Should I go for PEO route?

[SpokenHands]

I intend to apply for ILR in Feb 2012 through the Solihull PEO which is nearest to my residence. Given the numerous incidents of decisions being deferred, I am writing to seek your opinion of whether I should go through PEO or postal route on the basis that:

1 I complete 5 years continuous stay and meet all criteria set out for ILR
2. No unpaid leave in 5 years certified by my employer (120 days of overseas absences in 5 years certified as business travel and paid annual vacation - no instance over 15 days)

however:

3. I was refused a Tier 1 extension in May 2009, had to make an overses application to switch to Tier 2, but following the pankina judgement, the tier 1 refusal was reconsidered favourably. I am now back on tier 1 and following intervention by my MP, have recd a letter from the UKBA that I have continuous stay for 5 years and that any gap overseas arising from the switching application has been regularised, that is, no gap in leave to remain. I intend to add thee UKBA documents to my application

So on balance this should be quite straightforward - and I would ordinarily have applied through the PEO route - as I need to travel on business at short notice and don't fancy having a 14 week process holding me back.

May I invite your opinions on whether I should go through PEO route? Or is there a high probability a decision will be deferred due to the UKBA letters, etc.

Thank you and wish you all compliments of the season and a happy, successful new year.

[hsmpengineer]

if like you just mentioned you actually have a homeoffice letter which clearly says you do not have any gaps in the qualifying period then i guess you have nothing to worry about on that front. Just take the letter with you to the PEO. just my 2 cents

[SpokenHands]

It took me 6 months and finally, intervention form my MP to get the UKBA to say in writing that there was no gap in leave to remain on account of this issue. That being said, I wonder if this is now a sufficiently 'straightforward' case for the PEO or will this need to be referred to senior etc for verification.

The UKBA letter in original is part of my application pack.

[tknayak]

It took me 6 months and finally, intervention form my MP to get the UKBA to say in writing that there was no gap in leave to remain on account of this issue. That being said, I wonder if this is now a sufficiently 'straightforward' case for the PEO or will this need to be referred to senior etc for verification.

The UKBA letter in original is part of my application pack.

From your description, the case looks straightforward. And it is always wise to apply through a PEO rather than postal, since four months without the passport may be too risky. I would always prefer to apply through the PEO. But in case you come across a very crazy caseworker, he/she may postpone granting you visa for a few days to complete all the verifications. In your case, the letter from the UKBA will play the most important role, and I would say you did a very good job in obtaining this letter.