First rejection upheld on review. 1 chance left. at wits end

[hamstand]

Hi there

Long time reader, first time poster....

An american friend of mine is applying for the HSMP. She is going through an immigration lawyer and they reviewed her case before it went off and said it looked totally fine and that she should have no problems - all her documents were in order (American degree, UK masters, 5 years senior level work experience, 2 years director level workexperience, all well documented etc etc).

In the meantime she looked for employment and managed to get 2 job offers, assuming she got the HSMP. Our lawyer then got the HO to put a rush on her app. 2 weeks later she got her first refusal for the following reasons (HO statements in bold our lawyer's responses start with #) b:

Academic Achievement
Client was awarded 15 points for her Bachelors, but the Masters was not accepted because it ‘did not clearly state that it had been awarded’.
#The transcript clearly says ‘Pass with Merit’ and Awarded on 01 November 2001


Work Experience
Didn't accept that she has had 5 years senior and 2 years director level experience

# 1st Reference (Dated January 1998 – 2000). Our client was Assistant Director for this organisation and managed Event Teams, Media relations. Her responsibility in this organisation was high profile and she was considered as an important spokesman for the company. If there is any question as to the size of the company, please note that the reference clearly states that there are 30 Offices internationally. Please treat this as senior

# 2nd Reference (Dated August 2002 - October 2003). In this instance, our client, as mentioned in the roles and responsibilities, was employed in a demanding job - managing large corporate clients and also had an active involvement with the marketing of the company. Our client also developed News releases and media pitches

# 3rd Reference (Dated October 2003 - ). As National Marketing and PR Director for this organisation I cannot see how her seniority can be questioned? She manages a staff of 50 and her responsibilities are clearly mentioned in the reference (' Writes all national marketing, fundraising and media outreach materials' and 'develops and manages national partnerships'). The reference also clearly states that she started on October 2003 and works to present date (which on the top of the letter is dated on May 26 2005)

Our lawyer wrote back with the answers above, stating that clearly this wasn't the case and that the refusal should be overturned. Now 3 weeks later the first refusal has been upheld. Even our lawyer finds this unbelievable. He has put it up for second review

My friend is at her wits end and is convinced that she isn't going to get the HSMP

1. Assuming our lawyer is correct in his evaluation of my friend's work experience, it beggars belief that they are failing her for their stated reasons. How can someone prove senior / director level experience any more than she has done, in line with the HO guidelines?

2. It is now going for second review - how likely is it to get accepted this time when it has already been rejected?

3. Is there any other course of action - can she speak directly to her caseworker even though it's going through a lawyer - it feels as though one less link in the communication chain might be worth a go....

she's getting desperate!!

thanks in advance for any help / advice.

[MWazir]

Sorry to hear about your friend and the distress she finds herself in. By the looks of it she sounds well qualified and one among the highly skilled people for whom HSMP is intended.

I understand that transcripts were submitted as evidence for the masters. What about the actual masters degree certificate? Was that submitted? Transcripts are not sufficent proof.

Many times the issue simply boils down to making the right kind of presentation and submitting supporting documents that make as much sense to the case worker as they do to you. Clearly, and twice in this case, the case worker does not agree with what you have submitted. I think in the event of a review an independent second case worker is assigned your case and they too concur with the intial assesment. Also note they will disregard any new information/documentation that you provide during the review and will only consider the intial set of documents.

My advise would be send in a new application and strongly consider the objections the case workers have raised. It may be that the reference letters dont have too much detail in them. She should request her previous employers to give her more detailed references. Consider submitting an organogram as a suppliment to the references you already have to help the case workers understand the specalist position that your friend is working in.

Also, consider applying directly to the HO instead of going through an immigration lawyer. The application itself is simple enough, and there are forums like these where a majority of the people have helped each other apply directly and successfully. IMHO, this forum has enough information, if you use the search facilities, to get answers to all your questions regarding HSMP.

Lastly, do read the HSMP case workers guidelines. They should give you an interesting insight to the way applications are considered.

http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/en ... dance.html?

Good luck!

[bani]

I agree with mwazir that your friend should ask for new employer letters, make them more detailed. They should mention the requirements for the position - graduate degree in what field and how many years experience, along with the daily responsibilities of the job. And an organogram or heirarchy chart is required for senior positions.

Also, send the original degree certificate since the wording of the transcript confused them.

This is something she can do herself instead of going through her lawyer.