VISA REFUSED...Appeal or Re-apply...Please Help!

gotshakespeare · Post by **gotshakespeare** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:29 pm

Hello,

I recently submitted my application for settlement with my husband. First, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone on this board, especially Casa, because I would not have been able to do it with out you. My reason for posting today is because my application was refused!

Given the circumstances I am not sure if it would be better to appeal or to re-apply...Please Help Me!

This is what the ECO had to say:

"Paragraph 281 (v) requires that the parties will be able to maintain themselves and any dependants adequately without recourse to public funds. You have stated in your application form that you are currently supported by your sponsor Garry Talbot. You have submitted payslips and an employment letter pertaining to Garry. You have stated in you application for that you intend to work in the UK. You go on to state you have made inquiries about possible employment opportunities in the UK however, I not you have provided no evidence to support this claim. Whilst I acknowledge your desires to seek employment I note it is impossible to determine the length of time it will take you to obtain gainful employment or if you will be successful in your endeavour. In support of this application, you have provided no evidence of you financial circumstances. The bank statements pertaining to your sponsor demonstrate a balance of 11.17 pounds on 10 May 2011. I am satisfied there is adequate accommodation for you in the UK. In addition, you have demonstrated your sponsor is employed as claimed however, in view of the evidence of funds available to you and your sponsor I am satisfied you will be able to maintain yourself without recourse to public funds. As a result, I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of paragraph 281 (v) of the Immigration Rules."

So it seems to me that if I had submitted a list of the job inquiries I made or if I had submitted a job offer I would have been ok? I didn't submit any of my financial information because I had taken all of my money with me to England for a visit and my account has $1.00 in it so I didn't think that would be helpful.

Also, in regards to the account balance on 10 May 2011 that was the balance then but on 21 July 2011 the balance was over 1100 pounds and that statement was included, so does that just not matter? Or was what the ECO said even negative or just a statement?

One other thing just after he states that we demonstrated my sponsor is employed he says "in view of the evidence of funds available to you and your sponsor I am satisfied you will be able to maintain yourself without recourse to public funds" was this just a typo on the ECO's part?

Since coming back to the US to submit my application I have actually been able to secure a job offer for when I come back, but I didn't have this before my application so I wasn't able to submit it. If I can get the job offer in writing, can I just appeal the decision with this new information or do I have to re-apply? And if I can appeal can I also resubmit Garry's July bank statement showing a healthier balance?

This decision doesn't sound wholly bad as it seems it can be fixed but I am afraid to re-apply because what if when we re-apply they look over everything again and find something else wrong? Do they look at everything when they look at an application and send you everything that was wrong or do they just look at one thing wrong and send it back? I am just afraid they only made it as far as the money and didn't even look at our relationship and marriage so they could find something wrong with that the second time around and then we are denied again. If you fix everything the ECO had a problem with and then re-apply are pretty much guaranteed an acceptance the second time or can they find something else wrong?

As Casa can probably attest from my previous posts here I tend to obsess and need some serious guidance here! Anything anyone can say would be more than appreciated!

Thank you,
Stacey

Post by **Lucapooka** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 5:43 pm

Mere job enquiries will always be taken with a pinch of salt; you really need a confirmed contract or to have the required maintenance from your sponsor or from savings. This may be an arbitrary decision to refuse that is easily appealed but, without seeing the previous bank statements, it's not possible to confirm that. Does the historical cashflow in that account have sufficient traffic to support another adult consumer added to the current outgoing expenditure that is for just one individual?

Post by **Casa** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 6:41 pm

I'm really sorry to hear of the refusal.
If you have proved in the application that your husband's income meets the weekly minimum of Â£105.95 remaining ...taking into consideration that the ECO accepts you will be living rent-free, I would appeal the decision.
Especially as there is an error in the refusal which reads they are satisfied that you meet the financial criteria...instead of 'not satisfied'.

gotshakespeare · Post by **gotshakespeare** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:09 pm

Lucapooka wrote:Does the historical cashflow in that account have sufficient traffic to support another adult consumer added to the current outgoing expenditure that is for just one individual?

I am not sure how to answer your question, but here goes: Other than that one month that the ECO stated in May there has always been sufficient cashflow in and out of the account and the ending balance on the last statement we provided showed a healthy balance. The statement he is referring to is just after we arrived back in the UK after the wedding and we had just purchased a couple of chest of drawers for my clothes. According to the minimum requirement we more than met that at 157 pounds a week for maintenance. Does that answer your question?

