kiwigirl25 wrote:Hi oldno7
You've made some good points. However:
UKBA will not respond to queries after 14 weeks. If you contact them you will get a scripted response of "your application has not yet been processed". I defy you to find someone who has queried their application after 14 weeks and has received a decent informed response.
Solicitor respresentation adding credibility to your application? I used a OCIS qualified solicitor and I've been waiting 6 months. So I don't think I have been treated any differently than someone who didn't used a solicitor. The benefit of using a solicitor is a thorough application, they ensure that all areas are covered so questions are answered immediately. I would only use a solicitor if your case is complex, otherwise a complete waste of money and time. The only time I think solicitors add credibility during the application process is when there is a need to complain. They know the UKBA process inside out therefore the right words to use and know the right people to contact to raise a complaint. That is why I advised the OP to complain via their solicitor.
As I said in my previous post, see UKBA chasing you as a positive. This is a very rare occasion and it most definitely means they are actively looking at your application...9588.
Hi Kiwigirl25,
I have noted your comments.
Regarding the 14 weeks, This is what is stated on the recorded messages when calling the UKBA enquiry number. Certainly during my wifes application earlier this year.
I also distinctly remember asking the UKBA phone operative about my wifes visa status then. The staff member said exactly the same thing, no enquiry answers unless the application is 14 weeks or over.
I have not had the opportunity to speak to anyone who has though. I was gearing up for it mentally for our application and by mercy of God never needed to, when we got her ILR in the 12th week.
In regards to solicitor representation. Our application was submitted by them, premium PEO service. On the first two attempts the HO rejected the application as being too early. At a later stage when I was disappointed by the time frame, Same-Day service being stretched out to 3 months! The solicitor made 2-3 representations and several phone calls to the HO.
I do believe that the two earlier applications being declined alone would have ordinarily meant the application fee being taken, wasted.
I sadly have the experience of having gone through an AIT tribuna - failed, And found out the hard way that unless you have a solicitor the HO/UKBA Just won't speak to you. This coupled with every tom, dick & harry friends and relations (Replace with Asian names) and their dad preaching about then defunct processes they went through decades earlier - Lead me to the conclusion that specialist immigration solicitor is the only way I would ever recommend approaching the HO/UKBA.
How many applications are as straight forward as you envisage when starting out?
I am second generation Bengali born here in the UK. I pay taxes all my life, I have British Citezenship. The passport is supposed to afford assistance to British Citezens. Those UKBA/HO staff are civil servants... Yet I have to pay commercial law firms on top of taxes and application fees so that I can be granted my human rights and have a family life.
Sorry for the rant, But that's why I use solicitors.