Zillion thanks to everyone on this forum who spare their time in helping others out, this forum truly deserves the credit for my ILR success
My application was riddled with complications, I was on first WP for 3.5 years, second WP for another 18 months then teir 2 for 2 years :
1. I had a break in my UK visa when I switched my employer in 2008 and joined a new employer in 2009, eventhough the gap was only 10 days between my first Leave to remain expiry and new leave to enter during which I had to leave the UK, I had been told this has been an issue for many people and various experts on this forum were of the opinion that I would be wasting my time and money if I apply for ILR. However someone named Haniffa.S PM'd me and quoted her own example and just based on her success I went ahead and applied for my ILR, cant thank her enough really for that
2.Days outside of the UK added up to 250 in total in last 5 years and many thanks to Jami who has challenged the ambiguity around these rules, sought clarifications from Homeoffice and elaborated on the details for people like me on this forum. I was only paid for apprx 150 days out of 250 while I was away but this didnt prove to be a problem at the end
3. I had no susbtantial co-hab docs at all for the entire 2 year duration, had a whole NHS file for my wife with a letter addressed to her each month on account of her pregnancy an year ago but no joint letters that are conventionally required
The case worker was a male in his early 40's, extremely kind and exceptionally patient. I was a nervous wreck for nearly 2 months since I had booked my appointment but was reduced to a complete bumbling idiot on the morning of the appointment, the CW had to repeat his questions before i would undertsand even the simplest of the enquires and summon my faculties to say something remotely coherent
The CW still went ahead and took an exception from his supervisor on first two deviations and for the third one he took my two year insurance letters and last 2 months joint bank statements
I did have every paper and credential from last 7 years and did my days outside calculations etc in various readable formats on A3 Prints, did all my employer letters etc spot on. Had about 25 KGs of paper work with me, which much to my surprise I had no use for in the actual assessment process.
The staff in solihull is - true to everyones word - brilliant and very polite. This I found to be true by any standards, but more so in contrast with Croydon staff some of whom I remember to be very condescending, Some Croydon folks display the kind of weariness you see in people who have to deal with general public day in and day out, not that it justifies them being rude to anyone. Solihull staff on the other hand right from the security through to the Bio metrics people seem to take genuine interest in their work and treat people with a level professionalism and efficiency that you dont see in many places
A million dollar advice I took from Jami's post was around selecting PEO Vs postal app route. where most people say PEO should be used for straightfwd cases Jami in one of his posts said PEO helps in convoluted cases more as you can explain your circumstances better that way, which I interpreted as - theres no substitute for human interaction and the fairness in judgement that it entails. Postal apps I can imagine can have a drawback where a mere technicality gets you disqualified as you lack that opportunity to present your reasons.
I wasnt given my approval letter the same day due to IT issues but it did arrive promptly 2 days later as promised followed by the Biometrics cards.
Thanks to everyone again who share their expertise and experiences here and many thanks to moderators , Haniffa and Jami especially.
I do not believe my single experience qualifies me to guide others in any way as well as the experts here but if you have any questions for me I'd be glad to answer.
Warm Regards
Saurabh
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