Any Tier-1 applicants from the US?

[Lenore]

Hi all,

I'm applying for Tier-1 from the US this week. If anyone knows the answers to the following, it would be much apprecieated.

- What's the expected turnaround for the application?
-How soon can you get a biometrics appointment? Where are the centres?
- I've been hearing about them requiring proof of accommodation and job advertisements, but there's nothing on the ukvisas site about this. Is anything required and if so, in what form?

Also, since it just started, if anyone has applied for Tier-1 from the US, I would apprecieate it if you could let me know what your experience has been. Any surprises?

Thanks and good luck,

Lenore

[malimeer]

I applied online last week in Texas.
Don't know the total processing time of application.
Biometrics- depends where you live and how busy they are. it will ask you once you submit application to make appointment for biometric. you have to select your nearest center from list, then it will show you the available dates and time. I got my bio after 5 days of my app submission.
I'm also unclear abt accomm arrangements, but I'm ready for that in case they ask.
hope this will answer you queries.

[swami]

I have also applied online from NJ last week. Once you complete the online appln you will reach a screen which allows you to select any state and center that you want to go for giving biometric info. The biometric data and the rest of the supp docs you need to mail to one of the three British Consulate offices in the US.

You do not need any acco info or job ads for applying online for your Tier 1 General and EC. Nothing is mentioned anywhere, so not required.

I dont know what will be the time taken before I get back my docs. will post here once I get it back

Hi all,

I'm applying for Tier-1 from the US this week. If anyone knows the answers to the following, it would be much apprecieated.

- What's the expected turnaround for the application?
-How soon can you get a biometrics appointment? Where are the centres?
- I've been hearing about them requiring proof of accommodation and job advertisements, but there's nothing on the ukvisas site about this. Is anything required and if so, in what form?

Also, since it just started, if anyone has applied for Tier-1 from the US, I would apprecieate it if you could let me know what your experience has been. Any surprises?

Thanks and good luck,

Lenore

[swami]

Anyone who applied for Tier 1 & EC from US to one of the British Consulates in the US - can you post if you received any confirmation email from the British Consulate? If you already received approval, how long did it take for you to receive the approval?

[swami]

Thanks to all the messages, letter formats and info in Immigrationboards.com. I was able to get the Tier 1 & the EC approval for my application from USA. Here is the timeline for anyone who wants to apply from the US --

Submitted online application & paid fees online - 07/18/2008
Appointment date for biometric - 07/26/2008
Send printed online appln, Tier 1 supporting docs & biometric stamped letter to British Consulate in NY by courier - 07/28/2008
Received email from British Consulate of docs receipt - 08/11/2008
Received email from British Consulate of Tier 1 + EC stamp in pp - 08/13/2008
Received docs +stamped pp back through UPS - 08/14/2008

All the best to everyone else who is applying.

[NYCStacey]

Congratulations on getting approved!

Can I ask you a question, how did you manage the proof of maintenance of funds being less than 7 days old? I'm in NYC, banking with Citi and Chase, but when I receive the monthly statements, they are almost 7 days old or sometimes already older. Do we have no choice but to go to a branch and get a bank letter, and then I suppose apply online the same day.
does the letter/proof have to be less than 7 days up to the day that we apply, or up to the day we sent the printed application out or the day the receive the docs?
I see in your case your docs were sent out 10 days after online app was completed... any insight?
Thanks very much!

[swami]

Hi,
I had considered 7 days as the 7 days preceding the date I sent in the printed application packet to the consulate. So I sent the appln packet on 07/28 that was delivered to the consulate on 07/29. I got a letter from the bank on 07/24 for the Maintenance funds.

I had taken the online print out of my previous 4 months of statements (since my statements are generated every 22nd of the month) in addition to the bank letter. I had asked the bank to mention in their letter that these online statements are authentic. In addition I had asked them to mention the average deposits for each of the past 4 months. Better to complete all acitivities (online appln, online bank statement, biometric stamp, bank letter and sending appln packet across within a gap of 2 weeks)

All the best with your appln

Regards

Congratulations on getting approved!

