Help with Spouse visa for US wife :)

[oldmantom]

We have just learned of the change in age requirements happening in Dec 2008.

I am 20 (UK citizen), my wife is 19 (US citizen).

We just married yesterday in the US and she is hoping to move in with me in the UK in January 2009.

We had planned to do the Spouse Visa application through marriagevisahelp.com but they haven't replied for a few days now and we are both getting very anxious as to whether we will be able to get the visa before the change in December.

My first question is whether we'll both have to be 21 if we are unable to get the visa before Dec 2008 or if we would be allowed to apply when I am 21?

Also has anyone used marriagevisahelp.com before - are they any good?

[Wanderer]

Those places are ripoff - anyone with half a brain can get a spouse visa in USA to UK, don't waste ur money.

[oldmantom]

Thanks for the advice on the website.


Can anyone clarrify the new age rules?

[vinny]

The Age requirements are for both parties. Apply for spouse visa before it changes. Hopefully, there will be transitional arrangements for entry clearance holders.

[oldmantom]

Thanks for the clarrification.

We have to apply online as she is from the US.

We started this process and when asking for the type of visa it lists "wife", "husband" and "marriage" seperately in the drop down menu.

Should we select "wife" or "marriage" or does it not matter?

Also, the only thing we are worried about is the financial side. She is currently unemployed and has no savings, I am earning £592 a month and have around £13,000 in savings. The property in the UK we would be staying in is owned by my parents so our only expenses would be general living costs (food etc) - is our financial situation likely to cause a problem when we apply?

[vinny]

Select wife.

Third party accommodation support is acceptable. However, third party maintenance support is now permitted. See also Sponsors Financial Situation -URGENT HELP NEEDED!!!

After entry, start collecting documents for subsequent SET(M) application, as suggested on the form SET(M).

[oldmantom]

Thanks again for the help

A couple more questions:

1) We are just waiting for the marriage license to be posted to us so we can apply.

My wife cannot change the name on her passport until we have that - will the number on the passport be the same after the name change?

i.e. Can we make the application with the passport that has her maiden name on it?

2) Another concern is that if we are rejected and have to appeal - if it comes to December and we are in the appeal process will we simply be denied as it will then be too late as we are both under 21? Or as we originally applied before the new age requirement came into effect will we be able to appeal as normal?

On the same topic - if we apply in November but it is not processed for whatever reason until December will we still be denied due to the age issue?

[vinny]

1. If she changes her name and obtains a new passport, then her new passport will have a different number to her current one.

2.

The Immigration Rules applicable to an immigration decision are, in the absence of transitional provisions or any contrary legitimate expectation, the rules in force at the date of the decision. Nathwani [1979-80] Imm AR 9 remains good law.

[oldmantom]

Due to the time constraints would you recommend applying for the visa with her old passport and not getting it changed?

Everywhere I have looked it just says the new rules are coming in "by December" - could that mean sometime in November? We are just really worried about the new age requirements.

[vinny]

If it's not compulsory nor preferential to change names, then apply with current passport and marriage certificate, etc.

[vinny]

Marriage visa age to rise later this month on 27/11/08.

[oldmantom]

Thanks again for all the help so far Vinny.

We are planning to submit the online application today.

I understand she will then be given an appointment for a biometric fingerscan and after this we would mail the actual application with all the supporting documents.

If the online application is sent before the 27th November will this let us apply under the current age law? Or will the date be from when the full posted application arrives? I am worried that we will not be able to get the fingerscan appointment until after this date.

Also, do we pay for the application when it is first submitted online or after the fingerscan? It would seem very unfair they took the money for the application then we were unable to send the final one in before the 27th due to a late fingerscan.

Again all the worries are coming from the new age law

In my mind I can see us sending in the online application and paying, getting a late fingerscan appointment, being unable to apply before the 27th, being rejected as we are under 21, then receiving no refund and no visa. I still hold hope we can do it though!

I have couple of questions about the online form as well:

1) They ask for the issuing city and country for our passports - neither of us have any idea which city they came from so is it ok to just list the country?

2) They ask "how long have you lived at this address?" then ask for the answer to be in MM/YYYY format - I assume they mean this to be the date my wife moved into her home, but the wording of the question and required answer format do not correlate very well.

3) Several of the questions ask for a response which could be very detailed (e.g. qualifications & previous work experience) though the online form provides hardly any space for the answer - is it ok to right a summary on the form then attach a full answer with the form when it is posted to them?

[vickyz]

Those places are ripoff - anyone with half a brain can get a spouse visa in USA to UK, don't waste ur money.

Wanderer,

I wouldn’t be so objective. Yes, it’s probably simpler to obtain a UK visa from the United States, but according to this http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/statistics/ , there are thousands of settlement visas refused every year with thousands of Americans being turned down due to incomplete applications and insufficient supporting documents.

As for the firm in question, they did a great job for us. My application was stuck in Los Angeles for almost two months as I had my entry into the UK refused twice over the past two years (bloody idiots at the boarder kept telling me I was a work risk), and they had to conduct additional investigation on me. My consultant from marriagevisahelp.com would send fax and e-mail enquires to the Embassy in LA every week and he would not stop hassling them until my visa was issued. And they did not charge us a penny additional for the extra work they had to do for us!

Oldmantom, good luck with your application!

Cheers!

Vicky