Do the UK CAA bit first. For me, that took longer than the US side of things!
The key thing for the FAA paperwork is to use fax not post and you'll get it through in days, not weeks. I faxed mine on a Friday and had a fax back on Tuesday.
Just be aware that some (all?) of the FSDOs in Florida are not playing ball any more and are insisting you make a paid appointment with a DPE. I think the rest of the country is unaffected by this.
Having said that, with the whole US government shut down at the moment, it's anyones guess how long it would take. Although they say aviation isn't affected, it's difficult to believe that would extend to non-essential services like this.
Last edited by stevelup; 2nd Oct 2013 at 06:44.