A spanner in the works
 

We applied for my husbands spouse visa from the US and then found his sister in getting married in October. We are wondering:

1. Can we cancel our visa and get a refund and reapply in late summer? I was under the impression we can cancel before his biometrics next week and receive the refund, but wanted to confirm.
2. What the delays are looking like with visa processing times because of the lockdown. We put May 3rd down as our ideal date and we are wondering if that is an unrealistic date to have as our visa goal because of the lockdown.
3. If his visa is approved then we are going to wait the 90 day period and then we would fly to the UK to collect the visa and return to the US for the wedding. I wanted to double confirm that the applicant and sponsor have to both collect the visa in person in the UK. I would like to wait in the US with our 2 kids and pack our life up. My husband would fly back to the US and help pack before we leave together. We could then attend the wedding in October if the timeline matches up.

Thanks in advance

Re: A spanner in the works
 

Skip the wedding (she only just told you?) - with Covid getting worse in the UK who knows when the visa would be issued if you cancell it now?

(Yes, you can cancell now before the biometrics and get a refund)

Re: A spanner in the works
 

That's very true. We should just keep on this path and see how it pans out. Yep, the SIL told us last week. It's great news but a challenge for us logistically. Thanks for your response!
By any chance do you have an idea what the timeline is for the spouse visas under the current situation?

Re: A spanner in the works
 

Not many examples are being posted in this website's 'Timeline' thread. Nor in others either. (did see one from September 2020 and they have just received notification of issued visa)

You only applied beginning Jan 2021 so you have to presume the 12 weeks standard process as a given - and add on another month for delays? (just guessing)

Re: A spanner in the works
 

Prioritise your husband’s visa. There should be plenty of time to collect his BRP and still return to the US for the wedding.

Re: A spanner in the works
 

In regards to question #3, I almost ran afoul of this one. This was four years ago now so not sure if it's changed much, but we applied while we were still sorting other things out, and weren't ready to go when my entry permit was valid. Eventually we decided that I would fly to the UK to pick up my permit, then turn around and come back, and then return a few months later to property settle.

At the border I was stopped and told that my visa expressly stated that it was to 'join or accompany' my partner - and I was not doing either (as he was still back home). Luckily, my passport allows visa-free entry into the UK as a tourist, so they eventually told me they were taking the pragmatic approach and letting me in, as I could just go in as a tourist and pick up the BRP from the post office anyway, but I expect there are many many nationalities where they would not have been afforded such benefit of the doubt.

So anyway, make sure you both go if you are just going to pick up the visa!

Re: A spanner in the works
 

Thanks for letting me know this! I had no idea until a couple of weeks ago about me having to accompany my husband if we had to collect the visa and return to the US. We decided to cancel our visa before th biometrics were taken. We're going to stay in the US until after his sisters wedding and then plan on leaving at the end of August hopefully.