help! submitted the appeal frm pakistn what next??

hi every 1, i hope u could tell me the procedure of appeal against decision
i have posted my appeal for non settlement spouse visa from pakistan,
i wanted to know what happen next ?
will they send me or my husband any letter saying they have recived our documents?
and how long does it take to resolve?
is court hearing is must?
my husband is my representative in uk will he get confirmation letter or phone call from ait???
and in the last , my soliciter has sent all my and my husband documnet along with my passport....has he done it right,,,?cause i heard tht u dont have to send passport with ur appeal?
i will really really thankful for ur responce , hope u all could understand the pain we going through....thanks again

Its a long process and the information is available on many websites, but I shall try to put it in a concise form for you as I have a personal experience of appeal as well(which, by the grace of God, I have won).

1. You are better off applying directly from the UK to the AIT, for example, if your husband is there, he should have faxed the papers to the AIT from there rather than from here, as it is going to take at least 2 weeks or may be more for the application to reach the AIT from Pakistan.

2. The AIT is very busy and it will be a further 2-4 weeks till they get your application into their computer system and yes, they will send your husband a written letter acknowledging the application as well as issue you with

a. A Reference Number
b. An FCO number

3. The documents of your appeal will be sent to the EC?O who originally declined your application, for review. If he thinks you should be issued with a visa in light of the new evidence folder, he will inform the AIT and call you. This process usually takes a further 4-6 weeks.

4. In the case, the ECO is still not satisfied, he will send his supporting evidence back to the AIT.

5. The AIT will then arrange for a hearing in the Court of Appeal, which again takes a further 4 weeks as they have a huge backlog.

6. Your representative will have to attend the court hearing on your behalf, and i seriously advise you that he is accompanied by a solicitor as it greatly increases chances of success.

7. The court will either allow or reject the appeal. In the case, God forbid, that the court rejects the appeal, the best way is to reapply, with proper planning.

8. In the case that the court allows the appeal, the court will send documents to the applicable POU of the UK Border Agency, where a Specialist Appeals Team (SAT) will confirm if your appeal allowance merits a visa. They will then inform the BHC in Pakistan.

9. The BHC will then call you for a visa stamp, which can take anywhere from 8-20 weeks depending on the back log.

You are right. You need not send the passport anywhere. Now your passport is stuck for the better part of 6 months or more. If it is any help, here are the time lines for my appeal case:

Appeal papers faxed to the AIT - 17th April, 2008
Letter received from the AIT - 22nd May, 2008
Papers received by the ECO for review - 2nd June, 2008
ECO sends papers back for court hearing - 28th June, 2008
AIT letter received for a court hearing date - 19th July, 2008
Court hearing - 26th September, 2008
Decision received via court letter for appeal allowed - 30th September, 2008
SAT decision for no objection - 13th October, 2008
BHC changes status of application to appeal successful - no objection - 24th October, 2008
Waiting still for the visa to be stamped - 13th November, 2008

Although i have gone through the entire appeal process successfully, it is my belief that one is always better off by reapplying instead of appealing. But, since you have already lodged the appeal, i suggest you do not withdraw the appeal and reapply, but to go through the entire appeal process as above. Good Luck and keep us posted.

If there is anything you need to ask, please do.

hi ,
thanks riff ,i am really really thankful to you for explaining me step by step the procedure of appeal, it was really really help full as no one of us knw the procedure and we were wondering what going to happen next,
i have emailed the detail that u sent me to my husband,
well God know whats coming around the corner , all we can do is hope, discuss and help each other,
let me explained u about our case as u advise to reaply, the thing is i have applied twice ,
i applied for student wife, in july , then got refusal saying i havent showed my husband 1)progress documnet and 2)property declairation, and my conditional sponsor details, which they consider as a regular sponsor, then i applied second time in sep and got refusal again in mid october, well we are all really upset , we tried, but unfortunatly coudnt get through, any how discuss with a lawyer , and got adviced to appeal, so we did , but obviously only my husband could go in hearing as he is the only representative in uk , well forgot to tell u on basis of my sponsor financial position they have refused 2nd time,
its really realy a sad for us , didnt really want to upset any one, but i would say to every one to b positive think positive, beleive in God , never give up , but i really would value any one who want to come forward and help me regarding my case, God bless u All, thanks Mrs kainat

Not to mention. Always there to help. I have gone through this suffering myself, so I understand how you feel.

As far as your refusal is concerned, if you could get the exact wording on the refusal letter, may be I could help you with making a stronger case.

Did you use solicitors in Pakistan? If you did, that was a bad move, as the solicitors here dont do anything, and more importantly, dont know anything. Its a waste of time and money.

Good news for you is, that since the appeal process is very very long, you can reapply while the appeal is going on, if your finances allow it. This application will have to be made very very carefully, as it would be a third application as well as parallel to your appeal application. I would advise you to read some appropriate threads on this topic before doing so. If you are unable to find some material which could help you in putting up a good application, let me know and I'll try to find some for you.

Remember me in your prayers, God bless and Good Luck

A-o-a , hw r u , surprised to knw that i could do reaply while submitting the application , i sit 100% right, cause as u knw it will be the third time , and we dont really ruin our case...but again could u double check plz, and another thing wich convince me to go for appeal was that there is nw just one objection , and if God want it will be resolve soon InshaAllah, i will pray for ur happy life , hws bhabi g and whn u flying to uk , plz plz pray for me , as it getting really painful experience , God solve our problems.....keep intouch and any new about appeal procedure plz let me knw, and i heard they hurry the procedure of appeal , by cutting down to just 4 months .....is it true?

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply as I was on the move for the last 3-4 days, and could not spare time to browse on the forum.

Answer 1 - Yes, it is 100% confirmed that you can reapply while your appeal is going on. Since reapply gets you a decision quicker, if you get a visa, you can notify the AIT and they will close the appeal procedure. In case you are refused, not to worry, as the appeal would be going on anyway, and the reapplication has no bearing on the appeal.

Answer 2 - My wife is fine mashallah, and I have been issued with the letter to submit my passport to the embassy for stamping of the visa. So, to be on the safe side, I will be leaving for the UK around the first week of December.

3. No, this is not true. Can you give me a link from where you got this information that the appeal time is shortened? If a solicitor or an agent told you this, he is lying through his teeth.