Getting a Spouse Visa

Looking back over my immigration journey I spent probably too much time worrying about all the things that could have gone wrong, but you know what? It all worked out. I thought I'd share my journey with all those who are going through it. The key bit of advice would be this, don't worry about what may or may not happen. If you are a real couple and meet all the criteria then you will be fine.





Spouse Visa 




I met Matthew in October 2007 and we  decided to get married in August 2008. I remember us beginning to figure out everything we needed to do in order for me to get my spouse visa. 


I don't remember the exact date, but Matthew and I decided to go and see an immigration lawyer to make sure we understood the process. It was definitely worth the money at the time, I remember it being around £75. We are able to ask all the questions that we wanted. The immigration lawyer offered a service where they would fill out your application for you at the modest sum of £500! Please don't waste your money. Having an immigration lawyer fill out your application won't guarantee you anything. The visa's are expensive enough without wasting money for someone just to fill out a straightforward form.


I can remember reading loads about how to get the spouse visa on the internet and at the time it was a bit daunting. I guess the most scary thing about was the uncertainty over whether or not it would be approved. Looking back I can see that it would be highly unlikely that I would have been refused, but you just never know. 


After we were married Matthew went back to London and I stayed behind in Minnesota to wait for my visa to come through. Since I was only in London on a tourist visa I had to return home to send the application.


We had to wait for the marriage certificate to be sent out before we could send off the application. In theory that should have taken a week, but for some reason instead of sending to my address in MN it was sent to London!


That was really annoying. Matthew tried to send it back to me, overnight via DHL, but that got cocked up. The letter ended up sitting in a distribution center in Detroit for several days. A week later it finally arrived and I went and sent off the application.


Once it was sent the waiting began. It was good to be spending some time in MN, but it was really hard being new married and away from Matthew. It was a weird limbo time for me. I was staying with friends and I wasn't working. Not knowing how long I was going to be in MN was a bit stressful. In the end after the spouse visa application was sent it only took about 3 weeks for it to be approved. 


The application itself was pretty straightforward. We had to prove that we were a legitimate couple. I ended up printing out email conversations, photos of us on holiday and photocopying cards that we had received as a couple. We also had to show proof that Matthew had a place for us to live and that we had a certain amount of income, basically they wanted to make sure that we could support ourselves. 


All I have to say is that if you are a real couple and you meet the requirements than you will be fine. I spent a lot of timing worrying that my application wouldn't be approved. I read way too many stories of couples who were separate for months and other immigration horror stories. Don't waste your time getting stressed over what might happen, just make sure you fill out everything carefully and be prepared to be patient if the processing times are longer than you would want them. 

Baseball

The photo is from my trip to MN this summer, where we did go to a Twins game at the new outdoor stadium. 

It's 5:53 a.m. I am up. I've started a new early bed early to rise project yesterday. Before I woke up I was dreaming about being with Matthew at a baseball game in Minnesota. We were sitting there watching the game when it stopped and it was announced that we were going to sing the national anthem. I thought this was a little strange since it was in the middle of the game, but stood up to stand and placed my hand over my heart. The song started and it wasn't the Star Spangled Banner but some other song that I had never heard of. Everyone knew the words, but me. I thought how strange! They've got a new song now and I didn't even now about it. I've only been away for 4 years and they go and change the national anthem?

A few minutes later the alarm goes off and here I am writing about it. 

Thinking about it now I am not surprised about the dream. I've been thinking a lot about America lately. Since the massive snow storm MN had this past weekend it has been on my mind. Not in a homesick way, but in a different way. 

I was coming home from work last night and the tube stopped at a station for a while. I was reading a book so the delay didn't bother me. A woman who was standing spoke up and said "I am sorry to have to say anything, but I am due to have my baby in two weeks. Would someone please give me their seat?"

Of course someone did right away. I was so engrossed in my book that I didn't even notice her. I thought that they way she started out that request was very English with the I am sorry...at the beginning of a perfectly reasonable request.

Anyway, she sat down and then after a few seconds the man next to her asked her if she knew it was a boy or a girl and made a little bit of conversation with her, they were both English. It was a nice little conversation between two strangers. It didn't last very long, but it was still nice to over hear. You usually don't hear anyone speaking to each other on the tube unless they know each other. 

I looked up over my book at the woman and she smiled at me, which was really nice. I don't know, it was just a rare and lovely moment between people on the underground. It reminded me a little bit of something that would happen in Minnesota. I sometimes miss those nice friendly interactions with strangers.

I got off the tube and walked home thinking about Minnesota. Thinking about all the people and places that were there still going on without me. Even though I was all the way over here, life was still going on. My friends were in their houses, my favourite coffee shop was still there and I am sure they still would be when I get back.

In some ways that's comforting, but it's still strange. It sometimes feels like I've been plucked out of one reality and dropped into another one.

It's a strange experience in some ways to live in another country and be able to view your own country through the lens of an observer. While the storm was happening I watched the KARE 11 news with Matthew and it was so weird. The people in the newscast and they way they were delivering the news was so weird now after watching the BBC. It just seemed so fake.

That's my post for now. We'll see what other dreams I have about it tonight.

Life in the UK test

I am happy to say that I passed my Life in the UK test! I took it on Thursday over at the Brixton Library. The best part was while I was waiting to pay the fee this totally drunk Scottish guy wandered in and started mouthing out. When asked if he needed any help he just turned the air blue. It was mental, but what I would expect to happen in a public library in Brixton.


The test didn't take very long to complete, under 10 minutes. It was only 24 questions long, but I am glad that I spent time reading the book and taking a few practice tests online. 


I thought I would feel massively different after passing the test, but I still feel pretty American :)