Easiest way to get a Spouse Visa for USA Fiancee
Discussion
Hi All
My fiancée is an American citizen, I'm from UK, been here all my life. We are looking to settle in UK as soon as possible and have decided to marry in March in USA (seems the simplest way, although getting there right now will be another challenge!), then apply for a spouse Visa immediately after.
A few questions I would be grateful for input on:
- On the face of it, it does appear to be fairly straightforward, but would anyone who has been through this recommend using solicitor or specialist company to assist?
- Looks like the most difficult thing will be proof of relationship. We have spent a lot of time together in US or UK, but never lived together for obvious reasons? Any hits or tips?
- How long does a Spouse Visa take from submitting to being received? Would she have to surrender passport during this period? ie can she travel during this period?
- Can she continue working remotely whilst in UK. Research suggests not but wanted to confirm? If not would she have to leave her job prior to submitting the application?
Thanks, appreciate any thoughts at all from those who may have been through this process
My fiancée is an American citizen, I'm from UK, been here all my life. We are looking to settle in UK as soon as possible and have decided to marry in March in USA (seems the simplest way, although getting there right now will be another challenge!), then apply for a spouse Visa immediately after.
A few questions I would be grateful for input on:
- On the face of it, it does appear to be fairly straightforward, but would anyone who has been through this recommend using solicitor or specialist company to assist?
- Looks like the most difficult thing will be proof of relationship. We have spent a lot of time together in US or UK, but never lived together for obvious reasons? Any hits or tips?
- How long does a Spouse Visa take from submitting to being received? Would she have to surrender passport during this period? ie can she travel during this period?
- Can she continue working remotely whilst in UK. Research suggests not but wanted to confirm? If not would she have to leave her job prior to submitting the application?
Thanks, appreciate any thoughts at all from those who may have been through this process
No idea at all I'm afraid, but if you haven't already (I've not checked), it might also be worth posting in the US forum on PH as well. I'm sure I've seen posts in there asking about visas etc, albeit the other way round (ie UK citizens wanting to go to the US), but people there might have some idea. Good luck in any case.
I obtained visas for both my wife and stepdaughter.
I did have the significant added complexity and cost of sponsoring a dependent child with a parent in her home country but that's not to say your case is straightforward.
I used a specialist law firm and will instruct them again without a shadow of doubt when the extension is due at 33 months. They were expensive (about £5k in fees for the pair of visas) but organised all the procedural stuff and asked me in very concise terms for the documents I needed to provide. You can do it yourself to save money but you'll need to commit a lot of time to research the process and you'll want to be highly organised.
Happy to pass a recommendation, PM me if interested.
Even with expert representation the process is very demanding and stressful so don't underestimate it.
You will need to provide evidence of a lasting relationship so you could start by screenshotting your call histories and sections of whatsapp/chat conversations. Don't delete anything.
n my case I was travelling regularly so evidenced everything with bookings, boarding cards, passport stamps etc. We took lots of photos together and also family visits together e.g. me with all her family, my kids with her daughter. Anything we could think of to evidence the fact we were in a normal relationship, in daily contact and spending time as a couple whenever I could visit her.
You'll need to meet the financial requirements and as a Ltd Co contractor this was actually surprisingly demanding despite earning multiples of the income threshold, you'd think I could just give them my self assessment records but I had to provide over a years worth of business and personal bank statements, filed accounts, proof of business and personal tax payments, dividend vouchers and so on.
I'm not sure about continuing employment remotely - again that's a reason for seeking qualified legal advice.
Mine took about 6 weeks from making the application to the visa being granted. The applicant's passport will be held in that timeframe as they will submit it at the visa application centre when applying and it will be returned to them (hopefully with the entry clearance) when the decision is made.
It also took me about 2 months to prepare for the applications. The application went in 4 months after we married.
I did have the significant added complexity and cost of sponsoring a dependent child with a parent in her home country but that's not to say your case is straightforward.
