50 signatures reached
To: CAROLINE NOKES MINISTER OF IMMIGRATION
SPOUSE VISA - HOME OFFICE GROSS NEGLECT, KEEPING MY FAMILY APART
Dear Minister,
My husband is being kept out of the country and has been for months now whilst we've been dragged through this terrible and barbaric process of trying to get him his Spouse Visa. I am a British Citizen born and bred and my husband is an American Citizen born and bred.
I am due to give birth via C-Section on 15th May 2018 so just 3 weeks away, my husband has missed the entire pregnancy and will now miss the birth thanks to this incredibly horrific system. I am now facing my fear of giving birth alone and looking after our new born. Plus the fact I will be recovering from the operation.
My husband was refused his visa on our initial application back in September 2017 based on mistakes made by the Home Office. It was suggested my husband and I had never met and that my income didn't meet the threshold. Despite the fact my husband and I were married here in the UK with permission we had been given by the Home Office (the very same people later suggesting we had never met) and I supplied all the supporting financial documents stated as required on the gov.uk website proving that my income is over the threshold. There is a massive injustice here. We have now been going through the appeals process for months and are no further to a resolution. The system is so badly flawed and seems designed to keep families apart. Our Expedite Requests have been denied despite supporting statements from my GP and my MP and the deadlines issued to the Home Office from the Courts and Tribunals Dept have been ignored. They have also ignored my MP's demands to have the situation fixed.
You are in the one position to have this whole situation resolved, to grant my husband his visa and allow him to come home to me and his daughter. Please don't make us go through any further process that will keep us apart any longer.
My husband is being kept out of the country and has been for months now whilst we've been dragged through this terrible and barbaric process of trying to get him his Spouse Visa. I am a British Citizen born and bred and my husband is an American Citizen born and bred.
I am due to give birth via C-Section on 15th May 2018 so just 3 weeks away, my husband has missed the entire pregnancy and will now miss the birth thanks to this incredibly horrific system. I am now facing my fear of giving birth alone and looking after our new born. Plus the fact I will be recovering from the operation.
My husband was refused his visa on our initial application back in September 2017 based on mistakes made by the Home Office. It was suggested my husband and I had never met and that my income didn't meet the threshold. Despite the fact my husband and I were married here in the UK with permission we had been given by the Home Office (the very same people later suggesting we had never met) and I supplied all the supporting financial documents stated as required on the gov.uk website proving that my income is over the threshold. There is a massive injustice here. We have now been going through the appeals process for months and are no further to a resolution. The system is so badly flawed and seems designed to keep families apart. Our Expedite Requests have been denied despite supporting statements from my GP and my MP and the deadlines issued to the Home Office from the Courts and Tribunals Dept have been ignored. They have also ignored my MP's demands to have the situation fixed.
You are in the one position to have this whole situation resolved, to grant my husband his visa and allow him to come home to me and his daughter. Please don't make us go through any further process that will keep us apart any longer.
Why is this important?
My husband and I met in March 2016 through E Harmony, he lived in Florida and I here in the UK, I spent alot of time in Florida with him throughout 2016 including our first Christmas and subsequent New Year together. He came to the UK in March 2017 and lived with me throughout the 6 months of his stay. During this time he really fell in love with the UK and we decided this is where we'd settle. We happily got engaged shortly afterwards and began planning our wedding.
In order for us to get married here in the UK we were required to meet with the Home Office and get permission. We met with them in May 2017, we were interviewed together and seperatley and provided all documentation of our relationship etc that was required. Because we didn't have nor had we applied for a Marriage Visa the Home Office had to decide if they were happy for us to go ahead and marry. It took a few weeks but we were thrilled to recieve correspondence from them saying we had been approved. We had our ceremony on August 7th 2017.
My husband left the UK on 1st September 2017 a few days short of the 6 months he was able to be here without a visa. On the 4th September 2017 he submitted his application for the Spouse Visa along with sending our supporting documents to the Home Office Sheffield Offices. Our supporting Docs were gathered in accordance to the list and guidlines on the Gov.UK website which we used as a checklist to ensure complete compliance. It was a few weeks after this that we discovered we were pregnant and expecting our first child. We were thrilled and excited and just joyous, eager for our reuniting to enjoy the baby journey together.
In November we were hit with a massive blow when my husband received a letter stating he had been refused the visa. The letter stated that despite our Marriage Certificate we hadn't proven that we had actually met. This statement made no sense, the marriage certificate is a UK marriage certificate and it was the Home Office who had previously met us and given us approval. We wouldn't have been able to get married without this permission. They also said that my income wasn't proven to meet the threshold despite my submitting over 12 months worth of invoices along with corresponding Bank Statements and a statement from the Company I work for. (All stated as required on gov.uk)
We decided at that point to appeal as we had more than enough extra documentation to show the points raised were unfounded. In our appeal bundle we submitted our entire relationship from the day we met back in the beginning of 2016. E Harmony supplied us with all our communications from the day we met to the day we closed our accounts. We included all our pictures including wedding pictures, txt messages, phone calls, video calls, emails basically our entire communication history, boarding passes showing the numerous times we were physically together and length of time we spent together, all the new pregnancy documentation we had to date, social media, statements from supporting bodies. As for my finances, we submitted all my HMRC documentation including SA302, Tax Year Over view for 2016-2017 & 2017-2018, my current position and upcoming Tax Bill. I also resubmitted all supporting bank statements and invoices from April 2016 right upto that point which was November 2017, this time I highlighted each deposit to match it to the corresponding invoice and highlighted all my details such as name, address etc stated on the invoices, bank statements and Tax Docs to show they were all matching. I also paid an ICAEW Registered Accountant to audit me and provide a statement stating all income was lawful and correct and my Landlord issued a statement to show home stability and security and that our property is more than adequate size wise.
