Relationship Thread V4

[Cheeky Devlin]

We got married on the 2nd of April and it was glorious.

This was the date I chose for my wedding and got engraved on the inside of our rings!

... Because of covid we got married on March 20th

I shouldn't laugh but....

You've got a funny story at least.

[JT986M2]

Ugh, just found out today that our plans are going to have to be delayed a bit by the looks of things.

Because of the situation in Ukraine and Ukraine visas being prioritised the processing time for UK Fiancé visas has been increased from "Up to 12 weeks" to "Up to 24 weeks", and they've totally suspended the priority service that you could pay extra for. We were going to apply for the visa this week, with the intention of her coming to the UK in October, then us making the Notice of Intent to Marry appointment for during October/November, and then the wedding in January.
But now it looks like the visa isn't even going to come through until December. Then she has to be in the UK for at least 7 days before the notice of intent to marry appointment, which might be tricky around Christmas, and even after that we have to wait at least 28 days to get married, with the wedding currently booked for 28th January. I think we'll need to push it back to towards the end of March in order to ensure there's enough time to make sure everything can be done.

strawberry floating Putin.

/FirstWorldProblems

Covid definitely had a part to play as well, which alone caused a huge backlog. Then the Ukraine situation pushed it over the edge. I'm sure you have already done so, but I'd recommend getting the Visa application in as soon as possible. I applied for an American B-2 a couple of weeks ago - my appointment at the London embassy is the first week in January 2023

A 6-month wait is guaranteed unless you get lucky with cancellations.

[Lagamorph]

We're going to get the application in this week, then she just has to make and attend a biometrics appointment in Atlanta. Alongside that we have to provide all the supporting documentation, so stuff like proof of relationship in the form of photographs, scans of our engagement cards, proof of trips to see each other, etc, along with my bank statements and payslips to prove I earn above the requirement threshold to sponsor/support her.

There used to be a fast track priority service that you could pay an extra £500 for to get a decision in 3-6 weeks but they've even suspended that too.

So now I'm thinking to look at arranging the wedding for a weekend in the second half of March. Fortunately with it just being a Registry Office wedding at most I lose a £30 deposit for changing the day and pay another £30 deposit for a new day, though if I'm lucky they'll just transfer it across to the new date if I explain the situation and given how long there is left. When I booked they had every possible day and time for me to choose from and it was less than 2 weeks ago, so I doubt they're losing out by me changing my slot.


It sucks but there's definitely worse things that could've happened. We haven't even started sending out invitations or asking people to save the date yet so no dramas there at least.

[No:1 Final Fantasy Fan]

[Lagamorph]

Visa applied for!
At a cost of £1,700.

Then in April next year will be another £3,000 or so for 2.5 years, then another £3,000 for 2.5 years, then £2,400 for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Well, the cost will probably go up in 5 and a half years)

So....yeah, at a minimum it's going to fully cost at least a good £10,000 just for her to get the right to live here. That's before any actual relocation costs

[RetroCora]

Been there. Even with an ancestry visa the cost is about £4000. All the best though, it's a long process but I'm sure it'll be worth it!

[Drumstick]

Goodness me, those costs are insane.

[Lagamorph]

Goodness me, those costs are insane.

Yeah I've no idea how they justify it really. £1,500 of the Spouse visa costs are a charge for making full use of the NHS, which is understandable, but the costs of the actual Visa elements just feel like numbers plucked out of thin air.

[aayl1]

Not trying to infer that the gooseberry fool hole country I'm moving to is in any way better, but for comparisons sake the opposite process for my move to the US has been free, or like nominal $30 charges.

[Lagamorph]

Not trying to infer that the gooseberry fool hole country I'm moving to is in any way better, but for comparisons sake the opposite process for my move to the US has been free, or like nominal $30 charges.

On the other hand I'd probably spend way more than £10k on just Health Insurance for the 5-6 years the visa fees are spread across

In the event we had opted to live in the US we would probably end up in Philadelphia to start with at least, that would probably be where I'd most easily get a job since I could potentially just organise a semi-internal transfer.

[Tomous]

Visa applied for!
At a cost of £1,700.

Then in April next year will be another £3,000 or so for 2.5 years, then another £3,000 for 2.5 years, then £2,400 for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Well, the cost will probably go up in 5 and a half years)

So....yeah, at a minimum it's going to fully cost at least a good £10,000 just for her to get the right to live here. That's before any actual relocation costs

This is absurd. How can this be justified in any way?

[Drumstick]

Visa applied for!
At a cost of £1,700.

Then in April next year will be another £3,000 or so for 2.5 years, then another £3,000 for 2.5 years, then £2,400 for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Well, the cost will probably go up in 5 and a half years)

So....yeah, at a minimum it's going to fully cost at least a good £10,000 just for her to get the right to live here. That's before any actual relocation costs

This is absurd. How can this be justified in any way?

He's in love.

[Moggy]

Visa applied for!
At a cost of £1,700.

Then in April next year will be another £3,000 or so for 2.5 years, then another £3,000 for 2.5 years, then £2,400 for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Well, the cost will probably go up in 5 and a half years)

So....yeah, at a minimum it's going to fully cost at least a good £10,000 just for her to get the right to live here. That's before any actual relocation costs

This is absurd. How can this be justified in any way?

Got to keep the forrins out.

[Outrunner]

I know he had a few extra steps in applying for citizenship but I was genuinely surprised how much this guy had to spend to get British citizenship

[Tomous]

Visa applied for!
At a cost of £1,700.

Then in April next year will be another £3,000 or so for 2.5 years, then another £3,000 for 2.5 years, then £2,400 for Indefinite Leave to Remain (Well, the cost will probably go up in 5 and a half years)

So....yeah, at a minimum it's going to fully cost at least a good £10,000 just for her to get the right to live here. That's before any actual relocation costs

This is absurd. How can this be justified in any way?

He's in love.

Very good

[Lagamorph]

Fiance is heading for her Biometrics appointment tomorrow! That also means all our uploaded Proof of Relationship stuff is finalised, so after tomorrow it all goes off to someone to make a decision on.

[Xeno]

You surely mean a pile where someone will get round to it when they are bored?

[Moggy]

Fiance is heading for her Biometrics appointment tomorrow! That also means all our uploaded Proof of Relationship stuff is finalised, so after tomorrow it all goes off to someone to make a decision on.

[Lagamorph]

Biometrics done, passport sent. Now to wait!

[Moggy]

Biometrics done