I used a specialist law firm and will instruct them again without a shadow of doubt when the extension is due at 33 months. They were expensive (about £5k in fees for the pair of visas) but organised all the procedural stuff and asked me in very concise terms for the documents I needed to provide. You can do it yourself to save money but you'll need to commit a lot of time to research the process and you'll want to be highly organised.
Happy to pass a recommendation, PM me if interested.
Even with expert representation the process is very demanding and stressful so don't underestimate it.
You will need to provide evidence of a lasting relationship so you could start by screenshotting your call histories and sections of whatsapp/chat conversations. Don't delete anything.
n my case I was travelling regularly so evidenced everything with bookings, boarding cards, passport stamps etc. We took lots of photos together and also family visits together e.g. me with all her family, my kids with her daughter. Anything we could think of to evidence the fact we were in a normal relationship, in daily contact and spending time as a couple whenever I could visit her.
You'll need to meet the financial requirements and as a Ltd Co contractor this was actually surprisingly demanding despite earning multiples of the income threshold, you'd think I could just give them my self assessment records but I had to provide over a years worth of business and personal bank statements, filed accounts, proof of business and personal tax payments, dividend vouchers and so on.
I'm not sure about continuing employment remotely - again that's a reason for seeking qualified legal advice.
Mine took about 6 weeks from making the application to the visa being granted. The applicant's passport will be held in that timeframe as they will submit it at the visa application centre when applying and it will be returned to them (hopefully with the entry clearance) when the decision is made.
It also took me about 2 months to prepare for the applications. The application went in 4 months after we married.
Edited by theboss on Wednesday 18th November 18:33
I went through this getting my wife to join me from Asia. The following refers to 2018 but I doubt much has changed.
It is easy enough to do it all yourself as I did but it takes far more organisation than you might think as there are MANY small but hugely significant pitfalls.
For example, all bank statements need to be stamped on both sides as genuine bank produced AND not be older than 28 days from when you send the application. Banks do not get this and some will keep sending internet statements....immediate visa refusal.
If you use the savings route, you have to have £60,000 approx unmoved in an account for 6 months prior to the application. (Can be across many accounts but has to be 6 months untouched in all)
The official guidance is cryptic, badly written and tragically, often out of date.
However, if all your documents are fine and sent on time you should be OK.
Have you considered the fiancé visa? Many say this is preferable as your lady gets to come here and get married, so it all goes through (I am told) much quicker as the only reason she is here is to marry you - the visa is issued for that and it means all that you do is recognised and signed, sealed here. Lovely official and known papers.
Importantly, you are both together. My wife had to stay in Asia for 7 months. You could get the visa well before that or sadly it could take longer - and they never let you know why.
You can employ a solicitor and they should at least make sure you have all the correct papers before sending them off but in reality that is all they do - you still need to get all the papers and the stamps.
You cannot complain until 6 months have passed.
When I contacted my MP after 6 months + 2 weeks wait and he said he would have a go at the HO, the visa turned up by private courier within 48 hours.
Be patient, be as calm as you can be. It won't be an easy ride but you will get there.
Take a look at the fiance visa!
It is easy enough to do it all yourself as I did but it takes far more organisation than you might think as there are MANY small but hugely significant pitfalls.
For example, all bank statements need to be stamped on both sides as genuine bank produced AND not be older than 28 days from when you send the application. Banks do not get this and some will keep sending internet statements....immediate visa refusal.
If you use the savings route, you have to have £60,000 approx unmoved in an account for 6 months prior to the application. (Can be across many accounts but has to be 6 months untouched in all)
The official guidance is cryptic, badly written and tragically, often out of date.
However, if all your documents are fine and sent on time you should be OK.
Have you considered the fiancé visa? Many say this is preferable as your lady gets to come here and get married, so it all goes through (I am told) much quicker as the only reason she is here is to marry you - the visa is issued for that and it means all that you do is recognised and signed, sealed here. Lovely official and known papers.
Importantly, you are both together. My wife had to stay in Asia for 7 months. You could get the visa well before that or sadly it could take longer - and they never let you know why.
You can employ a solicitor and they should at least make sure you have all the correct papers before sending them off but in reality that is all they do - you still need to get all the papers and the stamps.
