Wow! I came along here looking for some good news and I find an all-out war!
Relax guys, this forum is meant for support and tempers do get frayed but let's not forget why we we're all here. It's a lot better waiting together than waiting alone.
Couple of points I wanted to make though. Firstly to the
10 year people. Irrespective of how this thread is named, it spun off a
long thread regarding ILR applications in a parallel forum and was pretty much destined towards
long residence applications. While I acknowledge the fact that 14
year applicants may take longer to hear back as their cases may be more complicated, I do not see why they cannot offer feedback or seek solace from this thread.
One must realise that not all 14
year applicants came here on the back of a lorry and have evaded the law since. Many are like kiwigal and just got caught up in the system. The fact that she has had to wait 14 years to apply for her ILR and on top of that would need to wait a further 5 years for citizenship (a total time of nearly twice what the
10 year crew would wait) is punishment enough.
Similarly, not all
10 year applicants are Bachelor's degree to Master's to PhD to Tier 1/Tier 2. A lot came here on false premises as students and have studied at so-called "colleges" for
10 years while they have been working (sometimes full time for cash) in the background. So in that respect, while they may have been "legal" in the eyes of the law, I certainly don't think they deserve any more esteem than the lorry clandestines. And these "students" may be certainly a lot more numerous than one would tend to believe going by the spike in applications following the introduction of Tier 4, resulting recently in suspension of visas from India etc.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is there are "bad apples" in both categories whether they're in the
10 year or the 14
year group. There is no point venting the frustration you feel towards them in here. If you must vent against principles or arguments, then by all means do so, but don't let it get personal. This board helped me a lot during my own wait which is why I still check back from time to time. I do not mean to sound patronising by the way - just felt I had to make this point.
Anyway, good luck to all those still waiting and I hope Kiwigal doesn't leave the board because of this, she has certainly been a lot of help to everyone before (me included) and it would certainly be a loss to this "community". We're all heading the same way, so let's get off the high horses a bit and try and get there in the best way we can.
Re: NoWayOut's wait, I second all those who said it is time to complain. I understand the frustration of not wanting to spend money - indeed it was an attitude I adopted myself at one point but post 6 months, I believe they *have* to give you an appropriate update when you call them. Just mention the Sheffield office complaints team when you do ring up. The robotic "your application is still pending" doesn't cut the mustard anymore. Depending on whom you speak to, you may end up getting a more precise update if they can be bothered to call the Liverpool/Sheffield office to check. Unless of course, you're perfectly happy to wait, in which case what I just wrote is redundant. Good luck anyway