Can I ask you a question, how did you manage the proof of maintenance of funds being less than 7 days old? I'm in NYC, banking with Citi and Chase, but when I receive the monthly statements, they are almost 7 days old or sometimes already older. Do we have no choice but to go to a branch and get a bank letter, and then I suppose apply online the same day.
does the letter/proof have to be less than 7 days up to the day that we apply, or up to the day we sent the printed application out or the day the receive the docs?
I see in your case your docs were sent out 10 days after online app was completed... any insight?
Thanks very much!

[NYCStacey]

Hi Swami,
You mentioned a good interesting point.
If I understood correctly, you completed your online application on 7/18 and then you knew you had your biometric appointment on 7/26. So you went to get the bank letter on 7/24, (after submitting online app and right before biometric appt), and then sent the app on 7/28.
That's how your bank letter is only 4days old and not more than the 10 days that passed between online app and mailed app.
I guess that works, thank you!

[swami]

Yes that is correct. When i submitted the online appln there were no dates in NJ or in NY for biometric which was less than a month away from the date of the online appln. So i chose to drive to MD for the biometric where I got a date within 10 days of submission of the online appln and fee payment. And timed the bank letter in between both these dates.

Hi Swami,
You mentioned a good interesting point.
If I understood correctly, you completed your online application on 7/18 and then you knew you had your biometric appointment on 7/26. So you went to get the bank letter on 7/24, (after submitting online app and right before biometric appt), and then sent the app on 7/28.
That's how your bank letter is only 4days old and not more than the 10 days that passed between online app and mailed app.
I guess that works, thank you!

[NYCStacey]

hi swami,

well thank you, another good piece of information, because I am also in the NJ/NY/CT area. Wow, so I could be waiting a whole month for the biometric appointment?
Do you think I should apply now, and book an appointment for 3-5weeks later and then get the bank letter the day before the appointment?
I'm almost all ready now. (I had to request employer payslips and bank statements for the past year, which should get to me in the next week, plus I got my academic info handy also waiting for official transcripts to come in the mail).
I was going to apply in early Sept, right after my august bank statement closes.
I suppose I can take the train to MD for an appointment. Was it near train/bus transportation or do you need a car? Cuz I dont have one !
I hope I get to go to the NYC area location.

Thanks a lot again!

One final question, on the UK address topic. Did you have your own already? Do you think its better to get a friend's UK address rather than having to resort to a hotel or temporary accommodation address?

Thank you, and enjoy the UK!

What date do you leave? Which date did you initially write down on your applications as the date you wanted to leave? It can be up the 3months later, right? (from the time you submit online app I suppose).

Good luck with your move and everything else!
Stacey

[jagacharaja]

Which date did you initially write down on your applications as the date you wanted to leave? It can be up the 3months later, right? (from the time you submit online app I suppose).

Stacey

Since my HSMP activities were processed before the biometrics kicked in, I'll address the part where I can provide input (quoted above)... If you're planning of leaving a bit later after getting the EC, you can request for the EC to be post-dated by a period of up to three months. This could come in handy for your ILR application down the road.

[swami]

Hi Stacey

While i was searching for biometric dates while submitting the online appln, I found dates in Philly and MD which are within 10 days of the online appln submission date. I chose MD since it was only a 3 hr drive compared to Philly which was a 5 hr drive. In MD, the location where they take the biometric fingerprints is in downtown Baltimore connected well by train. Am note sure where exactly the location is in Philly, but from my research I thought that was also in downtown Philly. So NJTransit could get you to both these locations. Added to it, they are open on saturdays which means you can start for MD / PA after work on friday / early saturday. It is just a 5 min process and noone was there when I went for my appt except me.
British Consulate has said that this is the peak period for visa applns, so I think NJ / NY dates may be a month out from the date of your online applns. But my advise would be to submit the online appln after you get all other docs(academic cert, payslips & 12 month bank statements) minus the maintenance bank statement in hand. That way your appln packet will be waiting for just the bio & the maint bank statement when you apply online.

