Timelines: Biometric appointments for BRP(RC) (Name change)

Post by **Greenie** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:12 pm

afcdon83 wrote:The caseworker is lying to you. Let me tell you why. If they did send you a letter to do biometrics, you would have 15 days to book an appointment (no necessarily do the appointment). Now, if the letter had been sent then that 15 days would surely have lapsed and UKBA (not the caseworker) would have sent you a warning letter and then after that they would withdraw your application. Since you never received a warning letter or a withdrawal letter, it is absolutely clear the caseworker forgot to send you the letter and is trying to cover his/her back. Very very cheeky!!

- it is perfectly possible for letters to get lost in the post even if you have recieved others. It is also possible that if an applicant calls to chase the application they will extend the time to give biometrics and resend the letter if they did not recieve it.

I understand you are frustrated at the delay but you are coming across a bit paranoid.

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:57 pm

Greenie I understand exactly what you're saying, maybe I am sounding paranoid. However, if you were waiting over 6 weeks since biometrics for documents back (and maybe in the past you have), would it not cross your mind even slightly that maybe the caseworker has not looked your application or the application may have been lost?

Clearly you are very knowledgable on this forum, so I do seek your guidance/thoughts. From your experience, at what point would you consider it unusual length of time from submitting biometrics to get documents back in BRP(RC) application? I would have thought that line has crossed once 6 weeks have elapsed

zaheeruk · Post by **zaheeruk** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:57 pm

The reason we feel frustrated/paranoid/whatever anyone feel is that we have sent our original passport and not having any information on where is it willmake you feel frustrated/paranoid. In my case, it is clear that the caseworker missed out. How come I get all other letters but tow letters from UKBA have missed out. Moreover the caseworker called me on my cell today so if there letters did not reach me, he could have called me before. Why only after I was able to reach the customer service.

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:59 pm

zaheeruk wrote:The reason we feel frustrated/paranoid/whatever anyone feel is that we have sent our original passport and not having any information on where is it willmake you feel frustrated/paranoid. In my case, it is clear that the caseworker missed out. How come I get all other letters but tow letters from UKBA have missed out. Moreover the caseworker called me on my cell today so if there letters did not reach me, he could have called me before. Why only after I was able to reach the customer service.

EXACTLY!!! Hence I made the comment about the caseworker covering their back. Only once they had their arm pulled from a UKBA rep did they feel obliged to respond and take action

zaheeruk · Post by **zaheeruk** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 5:14 pm

My problem is assuming I get the letter(fingers crossed), it will still take me another 6 weeks to get my card and passport. I have no proof that the caseworker messed up. I dont think there is any use registering a complaint.

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 5:17 pm

I won't be surprised if you get it before 6 weeks. I was initially told 4 to 6 weeks max by UKBA

zaheeruk · Post by **zaheeruk** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 5:18 pm

In my experience and reading all the blogs, I can't trust UKBA's estimated time.

Post by **Greenie** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 5:39 pm

afcdon83 wrote:Greenie I understand exactly what you're saying, maybe I am sounding paranoid. However, if you were waiting over 6 weeks since biometrics for documents back (and maybe in the past you have), would it not cross your mind even slightly that maybe the caseworker has not looked your application or the application may have been lost?

Clearly you are very knowledgable on this forum, so I do seek your guidance/thoughts. From your experience, at what point would you consider it unusual length of time from submitting biometrics to get documents back in BRP(RC) application? I would have thought that line has crossed once 6 weeks have elapsed

Processing times of over 6 weeks seem standard at the moment. If it took more than 14 then I would suggest complaining at that point.

I think it is more likely that a caseworker has not looked at the application substantively rather than that the documents have been lost - as you can see from the numerous other posts about BRP(RC) applications - it is not unusal to wait more than 6 weeks at the moment. Given that most BRP(RC) applications should be straightforward, once the caseworker gets round to looking at the application - a decision should be made. It seems clear that the UKBA have backlogs across most types of applications at the moment - and hence all applications are taking longer than usual and this includes BRP(RC) applications.

zaheeruk - it seems the fact that you contacted the UKBA brought to their attention that you had not recieved the letter - hence that's why they called you when they did - I think the fact that they have called you is a positive thing - it clearly means your application is not lost - not that that reassures you about the processing time but it is clear that your application is with a casework team

zaheeruk · Post by **zaheeruk** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:37 am

@Greenie
Problem is that they waited till I called to react.Ihave been trying to call them for almost 3 weeks and it was only yesterday that I was able to reach them. It would have remained dormant if i would have been unable to reach them on phone. In this timeframe I might have completed my biometrics and maybe got my documents to go to India. I have not been able to visit India for a personal emergency due to this.

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 3:30 pm

I spoke to UKBA a moment ago and the lady said to me it is extremely unusual for BRP(RC) to exceed 6 weeks. She said she is not aware of any back log and that they are not so unusually busy that the BRP(RC) should exceed 6 weeks. Having said that, she wouldn't go further to confirmed what's happened with my application.

