Originally posted by Eljohno@Feb 15 2006, 11:32 AM
Maybe Pete has this on somewhere but i emailed the ukvac office in the Philippines and asked them what the waiting time will be now for interviews for Settlement visas. They said if my wife does not need an interview then between 6-15 days. If an interview is needed then a max of 2 months. This would take it to the middle of April which would work out well as i will be over with my wife nearly the whole month of April.
On another note Rhea was just telling me that a girl from her church who just got married to a guy from America in December has already got her visa and leaves this week. I always thought it took longer for those married to Americans as my friend who is from Dallas applied on the 19th August has still heard nothing about an interview.
John
John,
I did make a note of it, they say up to 2 months, if the Embassy decides your wife needs to be interviewed, they may have streamlined things, and tried to get rid of the backlog, I heard recently where some are getting visas, without interviews, there may be pressure on the Visa Section to clear some of them, if they decide to take an internal risk, and clear some without interviews, all the better for you, but dont hold your breath, sods law says, she will have to be interviewed, it also depends on how you met her, if its via internet, you can bet your bottom dollar she will be called in to be interviewed, if you met her working in Phils, possibly they may take a view that she doesnt need it, to be honest, no one really knows how they make these determinations.
Ive been researching the Embassy procedures for 2 years, and I am still no closer to knowing how they think, political pressure, maybe from the foreign office and other government departments, may have a bearing on what happens from time to time, you might get lucky, and get through the system quickly, some of us had to wait a long time, from 6 months to the worst which is 13 months in one case, at least you have someone to e mail you back, at one stage you could not get anything out of them.
I wouldnt try and speculate too much on the forum John, most of the guys here, know full well, its how long is a peice of string, my suggestion is not to speculate or get opinions on how long it should be, thats when the professional applicants network starts up, and the trolls get involved, the worse thing that happens, is when the professional applicants start opinionating to you, you find half of them are talking about the K1-K3 visa's for a totally different country, !!
Guess which one ??
Anyone who has been through this, will always tell you, getting through the system is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get, but Keith always sums it up perfectly, when he has posted in the past
"97 Per cent of visa's are approved and Issued"
So the odds are definately in your favour, the only thing to note, is that waiting can be irritating, waiting outside the British Embassy, is even more irritatating, ask Rob ! he will mark your card, he should know, ask me ?? I have done it also, and I bet countless others, I bet also you will end up outside, sharing a conversation or two with the Marines outside, no doubt in months to come, as you will be there in April, but when she comes bouncing down the steps to the LV Locsin Building with a big smile on her face, you can relax and go over to Ayala centre for a well earned drink.
PeterDavid, another contributor on this forum, once told me " Pete when you look back its a blip on your life"
At the time, I did not share his enthusiasm !! Now looking back, of course he was right, and now Gina and I laugh about it, especially our good freind Ben Croucher, but more often than not, we tend to LOL at night about Jacqueline Lewin, Entry CLearance Manager, " She should eat more happy meals"
John, trust me, its a blip, keep your head down, keep busy, go with the flow, stay on the forum,
hahaha, best of luck
