taking my wife back to UK

[pete molotov 0]

me, my wife & my family in the UK have been talking about moving back to the UK as me & my wife are struggling here in the US. i know this isnt really the place to answer my questions but im not sure on where to start right now. im sure she will need a visa to come to the UK & we would be able to live with my parents.

if anybody can give me any help it would be really appreciated.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Moved to UK Regional Forum from Moving Here and Your New Life in America forum as more likely to find the requested information here

[Justine+David 218]

Google UK-Yankee forum and you'll find a great site for Americans living/moving to the UK. Good luck; sorry to hear about your troubles...

[gwenneh 7]

Yes, she's going to need a visa. Fortunately it can be applied for and received in a day or so! We just did ours at the end of last month.

The rules on third party support (allowing someone else to sponsor your application) have just been changed, too, so this will make things worlds easier on you.

You'll need to start by getting your evidence together. It's broken down into a few categories:

-Nationality. Both of your passports go with the application.

-Your marriage. You'll need your marriage certificate and evidence you're living together as a married couple. Comingled finances like joint bank accounts, mutual life insurance policies, bills in both of your names, anything with both of your names and addresses at the same place. We included our current tenancy agreement, copies of US driving licenses with our shared address, joint bank statements from our US bank, our car insurance policy and life insurance policy.

-Accomodation. Living with your parents is fine, but they need details of the mortgage or a land registry document showing who owns the property, plus a letter stating the size of the property, how many bedrooms it has, and that you will be allowed to live there.

-Support. Since we are moving at the same time, he doesn't have a job in the UK to show support. At the time we applied, third party support was not allowed, so we showed our savings instead. Now third party support is allowed, so a letter from someone stating that they will support the both of you until you are solvent will suffice again. Also in this category are things that prove one or both of you are employable. We included our CVs, copies of our degrees and transcripts, and letters from recruiters.

Get all of this together before you make the application. Since you are living in the US you have to make the application online. It takes a little while to fill out, then you make the payment and submit the application. All that does is allow you to schedule your biometrics appointment. You pay the $1000 fee, print off the application and the biometrics confirmation letter, then you go do your biometrics. They will stamp your biometrics confirmation letter and then you can send the application, biometrics letter and all of your evidence to the UK embassy holding jurisdiction over where you live.

DO NOT SEND THEM BY MAIL OR YOU WILL BE WAITING MONTHS FOR YOUR VISA

You can't drop your case at the Embassy in person anymore. Applications sent by mail do not have priority. What you want to do is hire a courier to take the application to the Embassy for you. They are the ones that can get your visa processed in a single day. UK Yankee has a thread on couriers and reviews, including prices. It seems to range from $100 to $200 for the service and I haven't seen any really bad reviews; couriers have to be authorized by the Embassy to be able to go there and do this for you so I gather that weeds out shady businesses.

Once the courier submits it, you'll get an e-mail. Then you'll spend a nerve wracking 5-6 hours until the Embassy sends you your approval e-mail, and your courier goes and picks up the completed visa for you. Then you are done!

It sounds complex and just keeps getting more so, but compared to US immigration, still a cakewalk.

[Nik+Heather 121]

It sounds complex and just keeps getting more so, but compared to US immigration, still a cakewalk.

I'm still fuming a bit - a girl from work got engaged at the same time as we did to a UK bloke, they were going to go for the fiance visa to the UK, then changed their minds, planned a wedding, got married, applied for a spousal visa (so, started 3 months later than us), and got the spousal visa and moved before we even got our appointment letter for the interview.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I can still remember my spousal visa visit to the British Consulate in New York in 1996. It involved filling in a form and handing over our CVs and some cash (about $500 or so back then), then having a very jolly "well, we're all chaps here, this is a mere formality" chat with the deputy consul (who apparently knew my stepfather-in-law somehow). We were told to go have a nice lunch and come back in an hour. It was the most pleasant immigration experience I ever had!

[Gemmie 142]

Yeah, I have a friend who did the US-UK move. We had filed the I-129F and we had been waiting 5 months to hear anything. Then she decided to apply for a UK fiancee visa, moved, and got married... then we got the NOA2.

Edited January 25, 2010 by Gemmie

[pete molotov 0]

is the visa my wife INF 4?

[gwenneh 7]

Technically it's FLE (further leave to enter) or ILE (indefinite leave to enter) if you've been married more than four years, but yes, the guidance notes are marked INF4.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Good god, they've bumped ILE up to 4 years now?

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Yep - and you have to take the Knowledge of Life in the UK before they give it (which can only be taken in the UK)

[CheeseQuavers 0]

Its really not that big of a deal compared to getting into the USA! My hubby and I got married in 2006 (march) and we flew back to the UK to "set up shop" and have a mini honeymoon, and I flew back to the USA in June to apply for my visa. I filled out the forms online back in March, took me half a hour or so, paid my fee, which was around $500 at the time. I had flown in on the 1st of June and my Visa interview was on the 9th. I walked away that day with my visa in hand, and I was totally kicking myself in the teeth after, because I wasn't scheduled to fly back home to new hubby until the 30th!!!

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Man, I had it easy. I racked my memory and recalled that the visa was closer to $250. Plus, back then it only took a year to convert FLR into an ILR. Went down to Lunar House, shivered in the pre-dawn dampness of Croydon, got inside and was seen by a lovely woman who said, "Ooh, American! We love dealing with Americans, you're so easy to process!" Got me stamp, out the door.

(cue strains of "Those Were the Days")

[pete molotov 0]

Technically it's FLE (further leave to enter) or ILE (indefinite leave to enter) if you've been married more than four years, but yes, the guidance notes are marked INF4.

we've been married 9 months does that make a difference what form we should apply for?

[gwenneh 7]

No; the application for both is the same. You'll receive Further Leave to Enter since you've been married less than four years.