You cannot complain until 6 months have passed.
When I contacted my MP after 6 months + 2 weeks wait and he said he would have a go at the HO, the visa turned up by private courier within 48 hours.
Be patient, be as calm as you can be. It won't be an easy ride but you will get there.
Take a look at the fiance visa!
OP, I have just been through this for my wife, it was easier than some of the other respondents have suggested, but you do indeed need to submit plenty of documentation.
I used an agent called Immigration Advice Service and would highly recommend them. If you want an intro send me a PM and I will send you the details of the lawyer who helped us.
You do have to submit plenty of information but it was straightforward, even with a complication that my wife had with her passport.
Just follow all the requirements and give what they ask. I just used downloaded pdf bank statements from hsbc, pdf pay slips, copy of my house purchase info in the UK, proof of UK employment, photos of my wife and I in various countries around the world together with identifiable landmarks (London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Thailand) which showed proof of relationship, wedding certificate, photos of us with my mother .... all of that kind of stuff.
I wouldn’t stress about it, just follow the process and as long as it’s a genuine relationship you will be fine. The gov website is not as clear as it could be, the lawyer knew the process well and without her I would have sent some of the wrong paperwork for sure. Price was about £3,500 for the lawyer (inc the application fee) and about another £1,200 for the NHS surcharge. Something like that, I don’t remember exactly.
Good luck - and shout if I can be of any assistance at all.
I used an agent called Immigration Advice Service and would highly recommend them. If you want an intro send me a PM and I will send you the details of the lawyer who helped us.
You do have to submit plenty of information but it was straightforward, even with a complication that my wife had with her passport.
Just follow all the requirements and give what they ask. I just used downloaded pdf bank statements from hsbc, pdf pay slips, copy of my house purchase info in the UK, proof of UK employment, photos of my wife and I in various countries around the world together with identifiable landmarks (London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Thailand) which showed proof of relationship, wedding certificate, photos of us with my mother .... all of that kind of stuff.
I wouldn’t stress about it, just follow the process and as long as it’s a genuine relationship you will be fine. The gov website is not as clear as it could be, the lawyer knew the process well and without her I would have sent some of the wrong paperwork for sure. Price was about £3,500 for the lawyer (inc the application fee) and about another £1,200 for the NHS surcharge. Something like that, I don’t remember exactly.
Good luck - and shout if I can be of any assistance at all.
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the input and may reach out to a couple of you when I begin the process. Looks like a few of you who did this used Solicitors, I would prefer to save £3-5k but if it makes a difference would be happy to go down this route.
I am interested in the comments by Jondude about finance Visa. Previously I thought this process would be more complicated as it would require 2 applications, but possibly would be easier & quickly to get the spouse Visa?? My finance could potentially apply now whilst she is in US, we wont be seeing each other until January due to work/pandemic restrictions
We have no restrictions on where we get married (UK or US), goal is for her to be here by middle of next year if possible as she will leave her current NYC apartment then. We are prepared to do whatever is fastest, least stressful and most likely to be approved to achieve this.
Any other thoughts on marrying in US vs UK?
I am interested in the comments by Jondude about finance Visa. Previously I thought this process would be more complicated as it would require 2 applications, but possibly would be easier & quickly to get the spouse Visa?? My finance could potentially apply now whilst she is in US, we wont be seeing each other until January due to work/pandemic restrictions
We have no restrictions on where we get married (UK or US), goal is for her to be here by middle of next year if possible as she will leave her current NYC apartment then. We are prepared to do whatever is fastest, least stressful and most likely to be approved to achieve this.
Any other thoughts on marrying in US vs UK?
You need to check what visa you are referring to, i don't think there is a "spouse visa" in the UK
We did visa's for my wife last year and she has a settlement visa through spousal sponsorship.
as others have mentioned, we used a firm of immigration lawyers to do ours (also happy to recommend them) as after doing a lot of research it became apparent that many people were declined simply through not getting the documentation exactly right.
