Disaster - UK Decree Absolute

[johnhol 1]

So called today on the 61st day and was told it had been reviewed and there was a note to request evidence of marriage termination as the document sent is not allowed.

So checked and we sent the decree absolute from the County Court. and on the website they directed me to it says they are allowed and valid.

So called back (another 90 minutes on the phone) and the nice woman said she would make a note and have a supervisor look at this for me. I explained i would be literally sending the same document as this is all you are issued - unimpressive i know but it's all the UK gets.

Now I'm seeing horror stories of 8 weeks for a supervisor review.....these things happen and I'd be ok if we actually missed something, but all because the person reviewing our case doesn't know their job is beyond annoying.

Shaking I'm so mad.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

So called today on the 61st day and was told it had been reviewed and there was a note to request evidence of marriage termination as the document sent is not allowed.

So checked and we sent the decree absolute from the County Court. and on the website they directed me to it says they are allowed and valid.

So called back (another 90 minutes on the phone) and the nice woman said she would make a note and have a supervisor look at this for me. I explained i would be literally sending the same document as this is all you are issued - unimpressive i know but it's all the UK gets.

Now I'm seeing horror stories of 8 weeks for a supervisor review.....these things happen and I'd be ok if we actually missed something, but all because the person reviewing our case doesn't know their job is beyond annoying.

Shaking I'm so mad.

There have been RFEs on petitions before for UK divorce decrees. The workers, I suppose, just aren't familiar with every divorce decree format in the world. They normally require a signature by a judge, which they won't find on the UK decree absolute. I can't find my previous detailed posts that have helped other people because it's been a couple of years. So the short version off the top of my head of what has worked--

Make a photocopy. color is good to show the red stamp. Use a yellow highlighter and mark in the paragraph the sentence/words that say something like ...on this date becomes final. It's more than just a few words.

Then there is teeny little footer that needs to be highlighted that says something indicating final. And if you lay the decree on the copier with the bottom at the top of the glass, then you won't cut off that important footer on shorter US paper (if copying in the US). Sorry for the vague answer, but I'm being too lazy to dig out the decree and write the exact words. You'll find it.

So how you can send this to NVC...not sure. But the petition people sent the highlighted decree along with a letter stating...I believe this RFE to be in error because this is the final divorce decree in the United Kingdom. It bears a red stamp from the court, but not a signature.

If you can mail,it, perhaps the regular worker can view it and see it is the correct document once you point out the words indicating it is final. It was probably somebody with little experience who got your file. Worth a try to get it moving again.

I had read of several UK divorce decrees being rejected so sent ours in highlighted to point it out from the start. A number of people since all got moving again when I suggested they try my method with the highlighter.

Good luck.

[johnhol 1]

Thanks, I spoke to someone else and they made notes saying this is the official document and they are not signed in the UK but the stamp on the document and wording at the bottom of the certificate saying D37 Decree Absolute shows it's the correct docment.

This has been passed to a supervisor so hopefully they won;t ask us to resend the same document.

I was genuinely beside myself when I heard this today, sat in the office with head in my hands. Thankfully the nice woman says she will take care of it.....just hoping the review takes a few days rather than the 8 weeks I've seen some supervisor reviews take.

Thanks for the response Nich-nick

[johnhol 1]

So 42 days has come and gone.....and no CC

Finally got put through to the supervisor yesterday who explained that the original request for the review on 9th March was missed and never actioned. So the actual request was made on the 31st March!!!!!

They only received the file end of last week and so now it can actually be reviewed - though judging by the incompetence so far, I'm not holding my breath that this will happen any time soon either.

All this is due to them messing up in the first place, and now they've done it again......the journey is painful enough without so called professionals causing extra pain.

For everyone in a supervisor review - make sure you phone up and ask that the file has been requested.

[mlh 93]

Just to add to the story (my husband is the OP), I called last Friday (Apr 24) and was told that the review had been qualified and that if any other paperwork regarding the Decree Absolute was needed, we would just need to bring it to the Embassy at the time of interview, but everything else was good. So we celebrated thinking, "finally!!!" we can move on...

I thought this was just too good to be true, so called back yesterday (Apr 27) only to be told that it was still waiting for a supervisor review. When I questioned the timeline, as we had requested this o March 9, I was told that the review was not actually escalated until Mar 31 so it would be 42 days from then. When I then mentioned that I knew they were processing incoming packets in less than 30 days, I was put on hold, and then she came back to tell me that the request for the file wasn't made until April 6. So I said, now you're telling me it's 42 days from April 6. She said no, it's 30 days.

To continue the saga, we called back today (Apr 28) to be told that the supervisor had reviewed the file and said that no Decree Absolute was included. When I mentioned that the first checklist stated that it was the incorrect document, but now you're saying nothing is there, that means you lost it, I was told (in a rather snotty tone), no that means that you didn't send in the correct form, so it's not there.

She then proceeded to ask me what part of the UK the divorce occurred in and I listed the county, she told me that's not correct. I need Ireland (yes I know Ireland isn't even part of the UK), England, or Scotland. So I told her England. Then i was read directly from the "embassy website" the address of the Royal Courts of Justice and told that was the only acceptable copy that they would allow.

Gotta love the incompetence of people that are playing with our lives like it's no big deal. I'm not sure how the USCIS said the decree absolute was sufficient, as did the country of St. Lucia when we had to prove that we could actually get married, but the NVC doesn't seem to even know what they are looking at...

Rant over...

[Boss78 1]

I feel ypour pain. I'm in the same boat as you are now except that mine has something to do with police certificate. I went ahead and requested expedite to the Embassy today. I'm waiting to see what they will say in the next couple days. Some them don't really know their job. You can be reading things literally from the NVC website to them , and they still won't have any clue about what you are talking about.

[jontytyt 6]

Hello,

I'm also waiting on a supervisor review. It has been 30 days since I made the request for a review. I called NVC today but the agent I spoke to was only able to say that the review has not yet been completed. She was not able to tell me if the review has actually been started. I tried to use the terms "escalated" and "actioned" which I saw in this thread, but still no information. She said she would only know when the review is completed. Not much help at all.

The review is regarding a police certificate which NVC asked for in a checklist. We did submit the right type of police certificate along with all our documents, so we were very confused about what the NVC was asking for. The checklist did not say what NVC did not like about our checklist (or whether they lost it).

So I'm just waiting.