Post by **Casa** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:14 pm

Then I would appeal.

gotshakespeare · Post by **gotshakespeare** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:19 pm

Casa wrote:I'm really sorry to hear of the refusal.
If you have proved in the application that your husband's income meets the weekly minimum of Â£105.95 remaining ...taking into consideration that the ECO accepts you will be living rent-free, I would appeal the decision.
Especially as there is an error in the refusal which reads they are satisfied that you meet the financial criteria...instead of 'not satisfied'.

Thank you Casa, we are really bummed! Especially since we got the email on Friday so we have had to wait all weekend to find out why...as you can imagine there has been a lot of crying, emotions, and arguments since then.

I know you and I went back and forth about the minimum requirement and you helped me A TON in figuring everything out and from what I could tell we did meet the requirement at 157 pounds left over every week. I included payslips and his P60 and did a monthly maintenance budget off of both detailing everything and pointing out our maintenance. They seem to be satisfied of our rent-free accommodation so it would just be our monthly loan deduction of 102 pounds and he makes 9,395 pounds a year.

The annual loan deduction is 1,1225 so that gives us 8,169 a year after the deduction and divided by the 52 weeks in a year the weekly minimum we have is 157 a week

Is that correct?

Is the error enough to appeal the decision?

Would I need to include the job offer? I read that they might not accept the job offer since I received it after the application was sent and decided on.

Do you think the appeal would take long? I was going to send it back to the NY Consulate so maybe they could decide on it instead of sending it to the Tribunal so it might take less time.

Thank you for your help!

Post by **Casa** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:27 pm

You won't be able to submit evidence that wasn't available when the decision was made. You may have a chance of the decision being overturned before it reaches appeal if an error has been made.
Are you able to seek legal advice on this?

gotshakespeare · Post by **gotshakespeare** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:37 pm

Casa wrote:You won't be able to submit evidence that wasn't available when the decision was made. You may have a chance of the decision being overturned before it reaches appeal if an error has been made.
Are you able to seek legal advice on this?

I don't know if I would be able to find a lawyer here in the States that could help me with a UK visa. I might be able to have my Husband find one in the UK, but I am not sure we would have the money for it. Although, obviously it is worth it to pay the money we might have to borrow it from his family or something to pay for the lawyer. Do you think the lawyer would make a large difference in the outcome? From what you have read do you think an error has been made? Do you think it would be successful appealing if we couldn't afford the lawyer?

Post by **Casa** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 7:49 pm

I think an error may have been made in calculating the finances available.
What part of the UK is your husband living?

gotshakespeare · Post by **gotshakespeare** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:03 pm

Casa wrote:I think an error may have been made in calculating the finances available.
What part of the UK is your husband living?

Kings Norton, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK

Post by **Casa** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:11 pm

I'm sending you a PM.

gotshakespeare · Post by **gotshakespeare** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:14 pm

Casa wrote:I'm sending you a PM.

Ok...thank you!

Post by **Greenie** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:23 pm

gotshakespeare wrote:
Casa wrote:You won't be able to submit evidence that wasn't available when the decision was made. You may have a chance of the decision being overturned before it reaches appeal if an error has been made.
Are you able to seek legal advice on this?
I don't know if I would be able to find a lawyer here in the States that could help me with a UK visa. I might be able to have my Husband find one in the UK, but I am not sure we would have the money for it. Although, obviously it is worth it to pay the money we might have to borrow it from his family or something to pay for the lawyer. Do you think the lawyer would make a large difference in the outcome? From what you have read do you think an error has been made? Do you think it would be successful appealing if we couldn't afford the lawyer?

It is worthwile getting a competent solicitor for an appeal if you can afford it or if you are eligible for legal aid - I think your partner probably is eligible for legal aid as he has a fairly low income - try TRP solicitors in Birmingham

http://www.trpsolicitors.co.uk/

gotshakespeare · Post by **gotshakespeare** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:54 pm

Greenie wrote:It is worthwile getting a competent solicitor for an appeal if you can afford it or if you are eligible for legal aid - I think your partner probably is eligible for legal aid as he has a fairly low income - try TRP solicitors in Birmingham

http://www.trpsolicitors.co.uk/

Thank you so much for this! I will have a look into it and let you know what happens!

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VISA REFUSED...Appeal or Re-apply...Please Help!

VISA REFUSED...Appeal or Re-apply...Please Help!