Traceben

Did you all pay priority too

garyede

just received this email from my MP,s office.

Good Afternoon Mr Ede

Further to your correspondence with my colleague, xxxxxxxxx, who has since left the office of Andrew Jones MP, we received a phone call earlier from the Home Office. They confirmed that your daughter’s and wife’s applications have now been linked together and will be processed at the same time. They also confirmed that they are still within the 12 week limit. You should hear from the Home Office regarding the outcome in the coming weeks.

They are still within the 12 week limit! Really! Obviously the Home Office do not understand elementary mathematics. It has been exactly 17 weeks by my calculation!

garyede

PRIORITY OR NON PRIORITY

garyede

i have updated the survey on the timeline thread, i got 26 now, so nearly there and can start and examine the stats.

IKInd

All, given today it will be 106 working days, and well over 20 weeks.

I have changed my work since then moved to a different company and my wife TB certificate is also about to expire in few days.

Does these things matter?

garyede

No, as long as it was valid when the HO received your papers. You could be examined (if you receive the visa) by a medical official at the airport. I have heard of it but unlikely

PaManjang

Thanks Gary, top man 👌🏿🙌🏿

KernowIan

Hi Scouse. I complained to the home office complaints from my own email. 4 weeks later I got a canned response from Sheffield saying cannot discuss my wife's case with me due to data protection act. Next day canned response from home office saying my complaint now addressed and dealt with.

Essentially your wife needs to write a letter giving her consent for you to make enquiries on her behalf.

Email here:

Please note that owing to the requirements of the UK Data Protection Act 1998, we cannot disclose any information regarding an application to a third party, including the UK sponsor, without prior consent from the applicant concerned.
The email address xxxxxxxxxxxxx is not the one used when the application was made and it does not appear on the visa application form so we are unable to provide any information.
Where the email address you have used to contact us belongs to anyone other than the applicant, we are unable to put forward a request for reconsideration or provide any information without a signed letter of consent from the applicant, which can be scanned and emailed to [email protected]”

RM

Correspondence Unit
UK Decision Making Centre.

KernowIan

My case now with our MP. Evidently there is a special communications channel to the Home Office. My wife's file has been located and is being worked on. Biometrics done in Bangkok 25 April. Wait Out !

garyede

Ian is right when you get your MP involved and then phone or mail the Home Office a high
manager from the Home Office would be assigned to the case who immediately locates the file assigning it some sort of priority ( HO must reply within 20 days) usually much quicker and notify the sponsor. You must be a constituent. Once you have an open channel keep corresponding with your MP,s office every 7-10 days for an update. Don't ring them every day as they are very busy people. You need to find a balance, better than the contact centre but you need to have waited 60 days. In my experience of working in the civil service those who shout the most get things done. Hope this helps.

adi16

I sent an email yesterday and today I got a reply saying that they will escalate my application since its over 30 days. my application is on 35th working day now. They asked me few details about my application such as GWF number, IHS number etc. I sent them.
Got another reply saying that they will be get in touch with me with 15 working days regarding the progress of my application.
I have also spoken to my MP through emails but my sponsor is meeting the MP in person on 13/09/2017. Lets see.

Good luck to everyone and best wishes.

garyede

Yep arranging a meeting with your sponsors MP is a good move. Good luck.

Balrog

Hi guys

Here is my timeline

Applying from: Chennai, India (priority)
Date of Application: 12 June 2017
Date of Biometrics: 15 June 2017
Supporting documents delivered to Sheffield on: 19 June 2017
Phone call 1: A month after biometrics to see if application was received. We got no email saying they even had our application.
Phone call 2: Two months after, No update available.
July end: MP escalation, MP got back to us saying this office was told there were no issues as yet with my application.
September 4: 3rd Phonecall. Person said application was being processed. No information on whether they had all the supporting documents.
September 7: Email from VFS saying application was received on 9/7/2017. (?????) So we called them to see what the email meant and how was it that I was getting a response that my application was received almost 3 months after I sent it. They guy said he didn't know, but that the visa was STILL BEING PROCESSED.
September 8 (today): I got my passport in the courier with the visa stamp. No decision made email was sent to me.

I got the visa although I was sure the passport would not have the vignette since I got no decision made email. So I am not sure what happened, but I got the visa. Now I have one month to uproot myself and move to Northern Ireland.

This forum has been a blessing. Please take the advice of the moderators and other expert members seriously. I did my application on my own with immense help from this forum. I will continue to advise and post as I think I saved a bundle on legal fees because of the people here. I'd like to pay it forward. Personally, the waiting had me depressed because I had quit my job and I didn't know whether to look for a new one, or where to move. It was a terribly draining process for both my husband and myself. All I can say is hang in there and occupy your time with projects while you wait.

Xx

Scousejohn

Thanks for the info!

Just another way to fob us off!
Will send again tomorrow with written confirmation that i am allowed to do so!

ryongsong

I've seen a couple of people post on the timelines thread that they have had a decision made on their non-priority applications, and in both cases they applied after my wife. Does anyone have any insight into how some get processed faster than others?