Applying for Spouse Visa from US

[mikaela]

I am an American who is marrying a British citizen. We will be married here in America in December and are planning on living in the UK.

I feel like I am going crazy looking at the UK Border website, the British Embassy in DC website and the WorldBridge website. It's all very vague or terribly circular.

Can someone tell me what I need to do to apply for a spouse visa to be able to settle in the UK? I am under the impression that this must be done here in the US before I go to the UK, but even that assumption could be incorrect.

Help?

[emilyjustmarried]

Hi Mikaela-

I'm a US citizen who just married a Brit and applied for a spouse visa and I know exactly what you mean about these horribly unhelpful websites! These were the steps I took to apply, once the marriage was complete:

1. Apply online at the ukvisa.gov.uk website (there's an 'apply online' link on the left). From the US, you can only apply for settlement visas online.
2. Once you've finished the application, you'll be prompted to set up an appointment to get fingerprinted at your nearest visa application center.
3. After you've been fingerprinted, you mail in all your supporting documents to whichever embassy handles your region of the US (they tell you that in the online application as well).
4. Wait for up to 12 weeks while they make a decision. This is where I'm at now- I've been waiting 8 weeks so far and still no word. Very frustrating!!

I hope that was helpful. Good luck!

[mikaela]

Thank you so much, Emily. That is exactly what I needed to know.

One other question, is there a list of what supporting documents I will need to send?

Congrats on getting married, and hang in there! Thanks again for being so clear and concise!!

[emilyjustmarried]

There's not one definite list online on what you have to include as documents. But you basically need to include enough to prove that:

1. you are legally married to each other or are in a civil partnership recognised in the UK
2. your husband, wife or civil partner is present and settled in the UK
3. you both intend to live together permanently as husband and wife or as civil partners
4. you have met each other before
5. you can support yourselves and any dependants without any help from public funds
6. you have suitable accommodation, which is owned or lived in only by you and your household, and where you and your dependants can live without any help from public funds
7. your husband, wife or civil partner is not under 21, and
8. you are not under 21.

So to satisfy that we included...
1. our marriage certificate
2. a certified copy of his passport (to show he's a UK citizen)
3. a copy of our rental agreement for our flat in the UK and electricity bills with both our names on them from that address
4. pictures of us together, electricity bills from our last flat together, a list of our travel history together, backed up by the stamps in our passport and statements from both of us detailing our relationship.
5. Original bank statements and a letter from his accountant projecting his yearly earnings (as he's self-employed)
6. A copy of our rental agreement and an 'entry clearance and inspection report' which basically says there's enough room for us to both live in our flat and it's in decent condition.
7 & 8 our bithdays on our passports, although I just saw something online about sending in birth certificates, which I didn't do.

Have a look around on all the websites and this board though for other suggestions- it seems to be that the more you include the better.

[sirpsychosexy]

Hi Emilyjustmarried, my name is Chris. Where in the US are you applying from? The reason for this, is that my wife has only just applied for Spousal Visa in Chicago. So is it there that 12 week waiting time is, or are you applying at LA or New York? We thought it would only take about 20 days or so, now i am hearing stories like yours of 12 weeks or more. Thanks in advance.

[emilyjustmarried]

Hi Chris-

I'm applying through the LA office. They sent me an email once my application had been opened (about a week after I mailed it in) telling me that the LA office is processing all settlement visas within 12 weeks. So I guess she should be receiving a similar email shortly, letting her know the Chicago office's processing times. Good luck!