givezemra wrote:Hello
I emailed UKVI to chase up my husband's application and have received a standard reply. Should I expect to receive an actual update? I exceed the minimum income requirement by a few thousand so it shouldn't even be held for that. That's why I had written to them asking why it was put on hold when I meet the income requirement. Has anyone responded to this reply and received any further information?
"In regards to your query, unfortunately we can not assist if the application has been placed on hold. We can not escalation and investigate further.
Please note that the onus is upon individual customers to ensure that they satisfy the requirements set out in the guidance material. The guidance material accompanies each and every application form. UK Visa and Immigration is not able to give, indicate or advise upon the outcome of any such application prior to it being given full and careful consideration.
Directing you to the guidance material is the only advice we can give you. If you need any further help you should seek independent immigration advice. Immigration advisors can help you with immigration matters, including completion of forms and representing you at a tribunal. The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) regulates immigration advisors, which means they must meet certain standards."
Hi,
No it is
normal to not receive a specific detailed update - remember your reply is from the UKVI email service not the actual visa section the application has gone to. The only time I have got more detailed information was when the reply came from the UKVI in Warsaw, Poland. The reply was more detailed is this is where the application was being assessed (I know this as they confirmed so in email correspondence) - but even then they were not willing to go into detail and explain why the documents I had submitted were not sufficient to verify I had met the financial threshold element of Appendix FM (please see earlier threads where I have copied and pasted my communication from UKVI).
Like other people have mentioned, calling the UKVI by email or phone is not helpful.
I will only contact the UKVI once it has passed 120 days (24 weeks) as by then at the very latest they should have replied (also bear in mind some unfortunate people in this thread have waited longer than 24 weeks). If they have not replied beyond this date then you can issue a Pre-Action Protocol but this is costly (approx £1,500 depending on solicitor). Even then if they do not give a satisfactory response (please see earlier threads with response from UKVI regarding PAP) as to why they have taken so long you can take it further with a Judicial Review which not only is far more expensive (£4K upwards) than the PAP but can take 9-12 months (imagine in the time you would definitely get a response without having these costs). I have looked into this option and decided to be patient and continue waiting even if it drives me mad - I am confident they will give us a decision no later than the end of this year (I know devastatingly long!). People advised in earlier threads the hold which was lifted on 10/08/17 will take up to 12 weeks to clear - but since I paid priority this should be earlier than 12 weeks. I know its frustrating but as we have proven communication via the paid for UKVI system is not overly helpful and the only other option is to pay the solicitor more money in the route I explained above. I thought long and hard about it and decided I should not need to pay more money to get an answer - also we know for sure the hold has been lifted and they are working through the backlog.
I know I have not replied to your earlier thread about my situation but will do in due course! I hope this message provides some comfort
.