My husband submitted the entire bundle well within the 28 day time scale given to us if we wanted to appeal. The Courts and Tribunals Dept approved the appeal, they processed it and our bundle was submitted back to the Home Office Sheffield Offices on December 21st 2017 for them to over turn the decision. They were given a deadline of April 4th 2018 to have dealt with our case.
We are still waiting. Now facing a judicial review which could take yet more months. All because the Home Office made the mistake of denying us in the first place and then ignoring our appeal since. They have even ignored my MP.
I had advised the Courts and Tribunals Dept that my due date was May 20th 2018 (now 15th May)and asked them to bring the deadline forward because given the length of time it takes to go through the various processes we would be right up against it for my husband to be home in time for our daughter being born. All Expedite Requests have been denied stating our circumstances weren't compelling enough. That statement alone raises the question as to why there are thousands and thousands of pounds every year being spent on research done by the NHS to show how important it is for expectant mums esp first time mums to be as calm and relaxed as possible and the importance of the father being there for the birth and to bond with the new born.
Not only that but the guidance on gov.uk is not accurate. My husband and I had to dig out Requirement Appendixes not stated on gov.uk in order to guarantee compliance. The system is designed to keep people out despite their right to be here.
The problem is that we are being ignored and dismissed along with the countless other families out there going through the same process and being so cruelly kept apart. Our lives just put on hold with a shut up and suffer attitude. My husband is about to miss the birth of our daughter, it's disgusting.
Please sign this petition, stand up and show that as British Citizens we are not going to allow our rights to be violated like this. We are not going to allow our families to be torn apart by this terrible system. Changes need to be made and they need to be made now.
In order for us to get married here in the UK we were required to meet with the Home Office and get permission. We met with them in May 2017, we were interviewed together and seperatley and provided all documentation of our relationship etc that was required. Because we didn't have nor had we applied for a Marriage Visa the Home Office had to decide if they were happy for us to go ahead and marry. It took a few weeks but we were thrilled to recieve correspondence from them saying we had been approved. We had our ceremony on August 7th 2017.
My husband left the UK on 1st September 2017 a few days short of the 6 months he was able to be here without a visa. On the 4th September 2017 he submitted his application for the Spouse Visa along with sending our supporting documents to the Home Office Sheffield Offices. Our supporting Docs were gathered in accordance to the list and guidlines on the Gov.UK website which we used as a checklist to ensure complete compliance. It was a few weeks after this that we discovered we were pregnant and expecting our first child. We were thrilled and excited and just joyous, eager for our reuniting to enjoy the baby journey together.
In November we were hit with a massive blow when my husband received a letter stating he had been refused the visa. The letter stated that despite our Marriage Certificate we hadn't proven that we had actually met. This statement made no sense, the marriage certificate is a UK marriage certificate and it was the Home Office who had previously met us and given us approval. We wouldn't have been able to get married without this permission. They also said that my income wasn't proven to meet the threshold despite my submitting over 12 months worth of invoices along with corresponding Bank Statements and a statement from the Company I work for. (All stated as required on gov.uk)
We decided at that point to appeal as we had more than enough extra documentation to show the points raised were unfounded. In our appeal bundle we submitted our entire relationship from the day we met back in the beginning of 2016. E Harmony supplied us with all our communications from the day we met to the day we closed our accounts. We included all our pictures including wedding pictures, txt messages, phone calls, video calls, emails basically our entire communication history, boarding passes showing the numerous times we were physically together and length of time we spent together, all the new pregnancy documentation we had to date, social media, statements from supporting bodies. As for my finances, we submitted all my HMRC documentation including SA302, Tax Year Over view for 2016-2017 & 2017-2018, my current position and upcoming Tax Bill. I also resubmitted all supporting bank statements and invoices from April 2016 right upto that point which was November 2017, this time I highlighted each deposit to match it to the corresponding invoice and highlighted all my details such as name, address etc stated on the invoices, bank statements and Tax Docs to show they were all matching. I also paid an ICAEW Registered Accountant to audit me and provide a statement stating all income was lawful and correct and my Landlord issued a statement to show home stability and security and that our property is more than adequate size wise.
My husband submitted the entire bundle well within the 28 day time scale given to us if we wanted to appeal. The Courts and Tribunals Dept approved the appeal, they processed it and our bundle was submitted back to the Home Office Sheffield Offices on December 21st 2017 for them to over turn the decision. They were given a deadline of April 4th 2018 to have dealt with our case.
We are still waiting. Now facing a judicial review which could take yet more months. All because the Home Office made the mistake of denying us in the first place and then ignoring our appeal since. They have even ignored my MP.
I had advised the Courts and Tribunals Dept that my due date was May 20th 2018 (now 15th May)and asked them to bring the deadline forward because given the length of time it takes to go through the various processes we would be right up against it for my husband to be home in time for our daughter being born. All Expedite Requests have been denied stating our circumstances weren't compelling enough. That statement alone raises the question as to why there are thousands and thousands of pounds every year being spent on research done by the NHS to show how important it is for expectant mums esp first time mums to be as calm and relaxed as possible and the importance of the father being there for the birth and to bond with the new born.
Not only that but the guidance on gov.uk is not accurate. My husband and I had to dig out Requirement Appendixes not stated on gov.uk in order to guarantee compliance. The system is designed to keep people out despite their right to be here.
The problem is that we are being ignored and dismissed along with the countless other families out there going through the same process and being so cruelly kept apart. Our lives just put on hold with a shut up and suffer attitude. My husband is about to miss the birth of our daughter, it's disgusting.
Please sign this petition, stand up and show that as British Citizens we are not going to allow our rights to be violated like this. We are not going to allow our families to be torn apart by this terrible system. Changes need to be made and they need to be made now.
