ancestry visa, immigration help needed

[tuts7]

Hello ~ I am a 34 year old single mother of 4 with sole legal n physical custody of my children, From the Untied States, with right to move to the Uk in divorce papers. I am looking to move to the Uk on an ancestry visa < my grandmother was born n lived in uk till she was 19 ,from bishop aucklund> i have all documents proving this. Im a state certified nursing assistant, and looking to follow with this career.< And also have alimony and child support to prove support for me and my children>. we will be living with a close family friend < in county durham> and i will have the documents needed to prove this as well as a letter from her. I have < or soon will have> all the documents that are listed as needed for a ancestry visa, But yet i have many questions... Are there more things that they will want handed in with this application? like childrens medical records, immunizations ect < i have these as well>... Is it best to go in person to apply? Does this quicken the process in anyway or bennifit you to do so ? Is there a certian order in which the application should be handed in ? i am desprate for any help and advice that anyone can offer me ... i want to do this right, and im at a lose of what my next steps should be once i have all the documents together < which will be in the next few weeks>. I believe it would be in my best intrests to have legal help with this process. if you are able to help me, please reply. Thank you very much for your time and help ~ Tracey

[Kayalami]

A useful tip - best to break your post/query in several sections to facilitate ease of reading. Some points to note:

1. AV only for commonwealth citizens - if you only hold US citizenship sorry you can't apply.

2. You must be eligible for the AV in your own right then include the children as dependents.

3. I take it you have 4 children as opposed to a child of 4 years - the visa officer will want to see a hefty bank balance given the costs associated with maintaining/ housing 5 people including you in the UK. A job offer will strenghten your application

4. The visa officer can require any visa applicant to take a medical test prior to final approval. Assuming you/ your kids have always lived in the US this is unlikley since said tests usually pertain to TB.

5. AV application is not straightforward so it doesn't matter if you go in person. If the visa office is close then no harm but I wouldn't make a lengthy trip.

6. Likewise the visa officer can ask for any documents required to deal with the application - expect some delay depending on the date of issuance of the relevant birth/marriage certificates i.e the closer to the event they were issued the less of a concern about authenticity.

7. I expect the visa officer to refer to legal counsel to verify the nature of your custody arrangements as well as the alimony/maintanance payments - you may need consent from the other parent.

[tuts7]

ok i am not a commonwealth citizen, as i only have a us citizenship, but on all the sites i have been to it says i can qualify for an ancestry visa, having had a grand parent that has come from england ? can some one explain this to me please? thanks ~ Tuts

[tuts7]

1.) i do qualify for ancesrty visa, just not common wealth citizen, i only have a us citizenship, but my grandmother is from england and i have all documents proving this.

2.) I have 4 children that i will be including as my dependents, i have all the legal paper work to prove i have sole legal n physical custody of them, as well as moving and residing in the uk writen in. and can easily contact my lawyer if anything else is needed.

3.)We will be living with a friend for an undetermined amount of time, until we can find our own home, i have all legal papers for child support and alimony, what would be a ball park figuer they would want to see in a bank account ?

4.) so applying in person won't make a diffrence? , as i would have to go to another state to do this ... i don't mind making the trip, if it would be easier and quicker process, i would call ahead and make an appointment, but have read its easier if they decide to interview you.

5.) i have gotten together all the documents i have needed in the last 6 months ..... Im just concerned about putting all of this together, making sure i have every thing that will be needed ... would it be best for me to get legal help, to assist me through this process?

all i am waiting for now are the passports for my children, which there wont be a problem with .... im just at a loss as to what my next step should be, and im lacking the confidence to do this on my own, i want to do it right ... thanks ~ Tracey

[Kayalami]

ok i am not a commonwealth citizen, as i only have a us citizenship, but on all the sites i have been to it says i can qualify for an ancestry visa, having had a grand parent that has come from england ? can some one explain this to me please? thanks ~ Tuts

1.) i do qualify for ancesrty visa, just not common wealth citizen, i only have a us citizenship, but my grandmother is from england and i have all documents proving this.

Any UK visa application is determined under an applicable Immigration Act, Immigration Rules and Regulations pertaining to such as well as operational policy including any concessionary policies in place. The first requirement of the six in place within the Immigration Rules for entry into the UK on an ancestry visa is that the applicant is A Commonwealth Citizen. As a USC you fail to meet the rules on the grounds of nationality and you AV application duly falls for refusal.

The UK immigration authorities can exercise discretion and consider an application outside the rules usually on the basis of extenuating/ most compelling of circumstances. Discretion is usually restricted to those who have already entered the UK and now wish to extend or amend their status and is rare at overseas diplomatic posts - even then from my experience it is usually linked to age concessions as opposed to nationality. IMHO given the facts/details as you have presented them, I am unable to note any compelling reasons why discretion should be exercised in your favour. Sorry this is not the news you may have wished to hear. You can always seek a second opinion from a suitably qualified legal practitioner.