1st Feb (5pm): Checked my status online. Looks like its a done deal.

That's very encouraging.

Now, can they replicate the performance with others.

3rd Feb: Checked SS account online and I got the benefits verification letter – First payment for February will be deposited in my account on 3rd of March. Monthly payments on 3rd of month.

My wife and I each get our payments on the 3rd of the month. Got them today in fact

So, I finally had my in-person "interview" at the FBU in London on Monday, 9th Feb. at a cost of nearly £400 due to train & underground fares during peak hours (I live in the Southwest). From the time I walked through the two sets of doors, 3 security checks, travelled to the 2nd floor and went to the appropriate window. I was out within 7 minutes for all that.... The person behind the bullet proof glass copied my passport and took the completed 1199-UK form. That was it.... nothing more.

I had to laugh on my way out to think that I had been working on getting my banking details changed since May 2025 for an appointment that lasted 7 minutes! However, I would NOT have wanted to be in the queue for visas.... it wrapped around the building and was taking people several hours to make it through. UGH!!

Thanks for the update, and congratulations on getting it sorted.

A couple of years ago my neighbor applied for a visa to take his partner and young daughter to Disneyworld in Florida. He was aged 60 but his initial visa application had been denied as he had had a drug taking conviction in his 20s so he had coughed up £500 to have an interview to appeal the decision. He drove down with a friend the day before, supporting character documents in hand. The interview lasted 5 minutes and his appeal was turned down. He said that the guy ahead of him got the same result, he had been working in IT for his local council for over 20 years and also thought that a possession drug offence over 20 years earlier as a student would be okay given his squeaky clean record since. Apparently he went ballistic when quickly rejected so my friend then knew what to expect when he went to the same window so he just quietly said “okay, whatever” and left, but he was absolutely boiling inside.

Does anyone have any updates on how long the process is currently taking, from online application to payments starting? Austin D Powers' one was incredibly fast, Durham Lad's not so much.

How much time does anyone think we should allow at the moment (dual citizen, living in UK)?

I would definitely do an online application like I did. Even though it got routed for review by an agent in London it was then routed back to an agent in Maryland for final approval with no further input from me and then it stuck there until I called the SS office in the USA. When I did my application in 2024 it was before WEP was eliminated so definitely needed input from the FBU in London.

My wife’s application for spousal benefits last year was directly to the FBU and it took a little under 2 months for her to get a phone interview and then start receiving her spousal benefits. You can’t apply more than 4 months before so that is what I would do online.

Thanks DL. Yes, definitely online. I will just be attempting to juggle stop work dates and start SS dates so that I don't get a month without income coming in. So I can def start 4 months ahead, but wondering what the odds are of them taking longer than that.

Should be fast now with no wep, just remember whatever start month you choose your actual first payment will be on the 3rd of the next month (if you choose Jan then your first payment is on 3rd Feb).
The speed of the process will probably come down to the interview schedule.
For whatever reason I did not have a scheduled interview, someone from SSA Maryland USA called me out of the blue and it was on a Sunday.

Thanks for the info. Is there always an interview? Online search seemed to suggest not.

My wife has had 2 SS applications, First when she started her SS on her own record in 2021, and again in 2025 after I had started receiving my SS when she applied for a spousal increase (she did get a bump of $145/month as her SS was less than half mine at FRA). In both cases the FBU called her and interviewed her after sending her an email giving a date and time and what questions they would be asking.

I applied online in October 2024 to start my SS at age 70 in February 2025 and never had an interview. My first payment arrived on time in March after I had called SS in the USA in February to ask why my application was still waiting for approval by an agent in Maryland. No interview, just the comment from a very helpful person that there was no reason why it should be stuck there and that they had had now flagged it for processing. Of course at the start of 2025 the Musk/Trump DOGE initiative had already started and a load of SSA jobs were being culled so I sort of understood the pressures the staff were under.

That's helpful, thank you.

Well here I am, still trying to get through to the FBU by phone. It’s impossible. I’ve been calling on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for an age, getting the same auto response that says the unit is busy and please call back later directly at (different number). When I call the second number I get the same auto message which cuts the line after the announcement. I have also emailed several times, and got responses, but nothing that helps answer my questions. I am beyond frustrated.

I feel your pain..... Took me from May '25 to Feb '26 just to get my banking details changed. AND, had to do it in person at the US Embassy in London!