Snapshot of the requirements were along the lines of
the application will have to be done from overseas in a country that your wife is resident in (so the USA) and will have to stay there until the application is approved.
the whole process for us cost about 4k (visa fee, NHS top-up, Immigration Lawyers Fees, VFS fees, etc) and about another 4k in flights, hotels etc
We did visa's for my wife last year and she has a settlement visa through spousal sponsorship.
as others have mentioned, we used a firm of immigration lawyers to do ours (also happy to recommend them) as after doing a lot of research it became apparent that many people were declined simply through not getting the documentation exactly right.
Snapshot of the requirements were along the lines of
- need to be married already.
- need to be able to show 2 years of relationship together (shared bills, holidays together, photographs, etc etc)
- need to show 6 months payslips above (i think) 18k pa after tax or 65k cash in bank for 6 months
- need to have a UK address that you will reside in. (show that you have a home here)
the application will have to be done from overseas in a country that your wife is resident in (so the USA) and will have to stay there until the application is approved.
the whole process for us cost about 4k (visa fee, NHS top-up, Immigration Lawyers Fees, VFS fees, etc) and about another 4k in flights, hotels etc
matt21 said:
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the input and may reach out to a couple of you when I begin the process. Looks like a few of you who did this used Solicitors, I would prefer to save £3-5k but if it makes a difference would be happy to go down this route.
An imigration lawyers firm costs between 1k and 1.5k from the research i did. My wife is American and moved here in 2009 with a 6 month fiancé visa. Main downside is that she couldn't work with this visa status.
After marriage we got a spousal visa (2 yrs from memory - this allowed her to work) followed by IDL. Kept IDL up until about a year ago, when various circumstances made it advantageous to get a British one.
Each step of the process was a relatively simple case of form filling and getting documentation together and following the process. Never felt that we needed additional advice - it's all there on the gov website and our circumstances were straight forward. If you're not a fan of filling out forms, then probably best to get paid help.
Note - apart from the recent citizenship most of this was ~10 years ago, so may have changed.
After marriage we got a spousal visa (2 yrs from memory - this allowed her to work) followed by IDL. Kept IDL up until about a year ago, when various circumstances made it advantageous to get a British one.
Each step of the process was a relatively simple case of form filling and getting documentation together and following the process. Never felt that we needed additional advice - it's all there on the gov website and our circumstances were straight forward. If you're not a fan of filling out forms, then probably best to get paid help.
Note - apart from the recent citizenship most of this was ~10 years ago, so may have changed.
This is a bit of a ramble because maybe you need two visas, one to enter to get married and one to stay after or at least one visa that allows both.
Marrying your foreign born fiancée in the UK is not the same as brining you foreign born wife to live in the UK.
I've done both. We got married in Aberdeen in 2005, we then 'moved to the UK' in 2012 and left again in 2014. You need to be aware that there are residency requirements in the first two years, and if you don't meet them you wont get the extension. so no long trips back. That's why we 'left' after two years, we didn't spend enough time in the UK to get the extension so we left and will reapply if we return.
Just follow the on line application. it's easy if you qualify. Basically a place to live, a job or income, (it was 18K per annum when I applied for my wife, more if there are kids), or 60K in the bank.
You don't need specialist advice, acutely I found the worst part was getting the extension after 2 years, I remember going to Croydon and queuing for hours.
I've been married twice and got a visa for both wives, both they and I have left the UK and let the visas expire.
I'll repeat you don't need expensive advice But make sure you can prove she is outside the UK at the time you apply, they are hot on that.
Only issue we had was my wife bought a house in the UK for cash, no mortgage and no rental agreement, for some reason they only proof of having a home they wanted to accept was a mortgage or lease in my name. in the end they accepted the deeds in her name. but it was a problem as there was no box to tick for her owning the house. I suspect this is to stop people living with the in-laws.
If you are overseas with her then you need a job offer in the UK, the foreign job wont work. You don't need to take the job up when you arrive.
You also need proof of marriage or intent to marry, and if you've been living overseas proof you lived 'together'. A USA wedding cert wont be an issue, but we choose to marry in the UK as I didn't want a foreign one as they are more open to being questioned in the future, so my advice is don't marry on a holiday to Bermuda.
