Denise and Dan

Sorry if I have posted this in the wrong place, I am sure one of the moderators can move it if needed

Let me start by saying that I have thought long and hard about posting this, but you all seem a supportive bunch of people

Just to remind you I am a UKC and my wife is the USC. Denise moved over here UK last August on a finance's visa and we married in September 2011.

We applied for her leave to remain visa FLR-M in January 2012 and received a letter from the UK Border Agency asking her to do her Biometrics in February 2012. This was completed the same month.

Now just to put you in the picture, when you apply here in the Uk you need to send original documents not copies. These include Passports, decree absolute's and Birth certificates etc.

Just after we applied for the FLR-M visa we decided that we would have a better life living in the US

Following the completion of the Biometrics we were informed that we should receive the visa back within a few weeks .... WRONG

Here we are over 5 months and no sign of the visa When you call them you are informed " we can't look into this unless it's been 6 months "

What a very poor service

So what this boils down to is that we cannot proceed with the I-130 until we get our documents back

We were hoping to be able to move to Phoenix AZ by Christmas ... No chance now

Thank you for listening to our Woes of Waiting.

Dan & Denise

fatbrit

Don't see why you're waiting for the documents. Copies of birth certificates and court records can be reordered from their source. You can file the I-130 now.

jeffreyhy

Why not? I-130 does not require original supporting documents, in fact originals are discouraged. Submit photocopies.

Regards, JEff

Denise and Dan

We would but we don't have copies of Denise's Decree Absolute plus you need photo copies of your passport photo page and Denise would need a photo copy of her Finance's visa page and date of entry.

It's just so frustrating.

Noorah101

I agree with fatbrit and JEff. Lack of original documents shouldn't hold up the submittal of the I-130, as long as you have photocopies to submit.

Rene

Denise and Dan

I know we should have made copies before we sent the originals

Always better in hindsight

Sorry I just needed to get it off of my chest. As I said it has been so frustrating.

I did email a complaint to the UKBA, only took them a week and a half to acknowledge receipt of the email They said it could take up to 20 working days to get a reply hahahaha.

Thanks

Dan

fatbrit

A copy of the decree absolute can be obtained from the court where it was ordered.

The passport's trickier. I'd phone them and tell them you need it back now or Uncle Sam will be calling to ask what they are doing with HIS property.

One rule you may want to follow from now on: keep a copy of everything and anything to do with your immigration journey.

fatbrit

As I've said before on here, the only way you'll get an original of a birth certificate, marriage certificate or court order requires a sawn-off shotgun, a get-away Jag, and balls of steel.

jeffreyhy

Ahhh, then it's not the UK government's fault that you cannot submit an I-130 at the present time, it's your own.

As fatbrit wrote, getting a certified copy of the decree absolute should not be a problem. The passport is something else again.

Lesson learned, I presume?

Regards, JEff

Noorah101

As the others have said, and I cannot stress this enough:

Keep copies of ANYTHING and EVERYTHING you EVER send to Immigration...whether it be UK or US immigration.

Lesson learned here the hard way. If you immigrate to the USA, start at the very beginning with keeping a photocopy of every piece of paper and correspondence to and from any agency you deal with during the immigration process.

Rene

Denise and Dan

I know guy's that's why it's frustrating. We only decided that living in the US would be better for us after we had applied for the FLR-M.

Yes I agree with all your comments, my gripe is with the UKBA who state that 75% of all applications will have been processed within 6 weeks of Biometrics being completed. To think that the application is just sitting on someone's desk being shuffled in a pile is very frustrating.

From now on COPY COPY COPY

Thanks for your ears

Marocco

There is probably a procedure in place at UKBA to return passports - people often need to travel at short notice. Everything else is a bit trickier. When my wife submitted the documents for her applications (first for her residence card, then for permanent residence) we didn't get them back. I'd recommend getting new documents.

SecretGarden

If I am understanding this correctly, Denise is the USC and has been divorced. In the US, the divorce decree is not awarded in two parts as in the UK (Nisi and Absolute) but simply in one document called the "Dissolution of Marriage". She can get this by contacting the County Recorders office of the county clerk's office in which she was divorced in the USA. So, that part shouldn't be a problem...

When I got my divorce, I requested about 20 copied of that document thinking I might need them someday. And as it turned out, I needed lots.
~SecretGarden

Denise and Dan

Thanks SecretGarden, we did think of requesting replacements.

Anyway it's all sorted now, Denise received her UK visa this week and we have now filed our I-130 in London

Dan

RICH

Well, you have not been around since I came back. I guess I have a clue what's been happening. Nice to see you. And-no particular reason why you will remember me