Monthly limit reached 2 times; guessing reasons for delay

[gt11]

Dear friends,

I applied on 4th Nov in the UK embassy in a European country where I'd been working (though I'm from India), some time in Nov I was told by embassy that Nov limit got reached but they hoped to issue me Tier-1 in 1st week of Dec. On 2nd Dec I emailed them inquiring the status and on 2nd Dec evening I got phone from them that Dec limit also reached & my application is pushed into Jan! I am wondering whether in Jan again I might get the same reply.

The officer who called me didn't mention anything wrong with my application. I told him that lots of people who applied from India much later than me in Nov got their Tier-1 General visas issued till 2nd Dec and strange that I did not. He said that one reason was that those people had applied from their home country.. this logic actually makes some sense to me becoz this UK embassy where I applied gets a Tier-1 application very rarely (1 application in 6 months), so it could be that they are not aware of the crucialness of every moment once a monthly limit opens. But he hoped that I'd get visa in Jan.

I am confused whether I should wait for January or should I withdraw the application and re-apply from India? I am anyways planning to relocate to India. Both options have following drawbacks:

If I wait till January, I am afraid I might get the same answer again becoz it seems that my seniority in the international back-log based on my application date seems to be ineffective becoz i assume that unfortunately the queue is not maintained internationally but only locally, so even if I might be the oldest (i mean oldest application date) in the overall back-log, but if my concerned embassy would not immediately try to issue me visa once a limit opens but after a day or two, then in the meantime 600 applicants in other locations would pass over me & get the visa. I'm guessing the reason, but I mean whatever the reason for delay by now might also remain to be the reason in Jan & slide me into Feb.

If I withdraw application & re-apply in India, I'd not be able to do so before mid Dec, which might be too late to apply. Moreover, rules for required docs r different in India, like I understand that bank statements should b on bank stationary, but my bank here only gives print-out of e-statements which is no different from the print-out which I can take of the e-statements I get in my email. I mean it can't be considered to be on bank stationary, isn't it? Or, is it acceplatble? Though ofcourse, it has bank logo & the bank maanger has no problem to sign & seal on each page. Another question is, is it that the date that bank puts with the sign shouldn't be more than a week old while applying? The statements r in foreign language so I assume I'd need to get them translated. Question: I can translate them myself but is it acceptable or should they be done by professional translator, with seal of professional? Should translation be notarized as well?

What do you people think could be the reason for unusual delay in my case & should I keep waiting or withdraw & re-apply from India? I claimed only 105 points. Can this be a reason why my application hasn't yet been successful? Can someone also please confirm what I got informed by my concerned embassy is correct that Dec limit is reached?

Many thanks

[kutlee]

some time in Nov I was told by embassy that Nov limit got reached but they hoped to issue me Tier-1 in 1st week of Dec. On 2nd Dec I emailed them inquiring the status and on 2nd Dec evening I got phone from them that Dec limit also reached & my application is pushed into Jan! I am wondering whether in Jan again I might get the same reply.

When did you get information that nov limit has been reached? UBKA site has clearly put this on the news on 10 Nov.


The officer who called me didn't mention anything wrong with my application. I told him that lots of people who applied from India much later than me in Nov got their Tier-1 General visas issued till 2nd Dec and strange that I did not. He said that one reason was that those people had applied from their home country.. this logic actually makes some sense to me becoz this UK embassy where I applied gets a Tier-1 application very rarely (1 application in 6 months), so it could be that they are not aware of the crucialness of every moment once a monthly limit opens. But he hoped that I'd get visa in Jan.

UKBA says that they will process applications as far as operationally possible.

I am confused whether I should wait for January or should I withdraw the application and re-apply from India? I am anyways planning to relocate to India. Both options have following drawbacks:

If I withdraw application & re-apply in India, I'd not be able to do so before mid Dec, which might be too late to apply. Moreover, rules for required docs r different in India, like I understand that bank statements should b on bank stationary, but my bank here only gives print-out of e-statements which is no different from the print-out which I can take of the e-statements I get in my email.

That understanding is wrong. Guidelines says that email statements can be printed out and signed and sealed. But given the fear factor, take printouts on the office stationery. I don't think this is different if it applied from UK.

I mean it can't be considered to be on bank stationary, isn't it? Or, is it acceplatble? Though ofcourse, it has bank logo & the bank maanger has no problem to sign & seal on each page. Another question is, is it that the date that bank puts with the sign shouldn't be more than a week old while applying? The statements r in foreign language so I assume I'd need to get them translated. Question: I can translate them myself but is it acceptable or should they be done by professional translator, with seal of professional? Should translation be notarized as well?

I think translations are to be done by authorised transilators? Please read guidelines.

What do you people think could be the reason for unusual delay in my case & should I keep waiting or withdraw & re-apply from India? I claimed only 105 points. Can this be a reason why my application hasn't yet been successful?

Claiming 105 cannot be harmful? How can it be? Everyone claiming 100 or above will get same treatment.

Can someone also please confirm what I got informed by my concerned embassy is correct that Dec limit is reached?

I think limit is not reached. Please visit UKBA website if you need news on this. If it has reached, they will defenitely put it there. UKBA has clearly told that news on limit will be published on the website. Trust them.
From most of the posts, i don't understand why you are getting information from other sources also why should your embassy give wrong information to you. I also am sure that embassy people won't reveal informations on limit reaching. There is not just one embassy issuing tier-1.

[mulderpf]

Just a note on this - you say that rules for required documents are different in India than where you are. This is not correct - the rules are the same everywhere in the world.

You also mention that the statements are in a foreign language. Did you get them translated? That might be the reason for your delay - remember that the staff looking at your application, no matter where you apply, are most likely British and not a local.

[gt11]

Hi, thanks for your reply. I translated the docs myself. The agency named Worldbridge is involved in the visa process from my concerned region. It was mentioned on Worldbridge's concerned region website that foreign langauge docs must be translated but they can be translated by anyone for example the applicant himself or his friend, don't need to be 'official' translations due to the high costs of translation in the concerned region.

In my case, the only foreign language docs were bank statements> I submitted both the originals as well as translations.

I believe that some rules regarding documents vary from place to place, for example, in India original docs (like degree) need to be submitted, but here where I am, only photocopies need to be submitted, while originals just need to be shown at time of submitting photocopies so they verify photocopies on the spot & stamp them as 'verified' & return the originals immediately.

[geriatrix]

IMHO, there is no point in withdrawing the application and making a new one from India as the limit (600 visas) is a global one and you're already in the queue. Why get out from the middle of the queue just to stand at the end?

Just hope that they don't find any reason to refuse the application!


regards