If she is your fiancée at the time of entry, then you need an entry visa that allows you to get married. The problem her is you need to have a date confirmed with the registrar when you apply for the visa, but the registrar needs the visa to give you a date (catch 22). I had along telephone conversation with he registrar in Aberdeen and he agreed to give me a date, if I paid the deposit, on the understanding that the deposit was lost if I didn't get the visa.
The Blair government changed a lot of things to stop arranged marriage so you cant come on holiday, marry and stay. From the title I'm not sure if you need a spouse visa to stay, or a Fiancée visa to get married.
I don't want to say more in a public forum but if you PM me I'll discuss the issues we faced on the solutions. But the easy way is 60K in cash in a UK bank.
Marrying your foreign born fiancée in the UK is not the same as brining you foreign born wife to live in the UK.
I've done both. We got married in Aberdeen in 2005, we then 'moved to the UK' in 2012 and left again in 2014. You need to be aware that there are residency requirements in the first two years, and if you don't meet them you wont get the extension. so no long trips back. That's why we 'left' after two years, we didn't spend enough time in the UK to get the extension so we left and will reapply if we return.
Just follow the on line application. it's easy if you qualify. Basically a place to live, a job or income, (it was 18K per annum when I applied for my wife, more if there are kids), or 60K in the bank.
You don't need specialist advice, acutely I found the worst part was getting the extension after 2 years, I remember going to Croydon and queuing for hours.
I've been married twice and got a visa for both wives, both they and I have left the UK and let the visas expire.
I'll repeat you don't need expensive advice But make sure you can prove she is outside the UK at the time you apply, they are hot on that.
Only issue we had was my wife bought a house in the UK for cash, no mortgage and no rental agreement, for some reason they only proof of having a home they wanted to accept was a mortgage or lease in my name. in the end they accepted the deeds in her name. but it was a problem as there was no box to tick for her owning the house. I suspect this is to stop people living with the in-laws.
If you are overseas with her then you need a job offer in the UK, the foreign job wont work. You don't need to take the job up when you arrive.
You also need proof of marriage or intent to marry, and if you've been living overseas proof you lived 'together'. A USA wedding cert wont be an issue, but we choose to marry in the UK as I didn't want a foreign one as they are more open to being questioned in the future, so my advice is don't marry on a holiday to Bermuda.
If she is your fiancée at the time of entry, then you need an entry visa that allows you to get married. The problem her is you need to have a date confirmed with the registrar when you apply for the visa, but the registrar needs the visa to give you a date (catch 22). I had along telephone conversation with he registrar in Aberdeen and he agreed to give me a date, if I paid the deposit, on the understanding that the deposit was lost if I didn't get the visa.
The Blair government changed a lot of things to stop arranged marriage so you cant come on holiday, marry and stay. From the title I'm not sure if you need a spouse visa to stay, or a Fiancée visa to get married.
I don't want to say more in a public forum but if you PM me I'll discuss the issues we faced on the solutions. But the easy way is 60K in cash in a UK bank.
RE some of teh other posters who have done this a while ago (like Berw, i have done this twice once about 15 years ago and once last year), it used to be a very manual process with queueing up in Croydon to be told "no" many times.
Now the process is 100% online, and its all multiple choice form filling, but as has been pointed out on many a forum, the instructions can be quite vague / inaccurate and the online support is the only help you get. unless your situation is 100% clear cut be warned, again as mentioned, if your application is unsuccessful you have to wait 6 months before you can apply for any visa. (a tip here is get a 2 year multi entry tourist visa so that you have a backup plan if going down this route, as the 6 month freeze applies to any visa type)
https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration
Now the process is 100% online, and its all multiple choice form filling, but as has been pointed out on many a forum, the instructions can be quite vague / inaccurate and the online support is the only help you get. unless your situation is 100% clear cut be warned, again as mentioned, if your application is unsuccessful you have to wait 6 months before you can apply for any visa. (a tip here is get a 2 year multi entry tourist visa so that you have a backup plan if going down this route, as the 6 month freeze applies to any visa type)
https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration
XJSJohn said:
the spouse visa nowadays is only a long stay tourist visa, (up to 2 years and you have to exit every 6 months), this is part of the "family in UK" visa group.
