EC in home country for in-country folks affected by Oct rule

I had applied as a dependent (in-country) before Oct and got stuck with the new switching rule that doesn't allow me to file for FLR(IED)..eventhough the approval letter mentions that I should apply for FLR.

For folks in aimilar situations...

1. I wrote to my home country consulate asking whether I can apply for EC instead of FLR even if the approval letter says apply for FLR...I said I was visiting my home country next month
and they said Yes, apply for EC.

2. HSMP guys are much better to deal with than the FLR guys, who are not even willing to listen. HSMP team understands this particular situation..so dont waste time asking FLR guys to stamp FLR..instead focus on dealing with HSMP folks to hopefully get another letter

did they issue another letter (on HSMP letterhead, instead of the black and white printout)?

rella - maybe you should ask them again to see if they're willing to issue you another letter for EC.

Bani, thanks for remembering our case!

My husband and I have each called HSMP many times (and the customer service people at WP) and they have all told us that they will not issue a new letter. I know a person who formally wrote to them with the request and was rejected.

We were also advised that the HSMP/FLR letter could not be used for EC.

Onetime, I agree that HSMP is much better to deal with. The FLR team is not sympathetic at all to people who got caught in the Oct changeover. Did HSMP advise you to go to your home country? Do you mind telling me what your home country is? If you'd rather not say on the open forum, I'd appreciate if you'd PM me -- particularly if you're from the U.S.

Our worry is that if we go back to our home country consulate, that we could be turned down for EC. Then we are worried about jeopardizing our chances for getting back home to the UK. So, we have decided the best course of action is to reapply with a fresh application. We were told that was the only avenue open to us by HSMP, the FLR team and the WP cust serv people.

If you've had different advice, I'd really appreciate hearing about it. I have had no luck getting through to HSMP lately, even I try to call for hours on end, hitting the redial over and over again. I will try this week again and see if I can get through and see if they might have changed their minds about reissuing a new HSMP letter with EC. Otherwise, we're submitting a new app for my husband on Monday.

Thanks.

me not from US...

why don't u write to consulate in US and enquire of you can get EC based on a letter that says apply for HSMP...its a bit of a subjective issue, I agree...EC officers may or may not object....but how does reapplying solve your problem unless you go out of UK?

oops..prev msg had typos!!

me not from US...

why don't u write to consulate in US and enquire if you can get EC based on a letter that says apply for FLR...its a bit of a subjective issue, I agree...EC officers may or may not object....but how does reapplying solve your problem unless you go out of UK?

onetime wrote:oops..prev msg had typos!!

me not from US...

why don't u write to consulate in US and enquire if you can get EC based on a letter that says apply for FLR...its a bit of a subjective issue, I agree...EC officers may or may not object....but how does reapplying solve your problem unless you go out of UK?

The consulates in the U.S. are so large and have so many people working at them, that even if we were to get a positive response about getting EC approval with the current HSMP approval, the caseworker we'd see when going back may not agree and may not give EC. We think it's not worth the risk of having a refusal for EC on our record and having my husband's student visa marked out and not being able to return to the UK.

As far as I know, there are no regs that state that an HSMP applicant cannot be present in the UK while an out-of-country application is being processed. Does anyone know differently? The current HSMP approval letter is good through mid-May, so I'd think that we are legal to remain, since my husband has that long to submit an FLR. I hope that they get the new HSMP processed quickly.

Did the HSMP team give you any indication that going to your home country to get EC was a valid alternative? I'm hoping that maybe they've changed their minds about it. But, my husband and I don't feel comfortable traveling all the way to the U.S. without a letter that says EC on it.

Would you please let us all know how it goes when you go back to get EC? I hope it works for you. They've put so many people in this odd predicament where there's no good option available.

I just called HSMP and got through, on the very first try! I was shocked!!

Anyway... he said that they would not give anyone with a current HMPS approval a new letter. He said the only option was to submit a new HSMP application from out-of-country. They are cautioning people to not assume they will be approved again, since circumstances can change in a year...

He recommended sending a fax if there's a job offer -- shortly after they receive the new application.

I hope this helps anyone else caught up in this situation.

good luck rella!

btw, yes, you can be in the UK while an out-of-country application is being processed. but you do have to go back to your home country to get EC.

bani wrote:good luck rella!

btw, yes, you can be in the UK while an out-of-country application is being processed. but you do have to go back to your home country to get EC.

Thanks, Bani.

I'm getting a bit nervous, since it's getting close again. It was so nice to get the approval.... Our post comes very early in the morning and when the letter came, I ran to wake up my husband, I was so overjoyed and relieved. Now, we're back in the waiting game again...

So, here's my latest worry. We'll have to use an out-of-country address, of course. But, we'd prefer if the correspondance came to us here in the UK, because we worry about lost documents and added time. But... our address is in the HSMP computer from the last application. Does anyone think that they'll hold it against my hubby to have the docs sent to us here? Or should we just have them sent to the home country and deal with the added risk and time? Any thoughts?

bani wrote:good luck rella!

btw, yes, you can be in the UK while an out-of-country application is being processed. but you do have to go back to your home country to get EC.

its risky applying for EC while you are out of the country, remember you will need documentation from your resident country e.g bank statements, bills. also remember that they will look thru your passport and the last immigration stamp will show that you entering the UK. what if they want to interview you?

f2k wrote:

bani wrote:good luck rella!

btw, yes, you can be in the UK while an out-of-country application is being processed. but you do have to go back to your home country to get EC.

its risky applying for EC while you are out of the country, remember you will need documentation from your resident country e.g bank statements, bills. also remember that they will look thru your passport and the last immigration stamp will show that you entering the UK. what if they want to interview you?

We were planning on going to the consulate in person -- even though there is a mail option and it is going to add a ton of time and expense to travel to the consulate -- because we felt it important to explain the entire situation.

We are not going to pretend that we haven't been living in the UK. It is obvious that we have and we have a lease, and all that goes with living in a country. We have been here legally all this time.

Aren't there many cases where a person lives in the UK, yet has to return to their home country for EC? Any time that you change to a new visa category and the switch is not allowed in the UK, you have to go home for EC. I was assuming that this wouldn't present a problem. Afterall, when the HSMP was applied for, there should not have been any problems with FLR(IED), but due to the HO going months and months past the predicted operation levels for processing and changing the visa-switching rules without making any provision for people who played by the rules, I'd think that EC wouldn't be a problem under these circumstances. Am I being unrealistic, do you guys think? Or should this work?

We will take the original HSMP approval letter, the rules in effect at the time it was applied for and everything else we can think of to show how the situation transpired. I sure hope that we don't end up with my husband having *2* HSMP approvals -- possibly overlapping, and not be able to live here.