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Original poster

To be freaking out that my ILR Visa has not come through yet???

82 replies

emmabemmasmom · 21/03/2009 10:51

Hi there...

I sent in my application for my ILR Visa 7 weeks ago. It can take anywhere from 5 weeks to 14 weeks to decide...

They sent me a letter in the beginning of Feb. saying they got my applictaion and basically not to contact them...but to just wait. And, there is no way to look up the progress.

The longer it takes the more I am convinced it will get denied. There is no reason for it to get denied. My husband is British...my DD was born here and I am expecting our second DD in a few weeks. We don't make a lot of money but we don't get any benifits (one thing we have to prove is we can live without claiming).

I cannot sleep, I cry...everytime the mail comes I have a panic attack thinking 'is this the day my life will be ruined'.

It is not healthy but I am freaking out...

Anyone gone through this? How do I continue to wait without having a heart attack?

OP posts:
Triggles · 21/03/2009 18:18

Mine went through no problem as well a few years ago, it does just take time. Try not to stress over it. I know easier said than done.

scienceteacher · 21/03/2009 18:21

Not sure what your question is, but the process for naturalisation is as follows:

First, book your Life in the UK test - there will be several local centres you can use, but they many only do the tests for a few hours a week so there can be a long lead time. You don't have to have hit your eligibility for natz at this point, so can book it ahead of time.

Once you do your test, you are ready to apply for natz. The easiest way is to use a document checking service - your local county council can tell you how this is done in your area. In our area, it is a case of seeing a specific registrar. They check your passport, birth/marriage certs etc, and the application form. If all is OK, they send the application off to Liverpool for final processing, and hand you back your passport.

You can send your documents to Liverpool yourself, but it means you are without your passport for the duration of the process.

Once the application is approved, you are notified to the effect and instructed to book an appt for a citizenship ceremony. The minimum time for this is around 2 weeks, and they don't run every day.

You become a citizen at the citizenship ceremony and are then free to apply for a passport.

When my DH did this - he got his passport about 14 weeks after becoming eligible. The actual processing of his application took 3 weeks, and all the other weeks were waiting for various appointments.

Original poster
emmabemmasmom · 21/03/2009 18:29

Yeah I am not doing my citizenship as I would loose my US citizenship cause they do not recognize dual citizenship...or so I was told...

However my DD has both UK and US passports but the US sees her as a US citizen only...weird...

So I am just doing ILR so I can just stay here forever with my babies

Still had to take the test though!

OP posts:
pramspotter · 21/03/2009 18:31

Not true. Lots of americans have dual british and american citizenship. You do not have to renounce your american passport. You just have to carry two passports everywhere you go.

Original poster
emmabemmasmom · 21/03/2009 18:35

Really? I was told by the US that they no longer recognize dual citizenship and that if I applied to be British then I would loose my US rights.

To be honest I am like whatever, but I want to keep it just incase when the kiddies get older and we want to move over and also for them when they get older...they can have the choice...my DD has both passports but she can only enter the US with her US one cause she is only a US citizen to them (had issues getting in all 3 times last year!)

Why was I told that then? I do know that you have to wait 5 years for your citizenship and only 2 years for your ILR...

I don't know...it is all so confusing!

OP posts:
ilovemydogandMrObama · 21/03/2009 18:36

Pramspotter is right. You won't loose your citizenship. The US doesn't recognize dual citizenship, but recognizes that other countries recognize it

If anyone in the Embassy states this, and I've had numerous conversations about this with them, ask them how many US Citizens have had their citizenship revoked? In any case, doesn't make sense if the US only recognizes you as an American.

And how will they know anyway

You don't have to renounce your US citizenship to get British citizenship

Original poster
emmabemmasmom · 21/03/2009 18:40

Well isn't that something...

lol

Just goes to show...don't take first advise ever...always get second, third and tenth opinion!

Ah well...can't go for that for another 3 years anyway right? Maybe by then I will...we shall see..

Lets get ILR first eh? lol

OP posts:
Triggles · 21/03/2009 18:43

The US isn't going to take away your US citizenship just because you get UK citizenship. The US government likes to keep their finger in every pie going - they don't want to miss out on the chance to tax you if you make over the threshold income amount!

scienceteacher · 21/03/2009 19:16

It is true that the US doesn't recognise dual citizenship. If you are American, you are American - and it doesn't really matter what other citizenships you might hold. The UK is much the same.

There are countries with a negative view of citizenship, but neither the UK nor the USA is one of them.

sarah76 · 21/03/2009 20:23

Another American. I was soooo lucky...my three years residence here coincided with the day before they brought in the 'Life in the UK' citizenship test. I missed it by exactly one day! But everyone else who'd not bothered with citizenship sent their applications on the same day, so it was 8 months before I had my ceremony.

As for the ILR, I seem to remember it taking ages, I honestly wouldn't worry.

And one more voice to the chorus, you do NOT lose U.S. citizenship by taking UK citizenship. There was a supreme court test case over 40 years ago with a man who moved to Israel and took citizenship there. They ruled that taking another country's citizenship wasn't a good enough reason to strip a person of U.S. citizenship.

However, the U.S. won't recognise your UK citizenship, so when you travel to the U.S. you need to use your U.S. passport for everything (up till you arrive back in the UK and sail through in the UK Citizen queue).

I still vote in U.S. elections. Plan on registering my future kid/kids as U.S. citizens as well so I can tell them how to vote.

LeonieSoSleepy · 21/03/2009 21:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
emmabemmasmom · 21/03/2009 21:18

Good question cause mine is still in my maiden name...

I was told that you can get a new passport but you will have to carry the other with the sticker in it with you too rather than switching it over...

