"leave to enter for six months" vs fiancee visa ap

[silverplane]

Hello, I've looked through several pages of posts here (as well as official guidelines) but I can't find the answer to my query.

I'm a UK citizen and my girlfriend is a US citizen. We want her to join me here in the UK on a fiancee visa but her current passport status is "leave to enter for six months" which I understand cannot be changed until it expires in February. So, do we have to wait until it expires before we can begin the application for a fiancee visa or can we begin it before that date so as to avoid any delays while our application is processed?

Many thanks for any advice.

[vinny]

Her leave to enter would have lapsed upon her departure from the UK (20). She may apply for a Fiancé(e) visa from the USA at any time.