This isn’t the case. The spouse gets an initial 33 month settlement visa and can leave and re-enter the country and often or as infrequently as they like, though will want to prove that they have settled here when it comes to extending it.It also confers the right to work. The NHS immigrant surcharge confers all rights to treatment.
My wife is in this initial 33 month stage, is a UK employee with an NI number and a tax account and has had the full NHS maternity treatment leading up to the birth of our son. Next year we will apply for the 27 month extension and after 60 months she can apply for indefinite leave to remain and a passport 12 months later. Her daughter is a full time pupil at the local state academy school. You can’t do any of this on a glorified tourist visa.
Edited by theboss on Friday 20th November 08:50
theboss said:
XJSJohn said:
the spouse visa nowadays is only a long stay tourist visa, (up to 2 years and you have to exit every 6 months), this is part of the "family in UK" visa group.
This isn’t the case. The spouse gets an initial 33 month settlement visa and can leave and re-enter the country and often or as infrequently as they like, though will want to prove that they have settled here when it comes to extending it.It also confers the right to work. The NHS immigrant surcharge confers all rights to treatment.
My wife is in this initial 33 month stage, is a UK employee with an NI number and a tax account and has had the full NHS maternity treatment leading up to the birth of our son. Next year we will apply for the 27 month extension and after 60 months she can apply for indefinite leave to remain and a passport 12 months later. Her daughter is a full time pupil at the local state academy school. You can’t do any of this on a glorified tourist visa.
Edited by theboss on Friday 20th November 08:50
however the "right to remain" visa seems to be basically the same as yours, 30 months, then renew, then 30 months then apply for citizenship.
there is a caveat that you are supposed to demonstrate that you spent at least 50% of each calendar year in the UK in order to renew and then go for citizenship
Outcome of this for teh OP - it seems that the rules change quite quickly these days, so watch out.
edit to add, wife's visa was issued 14 months ago.
XJSJohn said:
it seems the rules change quite fast - when we applied, the visa name for what you have described was a "right to remain". the "spouse" visa was a long stay visa that did not have any right to work or citizenship.
however the "right to remain" visa seems to be basically the same as yours, 30 months, then renew, then 30 months then apply for citizenship.
there is a caveat that you are supposed to demonstrate that you spent at least 50% of each calendar year in the UK in order to renew and then go for citizenship
Outcome of this for teh OP - it seems that the rules change quite quickly these days, so watch out.
edit to add, wife's visa was issued 14 months ago.
That's odd as mine was issued early last year and it sounds like we've had totally different experiences.however the "right to remain" visa seems to be basically the same as yours, 30 months, then renew, then 30 months then apply for citizenship.
there is a caveat that you are supposed to demonstrate that you spent at least 50% of each calendar year in the UK in order to renew and then go for citizenship
Outcome of this for teh OP - it seems that the rules change quite quickly these days, so watch out.
edit to add, wife's visa was issued 14 months ago.
The amount of time spent in the UK is certainly important. I have to emphasise this for my stepdaughter who wants to spend every possible moment outside school term time in her home country with family/friends.
theboss said:
That's odd as mine was issued early last year and it sounds like we've had totally different experiences.
The amount of time spent in the UK is certainly important. I have to emphasise this for my stepdaughter who wants to spend every possible moment outside school term time in her home country with family/friends.
It about sums up the Visa service here, made even worse for having to go through teh clowns at VFS too ... The amount of time spent in the UK is certainly important. I have to emphasise this for my stepdaughter who wants to spend every possible moment outside school term time in her home country with family/friends.
As you say, we have also been told that making sure that you keep the "time spent in country" above the threshold is important.
matt21 said:
Thanks everyone, really appreciate the input and may reach out to a couple of you when I begin the process. Looks like a few of you who did this used Solicitors, I would prefer to save £3-5k but if it makes a difference would be happy to go down this route.
