Hello Everyone,
I am an American citizen with a valid US passport and my wife is a Polish Citizen with a valid US passport.
We have been married for 2 years and living together in Germany, Poland and the US for the last 4 years.
I recently got a job offer in the UK but did not get sponsorship since I can get an EEA family permit and the EEA2 once I am in the UK.
So I filled out all the paper work and did the biometrics early as they were able to take me on a walk in versus my scheduled appointment. With my application I included our marriage certificate, photos of us together all around the world for the last 4 years, some logs of our initial conversations, both of our original passports, and my job offer letter stating I will be making above 50,000GBP a year and copies of everything as requested as well as our flight confirmation (I know you should not buy flights a head of time but I figured we would have enough time (yes I was wrong) luckily BA let me change them free of charge.
Anyways I sent everything via FedEx overnight with a FedEx First Overnight Saturday delivery handwritten waybill this was sent and received on Feb 12 2014 to the British Consulate General in NYC.
On Feb 14th I got an urgent email from them saying the following:
Dear Applicant,
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE AND THIS MAILBOX IS NOT MONITORED
The package containing your UK visa application has been received and opened by an Entry Clearance Assistant at the British Consulate in New York.
Unfortunately, we no longer accept handwritten Fedex shipping waybills. Can you please provide us with an electronic shipping waybill following the instructions below.
To remedy this situation:
- You must purchase a prepaid return shipping label from a recognised carrier (UPS, Fedex, USPS, DHL etc).
- You must e-mail us the electronic label as a printable e-mail attachment.
- Please e-mail the electronic label to
UKVINewYork.Shipping@fco.gov.uk. Please enter the following into the subject line of your e-mail : "SHIPPING WAYBILL - [6 digit reference number, found in the subject of this e-mail]".
Important points to note:
- You will not receive formal confirmation from us that your label has been received.
- As a courtesy, we do not require you to provide packaging at this stage.
- If you choose to purchase a FEDEX return shipping label please do not have FEDEX e-mail it to us directly. Please have FEDEX e-mail you and then forward that e-mail to us at
UKVINewYork.Shipping@fco.gov.uk, entering the following in the subject line of your e-mail: "SHIPPING WAYBILL - [6 digit reference number, found in the subject of this e-mail]".
- Your application has not been reviewed by a decision maker and no assessment has been made of whether you have provided the relevant supporting documents required for the UK Visa category in which you have applied. You are strongly advised to consult the guidance using the link below and enclose any additional documents you did not include when you initially applied along with your passport.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/usa/fees
Service Standards
We have published service standards for processing UK visa applications that say we will process 90 per cent of non-settlement applications, including Points Based System applications, within 3 weeks, 98 per cent within 6 weeks and 100 per cent within 12 weeks of the application date;
Our average processing times for visa applications submitted to the British Consulate General in New York as of week commencing 17 February 2014 are:
- Non-settlement applications.......................................... 9 working days
- Current and forecasted delays to our service.....................None to report
The processing time starts when the New York Visa Team has received your completed application form, with your passport, photograph, supporting documents, biometrics registration and the relevant application fee. You will receive an e-mail when we have received your passport and processing can begin.
Please note: We strongly recommend that you do not buy a non-refundable, non-flexible ticket to the UK, until your visa application has been approved and you have received your visa. We do not accept responsibility for any financial loss incurred as a result of delays in processing your visa application and we do not fast-track applications solely due to planned date of travel.
What to expect next during the application process?
Your visa application will be assessed by an Entry Clearance Officer against the United Kingdom Immigration Rules.
If your application requires further assessment beyond our service standards, we will advise you via e-mail.
Once a decision has been made, you will receive an email advising you of the outcome of your application.
To find out who to contact about a UK visa application lodged in the USA, go to:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/countries/usa/contact
To find out who to contact about a UK visa application lodged in Canada, go to:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/count ... da/contact
Is your company considering expansion into the UK Marketplace?
If so, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) can help. UKTI is the British Government organisation that assists international companies in bringing high quality investment into the UKs robust economy. UKTI can offer your company free and confidential expertise, and link you to their extensive network of industry specialists.
For further information please visit:
www.ukti.gov.uk
So my question is as I called world bridge the embassy etc only to be rung around like crazy. Is it safe to assume it is 9 working days from the day I sent the label back which was within 2 hours of getting that message. (Of course they won't even confirm they got the label)
Should I request my passports back and just do this once I am in the UK I am suppose to start working in March.
Any insight from folks who applied for an EEA family permit in NYC in terms of processing times or any issues?
Thanks everyone!