On the topic of address in UK, I had read in the forums here that it is good to show a UK address since your appln is for EC also. But i did not provide any UK address with my appln and mentioned in my appln that I plan to travel to UK in early Sept. And since it got approved, I would think UK address is not a mandatory requirement. But if you do not want to take any chance, it is better to get a hotel reservation & show that details with the appln. If you show friend's address in UK, am not sure if UKBA will want to verify and see that the address where your friend stays has permission from landlord to allow one more person to stay there etc etc etc.

You will get 3 years EC when this appln is approved. So technically it should not matter when you leave for the UK as long as you are able to show 12 months of UK salary in your bank account when the 3 years are completed, to get an extension of your EC. And 5 years in total when you apply for Indefinite leave to remain.

Regards

hi swami,

well thank you, another good piece of information, because I am also in the NJ/NY/CT area. Wow, so I could be waiting a whole month for the biometric appointment?
Do you think I should apply now, and book an appointment for 3-5weeks later and then get the bank letter the day before the appointment?
I'm almost all ready now. (I had to request employer payslips and bank statements for the past year, which should get to me in the next week, plus I got my academic info handy also waiting for official transcripts to come in the mail).
I was going to apply in early Sept, right after my august bank statement closes.
I suppose I can take the train to MD for an appointment. Was it near train/bus transportation or do you need a car? Cuz I dont have one !
I hope I get to go to the NYC area location.

Thanks a lot again!

One final question, on the UK address topic. Did you have your own already? Do you think its better to get a friend's UK address rather than having to resort to a hotel or temporary accommodation address?

Thank you, and enjoy the UK!

What date do you leave? Which date did you initially write down on your applications as the date you wanted to leave? It can be up the 3months later, right? (from the time you submit online app I suppose).

Good luck with your move and everything else!
Stacey

[malimeer]

Hi guys,
I applied online for TIER 1 from Texas on July 19
Biometrics done on July 23
sent documents on July 27
received confirmation email on Aug 5
receievd approval email on Aug 13
receivd docs back on Aug 15

good luck to All US applicants

[Lenore]

Hi All,

Thank you for all of your replies to my original post, I found them to be very helpful. From your posts, it appears that the US switch to Tier-1 is going very smoothly! I'm happy to say that I received my Tier-1 visa yesterday. My dates are very similar to the others posted, so it looks like they are a fairly good indicator for future applicants.

Online application submitted and fees paid on 07/25/2008
Biometrics appointment on 08/02/2008 (Saturday appointments were available, and this was in Huntington, VA and was the closest location to Washington DC...a long cab ride)
Documents mailed to NY on 08/02/2008 (FedEx confirmed they arrived on 08/04/2008)
Confirmation email from NY of documents received on 08/15/2008
Documents and entry clearance stamp in passport received via UPS on 08/20/2008

Note: The start date of entry clearance is the same date that I stated I wanted to travel, and not the date of the approval as I had expected.

Another Note: The visa is good for 3 years.

Good luck to all of you and thanks again for the helpful information. Feel free to ask me questions about my application if you have any.

Lenore

[jackals13]

Anyone apply that's used the Chicago Consulate? When I found this thread I was ecstatic - finally US based dates.

But my dates are no where similar...

Appt made July 23rd
Biometrics taken July 26th
Docs mailed July 29th
Docs signed for at consulate July 30th
Doc receipt email generated Aug 4th
...

Nothing after that... I've tried everything I can do to try to figure out why, and not a peep from the consulate, except a lady at the Washington Embassy who told me they would make sure my passport would be sent back before my expected travel date (Sept 2nd, Europe, Sept 26th, UK.) Cover letter was included detailed my Sept 2nd travel date.

[jackals13]

Failing hearing from them, anyone know of a contact method?

I had a backup plan - student visa then switch to tier 1 in the UK (I qualify for both) but the lack of communication and retention of my passport are preventing me from following through on that.

Anyone apply that's used the Chicago Consulate? When I found this thread I was ecstatic - finally US based dates.

[jackals13]

After faxes and other assorted contact attempts - they called me tonight to personally tell me that I would have my visa by tomorrow afternoon! I got my UPS tracking number moments later.

Phenomenal.

And they did mention receiving my faxes in the phone call (=

Anyone apply that's used the Chicago Consulate? When I found this thread I was ecstatic - finally US based dates.