I am interested in the comments by Jondude about finance Visa. Previously I thought this process would be more complicated as it would require 2 applications, but possibly would be easier & quickly to get the spouse Visa?? My finance could potentially apply now whilst she is in US, we wont be seeing each other until January due to work/pandemic restrictions
We have no restrictions on where we get married (UK or US), goal is for her to be here by middle of next year if possible as she will leave her current NYC apartment then. We are prepared to do whatever is fastest, least stressful and most likely to be approved to achieve this.
Any other thoughts on marrying in US vs UK?
HI, it wasn't 3-5k for the lawyer, that was for everything, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but the NHS charge was around 1200, the lawyer 1500 and the application fee another 1500, so it was about 4,500 for everything. The visa and NHS fees are compulsory.I am interested in the comments by Jondude about finance Visa. Previously I thought this process would be more complicated as it would require 2 applications, but possibly would be easier & quickly to get the spouse Visa?? My finance could potentially apply now whilst she is in US, we wont be seeing each other until January due to work/pandemic restrictions
We have no restrictions on where we get married (UK or US), goal is for her to be here by middle of next year if possible as she will leave her current NYC apartment then. We are prepared to do whatever is fastest, least stressful and most likely to be approved to achieve this.
Any other thoughts on marrying in US vs UK?
Guys, big thank you for your help. Definitely leaning towards a lawyer to increase the likelihood of getting the Visa.
As we can marry wherever, still not sure whether to go for finance visa and marry here, or marry in NYC then spouse visa. Whatever is most likely to get us the Visa for her to stay 😊
Also, does anyone know whether she can work for a US company whilst the visa application is in flight?
As we can marry wherever, still not sure whether to go for finance visa and marry here, or marry in NYC then spouse visa. Whatever is most likely to get us the Visa for her to stay 😊
Also, does anyone know whether she can work for a US company whilst the visa application is in flight?
Just to add our experience.
We read online that the spouse visa was hard work (And I don't believe we met all of the requirements) so went the fiance/marriage visa route as we weren't in a great rush, we'd known each other since 2012 anyhow. IIRC the spouse visa had to show that you'd lived together for 2 years already, and we hadn't. Check on that under the requirements - https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse However if you get married in the USA it appears you'd meet the requirements for the spouse visa.
We applied for a Fiance visa early in 2018. https://www.gov.uk/marriage-visa It was only £95. We attached all the whatsapp chats, photos of us, even flight tickets and my/her passport stamps showing visits to each country and then common places together. Even though it is completely legitimate it was still anxious times waiting for a reply. I'm a bit simple, and some of the questions didn't make sense, but simply googling the name of the form and the question number found me lots of forum posts and advice.
It was granted and she came over in July 2018, we marched off to the registry office and made an application to get married a month or two later, they did the normal interviews to make sure it wasn't a scam etc but that went fine.
When she came to England on the marriage visa we immediately got her a UK bank account (Lloyds gave us one easily enough with her visa) got her on the council tax and on the utility bills. This was important for later.
Got married in the August. Although it doesn't look like it on the marriage visa, you can change/apply for a FLR visa - https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa .So we prepared the other documents for this. We attached all the proof of us living together (Bills/bank statement/council tax from earlier) and the other stuff, quite straight forward. Submitted in Nov and had the Leave To Remain Visa granted in January. Technically the fiance visa is 6 months, so expired in December, but if you have another visa application in progress then you're legitimately allowed to stay in the UK)
Cost wise, this visa was £1033 and then you pay the NHS Surcharge a set amount based on the number of months of the visa (30 months in our case). At the time it was about £700 but it's just gone up (Dramatically) She was given a 30 month leave to remain visa (Allowed to work, no access to public funds)
In 2021 July we need to extend this for another 30 months. I believe it's the same process as the original application almost. Another £1033 for the VISA and sadly this time it's about £1550 for the NHS Surcharge (There's a calculator on the GOV website to work it out) that gives us another 30 months.
