Applying for UK Spouse visa from within the US

[henrymc]

Hi,

I'm a British citizen and live in the UK. I married my American girlfriend in the states 4 months ago and we are now ready to begin the UK spouse visa application process as i now have my own place and all of the required documents. My wife still lives in the states and i will be travelling there within a few weeks to begin the process.

My question is, i understand that i need to apply online at the ukvisas website, but is everything else carried out by mail/courier or will we be required to attend an interview? I'm just a little confused as i read somewhere that they do not carry out interviews for visas in the states anymore and all communication is carried out via mail/courier.

Is this true?

If it is true, does anyone have any idea as to how long i should expect to stay in the states to await our result?

Thanks in advance for any help

Henry

[yankeegirl]

My question is, i understand that i need to apply online at the ukvisas website

Just a wee point of clarification, your wife is the applicant, not you

So, you are correct in that the first thing to do is to complete the online application. Once that has been completed, it will prompt your wife to make an appointment to submit her biometric data at a USCIS center in her area. Once she has done that, all supporting documentation is to be sent to the appropriate consulate (LA, Chicago or NY depending on her state of residence). This can be done either by post or by courier. Courier is a bit quicker since they hand deliver the application in the morning and pick it up same day. Postal applications at the moment are taking a week or two to process.

The US consulates typically don't carry out interviews. I've seen on various forums once or twice where they have called the applicant when they needed clarification on something, but by and large it's a very straight-forward process.

[henrymc]

Haha yes, sorry, my wife will be the applicant

Thanks for the great info, it sounds like a relatively straight forward process, granted we provide all of the required documentation, which i'm confident we have. I will definitely use the courier service in that case.

Once again, thanks for the great information, put's my mind at ease somewhat!

Henry

[yankeegirl]

Check out the consulate website, they have a page that lists approved couriers and their phone numbers, so you can call around and get price quotes.

[henrymc]

Check out the consulate website, they have a page that lists approved couriers and their phone numbers, so you can call around and get price quotes.

Cheers mate, i'm doing that right now

It's the Los Angeles consulate that we'll be using, so i hope their isn't an interview as i wouldn't fancy a coach trip from Portland

[yankeegirl]

It's the Los Angeles consulate that we'll be using, so i hope their isn't an interview as i wouldn't fancy a coach trip from Portland

Lol! Nope, they don't do anything in-person anymore. You used to be able to go to the consulate in person with an appointment and get your visa straight away, but they changed all that Dec 2007. It's all done by mail now.

Good luck to you guys!

[henrymc]

It's the Los Angeles consulate that we'll be using, so i hope their isn't an interview as i wouldn't fancy a coach trip from Portland

Lol! Nope, they don't do anything in-person anymore. You used to be able to go to the consulate in person with an appointment and get your visa straight away, but they changed all that Dec 2007. It's all done by mail now.

Good luck to you guys!

Good to hear! Thanks very much for all the help