Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

Hi,

I am 6-9 months away from submitting spouse visa application for my wife - we live in USA, I'm a Brit she is not. Specifically for this post is there any preparation in advance i should or could be doing, materials i should be collecting. Unsure on if it will be savings or employment route.

-For example, would changing all the household bills into both our names be a good idea? I have already added her to my UK account (That was a bureaucratic nightmare!) where we already hold the minimum for savings route. This way i can start to build some material proving our relationship (we are married for 3 years anyway)

- Any other suggestions for what i can be working on over the coming months before i submit?


Much Appreciated
Richard.

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

Just regarding your second question, my wife (she is Chinese) and I had nothing at all in our joint names - not even one single document - and this did not stop her obtaining her spouse visa, so I wouldn't worry about this.

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

I guess make sure you got somewhere to live back at home. Otherwise it all seems pretty straight forward.

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

It essentially boils down to how you are going to meet the financial requirements. The employment route would require you to have a job offer in the UK. The savings route would require you to have sufficient cash savings held for at least six months unless they are proceeds from a property sale in which case the property needs to have been owned by you for at least six months.

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

Hi Richard, we are in a similar situation in that we're gathering things together for our application, also via the savings route. It is a bureaucratic nightmare as I'm sure others here can testify lol
My Canadian wife & I have been married for 17 years & living in Canada for almost all of that time, yet my biggest concern is presenting everything properly. I know we meet all of the requirements, however I fear very much getting rejected on a technicality e.g. forgetting some document or other, not showing enough evidence. Keeps me awake at night....

There are some very knowledgeable people here at BE, & I'm very grateful to be able to call on their wisdom & experience. Otherwise, I really don't think I'd be able to do it without a lawyer.

Good luck with everything! :thumbsup:

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

Thanks All, Yes Avon81 i agree, i could not even fathom trying this process on my own without all the help on this forum. Presenting the documents stresses me out also, i think i can gather the material without too much problem but how to organize it i will need to troll through the forum, good luck to you too!

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

We are here to help! Basically, there are three requirements you need to meet, financial, relationship and accommodation and you need to provide evidence of each with original documents unless they are certified. Your last bank statement has to be within 28 days of your application. Other documents should be as recent as possible. Present the documents in two piles, one of originals, the other, copies. Do not use staples, paper clips etc. When you are ready you can post a list of what you are submitting and we will have a look at it.

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

Richard,

Just wonder whether you applied for US citizenship yet? If you have any family members (for example children and grandchildren) staying in the US, then it may be worthwhile to have US citizenship so that you can visit them without too much problems.

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

Hi HKG3,

I have certainly considered this, i have a 2 year old who has US and UK citizenship and a Trinidadian wife. However that is the entirety of my family here , i would probably do that but i'd need to wait until 2020 to fulfill my 5 years on a green card. With the state of my industry (oil) right now i want to take the chance now to move on my own terms in case i get layed off in the next few years.
Cheers

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

Don't forget in sixteen years to tell your child, that they need to start filing US tax returns. :nod:

Re: Advance Preparation - Collecting material
 

Yes this is most definitely a down side to the dual citizenship!