely,

XXXX
Regional Manager, XXX

I can’t offer feedback on the rest of your letter but 28 September to 28 August only covers 11 months, even though there are 12 payslips. I believe you would need to cover 28 August to 28 August.

Would you be able to include the payslip from August 2018 & is it dated on or before the 28th?