spousal settlement visa

i wrote a few weeks ago questioning how long the process would take as my husband and i had already made travel plans based on what our solicitor had told us. i was told (see the response on the previous page) that it would take months and i should not have made any arrangements. well, yesterday after 27 working days i got my email approving my visa. it came in the mail today. we couldn't be happier. everything can move along as scheduled.

Bon,
my advice to you is to go to the ukvisas.gov.uk website and follow what they say TO THE LETTER. just to let you know what we sent in...
my application
my biometrics
my old and new passports
certified true copies of my husband's old and new passports
our birth certificates
our marriage certificate
a certified true copy of his spousal settlement visa to the US (he is a British national)
certified true copies of our state ids (drivers licenses)
his last 6 months of payslips and a letter from his employer
my last 6 months payslips and a letter from my employer
his cv, job offers in the uk, his uni transcripts
my cv, letters of reference from former employers, a letter of good standing from the bar association (i am a lawyer)
6 months of statement from MY checking account
6 months of statements from HIS checking account
6 months from our JOINT savings
6 months from his UK savings account showing over 7,000 pounds in savings
our current and past leases with letters from our landlords stating that they know that we resided there together
letters mailed to us at our addresses (anything- cards, bills, even junk mail)
our joint dental insurance card
a letter from his parents saying that we could stay with him until we found a place of our own
letters addressed to his father and mother at their home proving that they actually reside there
their mortgage statements proving that they own the home
letters from our friends attesting to their knowledge of our relationship from when we started dating in 2005 (we married in 2006) to the present
over 400 photographs, all written on explaining who each person was and what the event was (our wedding, holidays, dinner parties, various celebrations, random times that we just happened to take photos...all clearly dated). i think that this was very important as there were photos of my husband with my father and siblings, with my friends, me with his friends, us clearly traveling together, him with my SISTER'S in-laws... it would have taken an army of people to fake those photos and they clearly were not.
letters from both of us to the visa clearance officer explaining why it was best that my husband return to the UK and why i felt that I could not be parted from him.
proof of payment of transport to the uk so that they would know that we would not need to use the savings in any way to get to the uk.

i think that that was about it (as if that wasn't enough!). we sent them EVERYTHING we had...everything that we knew showed that we were a real couple. it sounds like you have a good case (they really want you to be married for over 2 years). you NEED savings. you NEED a place to live. you NEED to be able to prove that you won't have to rely on public funds. she needs to state that she doesn't want to go to the UK to work, she wants to go to the UK to be with YOU. that is of great importance. you don't want them thinking that she's in it to get a job. they want to hear that she is going for love and love alone.
good luck to you (and start carrying your camera with you EVERYWHERE you go- take photos of the most mundane events... it shows that you eat together, that you spend time with friends together... that's what a real couple does. that's what they want to see).

good luck everyone!! i'm not saying that yours will come as simply as mine (although i was VERY stressed a couple of weeks ago) but if you make sure you give them EVERYTHING it WILL work out.

nola 18 Mar 2009, 12:46 - Report