Post by **Greenie** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 3:32 pm

afcdon83 wrote:I spoke to UKBA a moment ago and the lady said to me it is extremely unusual for BRP(RC) to exceed 6 weeks. She said she is not aware of any back log and that they are not so unusually busy that the BRP(RC) should exceed 6 weeks. Having said that, she wouldn't go further to confirmed what's happened with my application.

it obviously is usual at the moment given the number of people on this forum alone who are experiencing delays of over 6 weeks. perhaps the person you spoke to has not been told that there is a backlog - but it seems evident that there is one.

zaheeruk · Post by **zaheeruk** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:24 pm

I think the logic could be this..The backlog is not specific to any particular category. The backlog is for all the applications. When I applied for a visa extension in October, I only got my documents in first week of January. The reason for the delay was it was christmas and new year break. So what could have happened is that the backlog continued from december and applications kept on coming in through january, february etc. Then we had the easter break. I guess the trend will be the same at the beginning and end of each year

Post by **Greenie** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:37 pm

zaheeruk wrote:I think the logic could be this..The backlog is not specific to any particular category. The backlog is for all the applications. When I applied for a visa extension in October, I only got my documents in first week of January. The reason for the delay was it was christmas and new year break. So what could have happened is that the backlog continued from december and applications kept on coming in through january, february etc. Then we had the easter break. I guess the trend will be the same at the beginning and end of each year

there are backlogs all around due to the fact that the fees were due to increase in April and in addition people anticipated changes to the rules so rushed to make applications before these changes took place. As a result there are delays in general in most if not all categories.

zaheeruk · Post by **zaheeruk** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:41 pm

@Greenie: Good point. Well i will continue my waiting game

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 5:02 pm

I called up UKBA again about half hour ago and the lady I spoke to said yes while there has been a surge in applications in Tier 1 and Tier 2 for a number of reasons, BRP(RC) should not have been impacted since the fees have remained at £37 and there is no increase and those applications are dealt with by a separate workflow team. She said 65% in 4 weeks is their current standard

Post by **Greenie** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 5:08 pm

afcdon83 wrote:I called up UKBA again about half hour ago and the lady I spoke to said yes while there has been a surge in applications in Tier 1 and Tier 2 for a number of reasons, BRP(RC) should not have been impacted since the fees have remained at £37 and there is no increase and those applications are dealt with by a separate workflow team. She said 65% in 4 weeks is their current standard

yes but often what happens where they have increases in other areas is that people get pulled from the workflow team to deal with applications in busier areas. I may be wrong but it does seem like a strange coincidence that BRP(RC) applications are experience delays at the same time as other applications

plantagenetgirlchild · Post by **plantagenetgirlchild** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 6:04 pm

I have now waited four weeks since I gave my biometrics, and am just hoping that I am nearing the end of the wait! It is annoying not to be able to leave the country, but luckily in my case I don't need to (I know other people do have reasons why they need to go abroad), but it is also really annoying as they have almost all my id in my married name (I have my NHS card in my married name) and I can't change the rest of the things I need to change until I get my docs back! So frustrating.

But at least with these forums I know it isn't just me

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:06 pm

i've been saying to myself every day that the end is near, but it's been 32 working days now since biometrics (more than 6 weeks). I haven't seen anyone else on this forum waiting longer since biometrics so I can't even make comparisons.

Further to Greenie's comment, I fear they have removed all caseworkers from the BRP(RC) team and allocated them to other teams.

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 10:25 pm

I have news!!!!

I haven't received any documents yet but the Royal Mail website track page is showing the following message (since I provided a special delivery envelope)

"We have received your item and expect to deliver it before the guaranteed time on 12/04/12. If you have purchased Saturday guarantee, your delivery will be guaranteed on Saturday
To check on your item’s progress, please try again later."

Now I'm just praying everything has been processed correctly.......

Post by **Greenie** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 10:40 pm

afcdon83 wrote:i've been saying to myself every day that the end is near, but it's been 32 working days now since biometrics (more than 6 weeks). I haven't seen anyone else on this forum waiting longer since biometrics so I can't even make comparisons.

Further to Greenie's comment, I fear they have removed all caseworkers from the BRP(RC) team and allocated them to other teams.

I wouldn't go that far - it's clear applications are still being processed just more slowly than usual.

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:43 am

Update:

Date Application submitted: 19 Jan 2012

Date Biometrics submitted: 23 Feb 2012

Date documents returned: 12 Apr 2012 (33 working days since biometrics)

Date BRP received: Waiting

zaheeruk · Post by **zaheeruk** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 2:39 pm

@afcdon83
where did you give your biometrics: Post office or UKBA office. Can I take a special delivery envelope when I submit at a post office.

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 3:53 pm

Biometrics done at post office. Can't take special delivery envelope, it would have had to have been enclosed in original application

afcdon83 · Post by **afcdon83** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 4:29 pm

afcdon83 wrote:Update:

Date Application submitted: 19 Jan 2012

Date Biometrics submitted: 23 Feb 2012

Date documents returned: 12 Apr 2012 (33 working days since biometrics)

Date BRP received: Waiting

Date BRP received: 13 Apr 2012

zaheeruk · Post by **zaheeruk** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:02 pm

congrats..

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Timelines: Biometric appointments for BRP(RC) (Name change)