I'm a US Citizen, currently living and working in the UK. Ever since I was a small child, I'd dreamt of coming to the UK. When I came on holiday for the first time as an adult, I fell in love with one of the cities I visited. I kept returning again and again, and worked very hard to earn eligibility...

heretic wrote:am I the only one who is tired all this constant changes with complete disregard for the people affected.

Absolutely not. You will find a good number of forums out there devoted or partially devoted to this subject. Including the ones backing the steadily-increasing number of JRs.

Well you could always do what many others around the world are now (No doubt) trying to do: 1. Get a Visa in a different EU country; 2. Work there for a few years until you qualify for EU citizenship; 3. Move to the UK Whilst the doors for non-EU immigrants are rapidly closing on us (Even those of u...

I agree with Baskey. It's too risky to take a job that the Home Office considers to be beneath its extension requirements. If you end up coming to love the job/career and the place where you work, and don't wish to leave it for a higher paying position/geographical location, then the HO may very wel...

Before I left for the UK, I opened a Lloyds offshore account and a chequebook. With this, I was able to pay the security deposit and those first few months' rent. Later, after I got a job, I was able to open a UK current account and close down the offshore one. An offshore account was much easier to...

"Joint Committee on Human Rights The Joint Committee on Human Rights is appointed by the House of Lords and the House of Commons to consider matters relating to human rights in the United Kingdom (but excluding consideration of individual cases); proposals for remedial orders, draft remedial o...

A better way to deal with this would be to increase the time taken with applications and the cost (yes I know it's already expensive) and really check every applicant out. The Home Office had my application for almost 12 months. I would have thought that sufficient time to verify the information su...

I am very disappointed that the e-petition response did not address the following concerns: 1. Differences in living expenses, and therefore salary expectations, between various regions within the UK; 2. The inequity of a WP ILR of 5 years vs HSMP -> WP ILR of 9-10 years, given similar skilled profe...

Congratulations, LondonBlonde! :D And it was about time too - now you can relax and celebrate the end of this stressful, anxious and mad time in your life. I second Baskey's advise - you never know what cruel twist of (HO) fate will be coming around the corner, so it may be best to check in from tim...

I got my HSMP approval in April '07, after an year since I applied. Congratulations! I know many of us who applied in 2004 had to wait the better part of a year before they would even LOOK at our HSMP application (Let alone decide on it), so we know how difficult and painful waiting a year in the H...

In any case, as the hsmp applications are weighted it isn't solely dependent on salary as education and experience slightly improves the imbalance even though in those areas women have been disadvantaged too Now HSMP is no longer weighted on experience, women are being evaluated on salary (2/3rds o...

SYH wrote:I find it interesting the proportion of women compared to men who are applying under HSMP.

You'd have to check earning statistics country by country, but I think you'll find many women do not earn as much as men (And so cannot qualify for HSMP).

Note: I've made the assumption that people with higher work experience either spent less time in University (so predominantly Bachelors level, vs say PhD), OR are older (as they have more higher-ed, and spent a good deal of time on the job). Result = they may be lacking with the new HSMP criteria, ...

Documents sent between solicitors and counsel almost certainly don't use the Royal Mail - our Chambers hardly uses post at all. We use the DX, a legal postal service, instead. Cheers, I found the DX website, and found the following quotes from their website: "99% of our outgoing mail reaches i...

From the VBSI website: http://vbsi.org.uk/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=85&cntnt01returnid=15 They're tentatively saying it may be July now. Can't you get proof of receipt when you mail a package via Royal Mail, including the date received and who specifically accepte...

John wrote:So this is now an issue for the new Home Secretary, as to be determined by Gordon Brown.

The BBC news hinted it may be Jack Straw again (And Alistair Darling Chancellor of the Exchequer).

To be honest, I think the native British are the worst offenders when it comes to spitting in the street!!!! And don't even get me started on yobs and chavs. I agree. Immigrants and tourists wouldn't dare do the spitting and pushing some of the native born riff-raff do. Of course, this is probably ...

But from what I've been reading, quite a lot of us do have jobs. And fairly good ones too.

Although the quote might have made sense a year ago, IMHO it's a non sequitur post-November 2006 changes.

I would believe the part about the ILR being discontinued, if it were true. But I don't believe the part about discontinuing permanent settlements. It may simply be that they wish us, after so many years, to swear allegiance to our new homeland (British citizenship). Personally, I don't have a probl...

hnbird,

I think you are on the right track. Submit as much documentation and explanation as possible. Assume the caseworker knows nothing about the US, US tax law, 401Ks, W-2s, etc. Start from the beginning and spell it out very clearly for them.

apeterso925 wrote:Have you gotten approval yet or still waiting?

Approved and already living in the UK.

I wonder what the fuss is all about ? I think quite a few of us are concerned when it comes time for extension we may not be able meet either the Tier 1 or Tier 2 criteria and will face deportation. A further concern we have with moving from Tier 1 to Tier 2 is that ILR will take up to 9 1/2 years ...

I have been going under the assumption that my "past earnings" are my total salaried earnings for the period claimed, before tax. However, a fellow forum member interpreted past earnings as the total amount that is taxed. For Americans, does that mean we can only include our income after ...

My education, experience, etc. in finance/accounting area. BostUS, If I were you, I'd look very carefully at UK salary levels for your sector and industry by geographical region . Also look at the cost to live in each geographical region. I've heard salaries in London are higher than in most other ...

He has never been overstayed as far as he knows because he always sent his passport for renewal of visa before his old one expired. He does not have any proof because HO asks applicant to keep proof of postage until they receive the passport back. Once an applicant receive passport with visa endors...