But my dates are no where similar...

Appt made July 23rd
Biometrics taken July 26th
Docs mailed July 29th
Docs signed for at consulate July 30th
Doc receipt email generated Aug 4th
...

Nothing after that... I've tried everything I can do to try to figure out why, and not a peep from the consulate, except a lady at the Washington Embassy who told me they would make sure my passport would be sent back before my expected travel date (Sept 2nd, Europe, Sept 26th, UK.) Cover letter was included detailed my Sept 2nd travel date.

[mjmani]

Anyone have an idea abt how quick the processing time can be if we apply through agents (agents listed on BritainUSA.com website)? One of the agents' website claims the following. Is it true actually?

CONSULAR FEES
Type Entry Price Validity Processing Time
Tier 1 Multiple $1272.00 varies 2-3 days
NOTE: Processing times are business days. The first day begins the day after your package is received by A Briggs except in the case of pre-arranged same day service when available. Prices are per applicant.

A BRIGGS FEES
The A Briggs fees are:
$165.00 Rush
$115.00 Non-Rush
*Processing times are business days. The first day begins the day after your package is received by A Briggs. Same day service is available - please call to confirm. Prices are per applicant.

[mjmani]

Friends,
Seeing no activity in this post since few days.
I have completed online application on Sep 28th and selected Biometric appointment on 6th Oct (it was available from 1st Oct onwards) at Manchester NH.
I will keep posted on the progress.
One question that will help me a lot.
Did anyone of you applied with Bank of America Maintenance Funds proof letter? If so, could you please post the format?
Bank of America gives the letter that says Average Balance for the past 3 months and it does not say anything about whether the min balance was kept above the required amount.
Pls help!

[USAapplicant]

mjmani,

did you get a maintenance funds letter from Bank of America? How long did it take? and was it sufficient?

[mjmani]

Hi,
BoA does not give "minimum balance" letter. They only give "average balance" letter for 3 or 6 or 12 months. As per Tier 1 guidance what expected is minimum balance, not average balance.
Keeping that aside since some submitted this ave bal letter and got approval, BoA sends letter from Florida by snail mail that reached me twice after 10 days. they are not willing to send it by courier (DCU did it, overnight FedEx and without any charges to me).
You can visit BoA branch, get appointment from branch manager and explain the situation by showing the tier 1 rules. They can request the letter to be sent to them by email and they will print it out on BoA letter head (insist on this since some branches want to save that one silly paper at our cost). It would be good if you can also get them to print your transaction history (with account number visible) on BoA letter head. This + ave bal letter + original statements will make a good case.
Oh Boy, I repent for having account in BoA. I finally decided not to show the balance from there, went with balance from DCU alone (applied only myself without showing funds for both dependents).

[mjmani]

Friendly advice to friends applying from USA,
Please use courier services like A Briggs. I should have applied through them but decided at last minute to send on my own. Result I am still waiting in spite of applying on Oct-9th. I am seeing few others go thru A Briggs after me are getting approvals. There is a big delay for the past few days due to biometric server issue and now after the issue is resolved I am seeing applications sent by courier services are getting approvals. Some with HSMP approval letter are getting it in 1 day.
[all from NY UK Consulate]

[USAapplicant]

I am having issues getting the letter from BofA. Did they give you a print out of your transaction history on official stationery when you went in to the branch?

[mjmani]

Since my funds letter from BoA was not up to my satisfaction, I did not request for the transaction history. I submitted letter & statements from my DCU accounts. I have moved all my funds from BoA to DCU. It was easy to get letter from DCU, so it made sense to move to DCU fully.

[USAapplicant]

Thanks Mani for your responses.

I needed to send in all my supporting documents by Monday and the letter will most likely be here on Monday so I ended up sending in my application with the transaction history printed on bank letterhead paper through yesterday. I am really hoping that will be enough since I did not have my statement for last month.

Bank of America is the worst bank I have dealt with. It is impossible to get a balance verification letter expedited or anything else expedited. I am definitely switching banks once I am done applying. Unfortunately, BofA is the only account I have at the moment so I am at their mercy - which is rather frustrating.