pls advice

[dantolu]

My spouse visa was refused for overstaying under paragraph 320(7B) and the balance of probabilities that i am not the spouse of my wife(Sponsor).

I have appealled and am hoping the appeal will not get to tribunal b4 they overturned the initial decision. I also received an acknowledge letter from the Embassy saying they received my appeal and it will take few months to prepare an explanatory letter before sending to AIT, does that mean the ECO will not change his/her initial decision.
please advice

[batleykhan]

Sorry to say that its very unlikely that it will be overturned on review if its under section 320.

I think I would prepare yourself for a hearing

[katkouta]

From did you apply? uk or home country?

[dantolu]

Hi katkouta,

I applied from Abuja in Nigeria. But Paragraph 320(7B) should not apply to spouse applicants according to paragraph 320(7C).

[Kitty]

dantolu, can you post the full text of your refusal? You are right about 320(7B) not applying to spouse visa applications, but the main reason for refusal would appear to be that the ECO does not believe that you are legally married to your wife.

What the Rules actually say is that 320(7B) does not apply "where the applicant is applying as a spouse". So even if the ECO decides you are not actually a spouse, they still should not add 320(7B) as an additional reason for refusal.

It's all rather academic though: are you legally and genuinely married to your spouse? What evidence of the marriage did you supply?

[dantolu]

The full context of the refusal: You have overstayed from 18th of March 2003 to 22nd of April 2010 which was confirmed by the home office and supporting document u submited with your application, I am therefore refusing this application under paragraph 320(7B) and on the balance of probabilities I am not satisified you are spouse of your sponsor or meet the requirement of paragraph 281(i) of HC395

I have appealed saying paragraph 320(7B) should not apply to me and confirming I am the spouse of my wife. My mother-in-law wrote a letter to say we are in genuine marital relationship, my wife also wrote in the appela saying the marriage is real and she will never do a sham marriage. My brothers and sisters who are british worte a letter, my solicitor and my Pastor also wrote a letter saying the relationship is genuine. I submitted all of this in the appeal and i also put loads of pictures of us since 2008 that our relationship begin. When i was in UK we live together and I also put proof of that and my wife also confirm it. we also submit marriage certficate and in my wife letter she emphasis she did not marry me base on my immigration history that the marriage is base on love.

What is my chance with this overturn without getting to appeal.

[HRY2005]

I think the ECO got it really wrong. Para 320(7B) should not apply to you as a result of your overstaying in the UK. I believe you've got a very good chance on appeal, I also believe the ECM should overturn the decision if he's to do his job properly.

Good luck mate.

[Kitty]

dantolu, when did you and your wife get married? Were you issued with a removal order before you left the UK?

If the ECO suspects that it is a marriage of convenience (for example, if you got married after you had been told to leave the country) then I think that you will need more evidence than just a marriage certificate and some photos to satisfy them about the genuineness of the marriage. Did you describe in your applicaiton how and when you met? Can you now produce evidence of contact (emails, phone records etc?)

I think it is probably a question of waiting for the appeal now, and gathering as much evidence as you can of your ongoing relationship.

[dantolu]

I was issued a notice of removal at Heathrow airport cos my visa expired and the previous application in the UK was refused and did not leave within the 28days.

We wrote a letter to inform the ECO how we met in the UK and our relationship is over 2 yrs. We include family letters to confirm the marriage is real and not for convience in the appeal.

How long will it take to review a decision on spouse visa?