However, as the post shows, I have been told a lot of lies...all lies lol

Would be good to know the real answer to that one!

OP posts:
Tee2072 · 21/03/2009 21:35

That is the real answer to that. I have never moved my ILR to my passport with my married named. I just show the two passports when I come into the country. My visa is in my maiden name. They don't care.

Triggles · 21/03/2009 21:43

From what I've seen, you can get a new sticker in the new passport, but it will cost you (and most likely cost you dearly!). Or you can carry both passports, so they can see the ILR in the old one.

sarah76 · 21/03/2009 22:58

The timeframes were slightly different when I went through this (you could apply for ILR after 1 year instead of two).

After I got my ILR sticker, I lost my U.S. passport. I got a replacement passport from the U.S. embassy. I knew I was going to apply for UK citizenship, so I didn't get the ILR sticker replaced because of the cost. I was really pissed off that they previously did replacement stickers for free, and then suddenly started charging for them.

In the year I was without the ILR sticker, I carried the original letter that stated I had ILR with me and showed it to them at passport control. I'm sure I did this at least three times, and when I explained the lost passport and my reasons for not replacing the sticker, the agents were always sympathetic (they KNOW it used to be free!).

If you're going to be getting UK citizenship in a year's time anyway, I wouldn't bother paying to transfer the sticker!!

NervousAmerican · 22/03/2009 00:33

Ooooooooooh

Can I ask a question? (Sorry to hijack your thread!)

I'm American too (female), my partner is British (female) and we have been together 18 months, throughout which time I've been coming in and out on 6 month tourist visas - and I have NOT been working, we've been living off my savings and partner works full-time and can support us both (although of course it would be nice to have a second income!). It's getting too frustrating, and we've decided this summer I'm going to apply in the US for a 'proposed civil partnership' visa (which works the exact same way as the fiance visa).

One of us will be pregnant by that time too, not sure if that will help or hinder the process? We are planning to apply together, in person, in Chicago. Which documents did you find were the most helpful to include, which weren't necessary, any tips at all you can give would be great.

So can I ask about this first leg of the process, how difficult was it to get this LLR visa first, how long did it take, did you and partner apply, etc? Thanks so much in advance, it's so nervewracking to think we might be separated for any length of time!

ilovemydogandMrObama · 22/03/2009 00:47

Hi Nervous - wow! Might be an idea to start another thread on this as there are different issues to the OPs (original poster's)

First of all, I would look at the Home Office web site re: visas for same sex partners. Or even at the application form for citizenship as it would give you overall guidelines.

It may be an idea to also look at going through the civil partnership/union here in the UK. Reason being that legitimacy in the US is contingent on the State, which can get a bit messy, so if you want your union legally recognized, and you want to be in the UK legally, then would consider having it done here.

NervousAmerican · 22/03/2009 00:54

ilove thanks very much for your advice. I've looked at both of the sites you've mentioned, which brings me round to sort of another question - did any of you bother to hire a solicitor or official immigration lawyer, etc etc to either help you through the process or officially fill it out for you? Not sure if we should weather this expense or if it's worth it in the end.

Yes, we definitely will be doing the civil partnership here, that's why we're doing the 'proposed' visa, and then getting the union done here ASAP after getting back.

sarah76 · 22/03/2009 00:59

immigration lawyer??? god no! Just did lots of reading, hung out on some American expat message boards for a while, that's all really.

ilovemydogandMrObama · 22/03/2009 01:11

Agree with Sarah. No need for an immigration lawyer at this stage as it's a fairly robotic process.

You need to familarize yourselves with the criteria for civil partners as far as immigration. It should be the same criteria as dependant spouses, but you will need to know what sort of evidence you need to be compiling (think the movie Green Card... )

Also, you need to be clear about where you will be applying. For instance, if you are outside the UK, then you need to research what type of visa you need to apply for to fulfill the fiance criteria. Conversely, if you are in the UK and are going to get hitched, then this may make a difference.

All the information you need is available online. The Home Office website is your friend. It's just a matter of finding out and then compiling all the information.

Hope it goes well for you...

NervousAmerican · 22/03/2009 01:39

Thanks! How long does it take them to make a decision if we apply in person at the Chicago office? Do I leave my passport with them, etc? Just trying to plan how long we will be in the US for, as I don't live in Chicago (7 hours away!) and we'll have to sort all that out. Any approximate waiting times are super helpful!

GothAnneGeddes · 22/03/2009 02:57

Nervous American - Be very specific on your visa that you are coming here to get married or it may cause problems on arrival.

Non EU citizens may have to apply for a Certificate of Approval to marry. My dh did, but there has been huge controversy over this law, so I'm not sure if it is still active.

pramspotter · 22/03/2009 08:07

I found that the hardest part of all this is trying to jump through all the hoops to get British DH a visa so that we can repatriate back to the USA. We have given up on that idea due to the cost, complexity and due to the crisis with the housing market. I wish I never got my ILR. Want to go home.

The British Home Office is much more pleasant to deal with than US Immigration let me tell ya.

blametheparents · 22/03/2009 08:11

I used to work for the immigration and nationality dept (though some years ago) and one thing I can tell you is that they can be incredibly inefficient.
I'm sure everything is ok, just a matter of waiting.

Tee2072 · 22/03/2009 08:31

NervousAmerican, I would double check that you can do this in Chicago. When I applied for my LLR you could only do it at Los Angeles or New York. Not any other UK Consulate/Embassy in the US.

As for how long...maybe 20 minutes with the actual Immigration Official? Not counting waiting around time!! And then I had my first visa 3 - 4 hours later.