I iz bak! Sorry for having abandoned you all for so long. I've been missed, right?
@Vinny - thanks for the post, will delve into it more.
Ok, mini update. First off, JRs can have turnarounds of under a year. They can also, as in my case last years. I've already lost track how long we've been going through it all.
So, since I left y'all, a judge finally saw our JR docs and rejected the request for a hearing (judges have to vet all applications before they go through). He came up with some BS reason saying that if we wanted to get married and the visa was running out, we should have just submitted a fresh student visa application. Bit of a problem when you don't want to be a student, but I guess lying to the home office was an option we just didn't think of! Thanks judge, will consider lying next time..
Anyway, that's not the end of it. We can impose a request for what's called an "aural hearing". Basically, your barrister at this point has to convince the judge that the case has some merit and should go to "full hearing". Extra delay, extra cost.
Solicitor has asked me, "are you sure you really want to go through with this? it's gonna be massively expensive!". I've replied "yes". I have some cash, not a lot, but feel for some bizarre reason I have to go through the whole thing.
Hotshot barrister seems to be giving me the cold shoulder recently. Bit of a concern as (a) makes me wonder, does he think I might lose? , and (b) I have to insist he stays on the case and I won't get reimbursed for swapping my team every 5mins.
So, aural hearing is in mid March. Update to follow..