After the next 30 months we can apply for ILR visa (Indefinite leave to remain) as she'll have been in the UK for 5 years. A measly £2,389, ouch. I don't know if there's a NHS Surcharge this time, I don't think to. There are some requirements to time spent in the UK, but as long as you have "normal" holidays abroad and she doesn't go back home for months on end, then you'll meet these fine.
Finally anytime after the 5 years she can apply for citizenship, (As long as she meets a few requirements which are easy)
Would I pay someone to do it? Probably not, although it took a few nights of reading and preparing information, if it's completely legitimate then you have nothing to worry about. At least that's my opinion. Hope this helps.
We read online that the spouse visa was hard work (And I don't believe we met all of the requirements) so went the fiance/marriage visa route as we weren't in a great rush, we'd known each other since 2012 anyhow. IIRC the spouse visa had to show that you'd lived together for 2 years already, and we hadn't. Check on that under the requirements - https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/partner-spouse However if you get married in the USA it appears you'd meet the requirements for the spouse visa.
We applied for a Fiance visa early in 2018. https://www.gov.uk/marriage-visa It was only £95. We attached all the whatsapp chats, photos of us, even flight tickets and my/her passport stamps showing visits to each country and then common places together. Even though it is completely legitimate it was still anxious times waiting for a reply. I'm a bit simple, and some of the questions didn't make sense, but simply googling the name of the form and the question number found me lots of forum posts and advice.
It was granted and she came over in July 2018, we marched off to the registry office and made an application to get married a month or two later, they did the normal interviews to make sure it wasn't a scam etc but that went fine.
When she came to England on the marriage visa we immediately got her a UK bank account (Lloyds gave us one easily enough with her visa) got her on the council tax and on the utility bills. This was important for later.
Got married in the August. Although it doesn't look like it on the marriage visa, you can change/apply for a FLR visa - https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa .So we prepared the other documents for this. We attached all the proof of us living together (Bills/bank statement/council tax from earlier) and the other stuff, quite straight forward. Submitted in Nov and had the Leave To Remain Visa granted in January. Technically the fiance visa is 6 months, so expired in December, but if you have another visa application in progress then you're legitimately allowed to stay in the UK)
Cost wise, this visa was £1033 and then you pay the NHS Surcharge a set amount based on the number of months of the visa (30 months in our case). At the time it was about £700 but it's just gone up (Dramatically) She was given a 30 month leave to remain visa (Allowed to work, no access to public funds)
In 2021 July we need to extend this for another 30 months. I believe it's the same process as the original application almost. Another £1033 for the VISA and sadly this time it's about £1550 for the NHS Surcharge (There's a calculator on the GOV website to work it out) that gives us another 30 months.
After the next 30 months we can apply for ILR visa (Indefinite leave to remain) as she'll have been in the UK for 5 years. A measly £2,389, ouch. I don't know if there's a NHS Surcharge this time, I don't think to. There are some requirements to time spent in the UK, but as long as you have "normal" holidays abroad and she doesn't go back home for months on end, then you'll meet these fine.
Finally anytime after the 5 years she can apply for citizenship, (As long as she meets a few requirements which are easy)
Would I pay someone to do it? Probably not, although it took a few nights of reading and preparing information, if it's completely legitimate then you have nothing to worry about. At least that's my opinion. Hope this helps.
Thank you for the reply. The more I think about it the more I’m leaning towards a fiancé visa now.
My latest thinking - she comes and visits as planned in January and we prepare everything together. She submits the application from USA in Feb and hopefully be over by late Spring. We can then marry Summer/Autumn and apply for a spouse visa
Couple of questions.....
1. I assume you have to apply for a finance visa from her home country (ie USA not U.K.)
2. Can she work for a US company whilst the finance visa is in progress?
Thanks again for everyone’s advice
My latest thinking - she comes and visits as planned in January and we prepare everything together. She submits the application from USA in Feb and hopefully be over by late Spring. We can then marry Summer/Autumn and apply for a spouse visa
Couple of questions.....
1. I assume you have to apply for a finance visa from her home country (ie USA not U.K.)
2. Can she work for a US company whilst the finance visa is in progress?
Thanks again for everyone’s advice
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff