spouse visa 2019 applicants

[VJmember2020 32]

hello all, 

my fiance and I are debating as to which visa we want to go ahead with ... 

we were initially planning for the fiance visa mainly due to the shorter amount of time we have to spend away from each other, but then after I went to the timeline for UK applicants, I see the total amount of days from filing to interview is much much shorter than previously stated times at around 5-8 months total. We were previously under the impression that spouse visa takes 12-15 months to process. 

 

My fiance is an indian citizen who lives in the UK. I am an American citizen. 

Any applicants who have applied in 2019 for the Spousal Visa whose spouse lives in the UK? How was the application process? was it easy for you (the American citizen) to get the visa to enter the UK before you had your registered wedding? 

 

Also, for the fiance visa we would need a joint sponsor as I am in Dental School currently, is a joint sponsor possible for the spouse visa? 

 

sorry for all the questions, we are just really confused. 

[Boiler 45,657]

12 to 15 months seems reasonable.

 

If you do not qualify you can use a Joint Sponsor for the I 864.

 

K1 has so many issues saving a bit of time does not seem logical.

[VJmember2020 32]

Just now, Boiler said:

12 to 15 months seems reasonable.

 

If you do not qualify you can use a Joint Sponsor for the I 864.

 

K1 has so many issues saving a bit of time does not seem logical.

 

what do you mean by k1 has so many issues? 

 

the only issue I had with spouse visa was 

1) in the UK, in order to get legally married the US citizen(me) must go over to the uk to a register office and then in order to give notice in the UK I must both be resident in the UK for a minimum of 7 days and 7 nights (effectively 9 days, as this does not include the arrival date into the UK or the day of your notice of marriage appointment) before you can give notice. I don't have time off from school until June of 2020... and then it would be near the end of 2021 until she can come here.

 

vs if we did the fiance visa and submitted it next month, she could be here around August-October of 2020... 

 

[Boiler 45,657]

Well not being able to work or travel for 6 months or so for a start. Maybe drive not sure what the Florida requirements are. Health Insurance issues the list goes on.

 

Maybe October and may be easier to marry elsewhere than the UK.

 

 

[VJmember2020 32]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

Well not being able to work or travel for 6 months or so for a start. Maybe drive not sure what the Florida requirements are. Health Insurance issues the list goes on.

 

Maybe October and may be easier to marry elsewhere than the UK.

 

 

We were under the thinking that you must get married in the country you plan to apply from. Is that correct ? 

[Boiler 45,657]

No

[Wuozopo 4,293]

58 minutes ago, toothfixer said:

 

what do you mean by k1 has so many issues? 

 

the only issue I had with spouse visa was 

1) in the UK, in order to get legally married the US citizen(me) must go over to the uk to a register office and then in order to give notice in the UK I must both be resident in the UK for a minimum of 7 days and 7 nights (effectively 9 days, as this does not include the arrival date into the UK or the day of your notice of marriage appointment) before you can give notice. I don't have time off from school until June of 2020... and then it would be near the end of 2021 until she can come here.

 

vs if we did the fiance visa and submitted it next month, she could be here around August-October of 2020... 

 

 

You have a valid reason for choosing a K1. We chose K1 because we could start the process (and wait time) immediately, whereas we were not able to marry immediately to start the spouse process. We had a K1 visa in hand before we could have even started the year long spouse process.  You just need to understand she will not be able to work immediately upon arrival, but she can look for a job and if she gets an offer she can expedite the work permit. She can drive using her UK license. Florida is one of the few states that actually says when you are considered a resident of their state and require a FL license.  

[VJmember2020 32]

5 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

 

You have a valid reason for choosing a K1. We chose K1 because we could start the process (and wait time) immediately, whereas we were not able to marry immediately to start the spouse process. We had a K1 visa in hand before we could have even started the year long spouse process.  You just need to understand she will not be able to work immediately upon arrival, but she can look for a job and if she gets an offer she can expedite the work permit. She can drive using her UK license. Florida is one of the few states that actually says when you are considered a resident of their state and require a FL license.  

I did not know that about the UK license part. Thank you for that. 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

12 hours ago, toothfixer said:

Any applicants who have applied in 2019 for the Spousal Visa whose spouse lives in the UK?

There is a timeline search function that shows 57 IR1/CR1 UK cases filed in 2019 and 55 still pending so it doesn't seem like a suddenly shorter timeline. Search was "filed since" 1/1/2019, London

Edited November 29, 2019 by Wuozopo

[VJmember2020 32]

9 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

There is a timeline search function that shows 57 IR1/CR1 UK cases filed in 2019 and 55 still pending so it doesn't seem like a suddenly shorter timeline. Search was "filed since" 1/1/2019, London

This states 265 days which is approximately 8-9 months so wouldn’t this be much quicker than previous applications in 2017-2018? 
 

Also on the United Kingdom timelines. I filter by visa type and country. And it shows filing to interview for 2019 applicants are approximately 160-240 days

[Boiler 45,657]

Did you exclude DCF?

[Wuozopo 4,293]

11 hours ago, toothfixer said:

This states 265 days which is approximately 8-9 months so wouldn’t this be much quicker than previous applications in 2017-2018? 
 

Also on the United Kingdom timelines. I filter by visa type and country. And it shows filing to interview for 2019 applicants are approximately 160-240 days

If you see 265 days, then that is for those two that actually got approved. What about the 55  who are still waiting? Will you be so lucky to be in that 3% or so who get an interview in less than a year? Find a time period where almost all of the sampling are complete and see if the average is still 8 months. 

 

Take this couple who are complete  https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?cfl=0&id=334658

They  filed at the end of December.  If you note the comments, they received an expedite and it still took 10.5 months.

 

It's a little futile to stalk timelines because they change by the time you get there...all the workers could be shifted over to greencards or refugees and slow down your visa type, or Trump adds another layer of security for vetting to slow it down, or 1000 new workers hired to speed things up. You just never know. Pick the best visa for your situation and settle in for how ever long it's going to take.

 

 

 

[VJmember2020 32]

13 hours ago, Boiler said:

Did you exclude DCF?

Excuse me but what does that stand for ? Direct consular filing ? 

[Boiler 45,657]

Yes much much quicker

[VJmember2020 32]

On 11/30/2019 at 10:57 AM, Boiler said:

Yes much much quicker

any more information on DCF? 

 

I see online that not all consulates allow this? I never heard of this until now TBH.. 

I am the sponsor, I live in the US.. my fiance lives in the UK.