UK Immigration Advice

April 19, 2005 8:33 AM

Okay, so it's been nearly 9 months since I saw my wife and we are still trying to sort out the visa and the work permit for her to come to England...

We were married on July 11th 2004 and I haven't seen her since - a number of factors has prevented me from getting any of this sorted but we are both going out of our minds. Our 1st wedding anniversary is 12 weeks away and I have a horrible feeling I won't see her at all until then. I have documents galore but I need solid, useful advice on getting this sorted as soon as possible, the IND are of no use whatsoever - MeFites - help me!

posted by longbaugh to law & government (9 comments total)

Where is she?
posted by iconomy at 8:47 AM on April 19, 2005

Can't believe I left all that out - she is in the USA, California to be exact. We've been "together" since late November/early December 2002, she lived with me in England for six months on a standard tourist visa about 18 months ago. We were married in the USA and now is the first time we've had enough stability in my life to actually make the application.
posted by longbaugh at 8:56 AM on April 19, 2005

fill in the documents.
iirc they were pretty clear. and in my experience uk immigration service is fast and friendly (assuming you're white, i guess). the only annoyance is that you need to physically go somewhere.
i'm not sure how you were expecting anything to happen without going through the procedure necessary. apologies if i've misunderstood (because this seems so weird that i'm thinking i probably have!)
posted by andrew cooke at 9:13 AM on April 19, 2005

She or you should contact the British consulate in LA. Information on the process here. By all reports, the British agencies are far easier to deal with than US INS/USCIS is.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:44 AM on April 19, 2005

YMMV but I've talked to a couple of immigration lawyers and both were happy to answer a few simple questions over the phone for which they did not bill me. It would also be worth trying the IND again, the usefulness of the answers you get depends on the person who answers the phone and you might be luckier next time.

I guess you have found the standard advice (which includes a link to the form you need) from www.ukvisas.gov.uk which includes the phone number for the Immigration Advisory Service which I guess might be worth a try as well.

Overall, it seems reasonably straightforward, unless you have complications that you haven't mentioned. Good luck!
posted by teleskiving at 9:50 AM on April 19, 2005

You might want to check out the forums at American Expats. There is a membership fee to access most of the site but the home office forum is free. People on the site are really helpful and I'm sure you'll get all the answers you need.

Good luck.
posted by gfrobe at 11:16 AM on April 19, 2005

If all else fails, don't forget the CAB
- they provide free info on all civil matters, and usually can access a free solicitor for those on low incomes. Local offices everywhere. Donations always welcome!
posted by dash_slot- at 2:56 PM on April 19, 2005

That sounds really strange. I've had far too much dealing with UK immigration and as I understand it, if you're married then they can't keep you apart. Something about it being against the European Declaration of Human Rights.

You haven't said what visa you're on (and that can be relevant), but I recommend contacting Global Visas. They were relatively expensive, but quick and have a no-visa-no-fee policy. Don't mess around, get professionals to do it. And don't waste time!. These things do take some time and you want to get them started as soon as possible. If I hadn't seen the love of my life for that long I'd be going quite batty...
posted by quiet at 5:44 PM on April 19, 2005

Thanks everyone - have finally got everything we need and will be posting it all to her tomorrow - with any luck I have been told the application may be completed with 4-6 weeks so we hopefully be together with a little bit of time to spare.

Will let you know how it goes through some unexplained phenomena when I have more news.

Thanks again guys, I miss her big time.
posted by longbaugh at 10:23 AM on April 21, 2005