don't worry

well man, it seems that you are in the exact postiion i was in a few months ago.
the best way i can help you is to tell you how it went down for me.
i am from the uk. my wife is from the us. we met at uni in the uk and i came to america with her on the 30th of may. we got married on the 10th of august. once we got back from our honeymoon we went to the local courthouse and got our marriage certificate that day.
we had no jobs in the uk. we are still only in 2nd year at uni. we had no place to live of our own and would stay at my grandparents house. i have no savings, although my wife has $4000 in her account.
guess what - we mailed our application to new york and it was approved on the same day !
i looked up jobs in the area where we would live in scotland, and sent them a printout. i registered with housing associations and sent them letters addressed to both of us. i sent them original copies of both our academic qualifications and also uni correspondance.
most importantly, in my sponsor letter i stated a list of intentions. they don't tell you to do this but damn it I was going to make this work !
i said that we both INTENDED to get jobs quickly, that we INTENDED to get housing quickly and that we had clear career goals.
THIS IS IMPORTANT MATE.
IT IS A QUICK PROCESS ONCE YOU GET YOUR PAPERS TOGETHER.
WE GOT OUR VISA TODAY AND WE HEAD HOME TO SCOTLAND NEXT WEEK.
JOB DONE.
MAIL YOUR APPLICATION EXPRESS. IT GETS SENT BACK NEXT DAY MAIL ONCE ITS COMPLETED VIA UPS.
DON'T STRESS ABOUT THE HORROR STORIES AND DON'T GET TOO INVOLVED IN ALL THE LITTLE REQUIREMENT DETAILS - YOU ARE A HUMAN BEING AND SO IS THE PERSON WHO WILL BE LOOKING AT YOUR APPLICATION. THEY WILL UNDERSTAND YOUR SITUATION BUT ITS UP TO YOU TO MAKE YOUR SITUATION CLEAR - IF YOU DON'T THEN IT ALL LOOKS SHADY.....AND YOU DON'T WANT THAT...

 

no problem.
i know that all the little requirements seem daunting when you first look at them. and most people on these things just tell you horror stories - not exactly what you want to hear.
we didn't have to do the biometric thing mate. and this is late November. But if you are getting married in march then I am pretty sure that they will have started it by then. I have done some research on it and you will have to go to the consulate you want to get your visa from. All they do is take your wife's fingerprints and scan her face - its done in minutes.
Send in your application, they will e-mail you when they want you guys to go for the scan, and after the scan they will issue you with the visa that day - you will have it in your hand beofre you go.
Good luck mate. Just do what I told you and you will get the visa no problems.
I found out my wife was pregnant a few months ago. Did I tell the visa officer that ? Hell no ! That would only have made them stricter !
If I can give you one bit of advice it is to make a smart application.
Also, most of the horror stories on this thing relate to indians, asians and Pakistani who can barely speak english. We are talking about educated, english speaking, civilised american women here. Who, in all honesty, do you think the immigration officials would rather let into the country ?
Anyway, I digress. We head home in 5 days. Can't wait.
Good luck mate.
Feel free to ask any questions any time. I've done so much reading on this bloody subject I could write a book on it !

 

I am doing the same thing...although i am the American girl trying to come over with my English man.

we are getting married over Christmas after my boss was recently refused a work permit for me. so, since Emile and i are engaged already, we are doing a quick ceremony on Boxing day in the US and then i am getting a visa from NY to come as a spouse dependent.

I agree that you shouldn't sweat too much about this...especially if you have the time to sort things out. For me i have to kind of run around and get the process done fast. If you are going to the NY consulate, they don't take personal appointments anymore so you can't do the one-day visa...unless you go through an agency, which they list on their website at www.brtiainusa.com/ny, they charge a fee, but it looks worth it to know your application is being handled straight away.

But i am worried about this biometric crap too! my boss is nicely holding on to my job and just giving me a leave of absence while i get everything settled, but now i have heard about people taking months to get there biometric appointment. However, i have faith that if you can get the visa in one day you must be able to swing this thing in 24 hours too.

I am hoping they won't have anything ready at that time and i wont need to have it done....but have you heard of anyone going through that process yet?

 

Re: Getting married in the US, moving to the UK. Help Needed

Steve,

If everyone in the family, including your fiancee, is ok with it, get married at City Hall before the actual party. It takes 3 days to get the certificate (waiting time). In the meantime, make an appointment at britainusa to see them. Once there, give them all the documentation they need. You will get the visa in the same day if you use a service agent (60pp). Otherwise , it will take up to a week.
Don't worry about the biometrics - either fingerprint or, unlikely, retinal scan, will not hurt.

Good luck,
R

 

Same Situation

I'm an American who married a British citizen. We are applying for my settlement visa next month. We are currently in the UK. I'm here visiting, but my husband and I are flying back together to the states for my visa.

It doesn't take long to get a marriage license in the states but this depends on each state and then on each individual county. Your future wife should be able to find this out. You don't need an interview at the embassy. There is tons of info on www.britainusa.com

I'll let you know how my application goes

 

Hi i am currently in the very same postion. I am from the UK and my fiance is from the US i am going over next month to get married in a courthouse in Chicago and then to come back to the UK where we will both live and work.

Please if someone could help me with this i would be so happy, we have done so much resourcing all though the net and i have made numerous calls, most of which i dont get a proper answer. Is it correct that you can not go into the Chicago embassy and make an application there? should we be applying before i come over or wait until we are married and then do it?also is there a thing were if you pay extra they look at it within a shorter lenght of time?

It is so much information to look at, and i would love if someone has went through the very same thing. What documents should i take, bank statements, id, passport?the usual, what about supporting letters? argh please help

Thank you so much