Your VisaJourney time line information section says to wait to 10 days after August 14, but I would not wait that long.I would call now. The number I have is (800) 375-5283.

Im going to give it a sht...Thanx a lot Tony..

TONY! Congrats on getting the NOA! As you know, we both started about the same time last year, so I use you as a benchmark to see how I'm doing. They received our AOS packet on July 6th, one week after they got yours, so I'm guessing we'll have our checks cashed at the end of this week or early next week.


Thanks Dan

We got the biometrics appointment letter in the mail today so things are looking good. Greys enjoyed talking with Silvia.

Welcome Byron...............This is a journey to test your patience. This site can be very helpful. I paticurly like the Colombia thread as it directly pertains to us. Reading other people's timelines has been very helpful to determine about how long I can expect to wait. It would be good if you complete your time line also. It's fun to add to it when as you progress along. LOL>LOL.
As you read more here you will discover everyones journey can be different, but almost always you can find the answear to your question. Knowing you have found it can be hard at times. LOL. The people here are pretty patient and those that have gone through the process and are further along can give their account of how they overcame a challenge.
For me, I tend to hit the panic button a little quick. Everything to date has been solved after I calm down. There are many ways to get over and around some of the issues you may encounter. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well buck..i am very impatient myself..i met her in Feb and sometimes i get a little nervous because i think that because it is so recent they might base their decision because of t..not knowing that we really feel what we feel and want this to go through so badly

I'm Lucho

Keep us updated after you call VSC. Let us know what they tell you. They might give you the run around. If they do give you the run around, let me know. There is a "RFE trick" that you can implement to see if you have been approved.

Lucho..whats up..nice to meet...well your right , theydid give me the run around..the typical, well it takes 45-60 days to get an approval...so aggravating!!!..

Try calling them again. And inquire that you want more info on your RFE (request for more evidence). This should make them shed some light on your case. It's like you're tricking them into telling you that you're either approved, have an RFE, or they still have not processed your case.

This RFE trick does work. Many here on VJ have used it. Especially us January filers.

If that doesnt work, which it should. Try calling NVC and giving them your case #.

Also, be patient bro. This process requires patience to the fullest.

Im beginning to see the patience thing!!! im going to try the RFE thing tomorrow..thanx a lot!! i reallly hope it works!!!

Hey Byron

I took a look at the reported historical trends for K-1 approvals at the VSC. The trend shows a increase in April of approximately 30 days average approval time to a average now of 69 days! So the information given to you was accurate. Funny thing...... the other service center times did change. This kind of torpedoes my theory. My be the result of organizational and process changes. Anyway, let us know how the RFE trick turned out.

WOW!!!!!! from 30 to 69???? more than double....why is that...that sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome Byron...Sounds like you're off to a good start and you're definitely in good hands. My advice is to take some time to read through as much of the thread as you can, I would say that if you go back to September 06 and work your way forward you should have most of the stories from the veterans that are still around and posting (Mike, Tony, OjosAzules...ect). Reading the posts will answer many of your questions ahead of time and give you an idea what your timelines are. Of course, you are welcome to ask any questions and all of us will do our best to help you in YOUR JOURNEY. Good Luck!!!

Dre

Tony, my congratulations also!!! I'm finding that having an instant family here has made it more of a trick to visit VisaJourney like I was before. Be sure to share any tips you have on the AOS process. Right now we are waiting for our medical exam appointment before I send in the AOS packet.

Mucho gracias! I'm wishing for a transfer to the CSC and one of those 2 month approvals but I'm prepared for the waiting game.

good luck

You're going to have to adopt a much calmer approach to dealing with certain US Gov't agencies if you want a smooth approval. This is only the beginning so just try and remember to look at the positives: you filed at Vermont. Other folks filed a couple of months at other locations and they will still have to wait longer than you will. Keep that in perspective and things should be smoother for ya.

Good luck and check out the posts dating back to '06. Its a good initiation into all the information, and changes, that occur for us that have gone through Bogotá.

I remember when the Vermont Service Center used to approve K1s withing 3-4 weeks, it was insane. Things have chaaaaaanged now. I honestly would give it till 8/18 to get approved, if it happens before that, then great. If not, then you know that you gave it about 90 days. In reality, getting approved takes an average of 90-120 days, and you haven't even reached the 60 day mark.

Patience grasshopper.

Diana

Welcome Byron!

thanks for all the support...it is so stressfull!!!!!!! but you guys bring some calm to me...i am going to try to look at the bright side with things..just seems like the vermont service center took a turn for the worst...from everything i have read it use to be way better in past times

I have a buddy whose Colombian fiance got a K1 visa today. She went alone. They were pretty tough on her. They claimed that his divorce papers were not in the papers although they actually were. This through her off gaurd since. At this point they had the papers, so she couldn't show them. Then they slammed her with questions.
What was his birthday
How many kids did he have ( a bunch )
How many grandkids did he have ( even more )
Where did they all live and what were their names.
One of his wives died of cancer. They asked what kind of cancer she had and what her name was.
They asked about Spanish / English communication.
There may be more that I can add later. This is hot off the wire report. I will try to post again when I know a little more.
God Bless all of you, I know what you are going through. I was there a long time ago and VisaJourney was an incredible source of information.

I agree,visajourney is great!!! as far as the interview, i wish i was worryng about that right now...right now im terrified about getting denied!!!!!!!!! my lawyer turned out to be horrible...the package she sent in had nothing but, all my info, her info , and a letter saying how we met and what we feel for eachother,, God i hope i dont get denied!!!

Byron,

Chill out. It is very hard to get denied at the USCIS level. You'd have to be ineligible for some reason to get denied. Ineligible such as being married (not being divorced yet), being here illegaly etc. Worst case scenario is that you will receive and RFE. All you have to do if you receive an RFE is return what they ask for. An RFE should only delay your case a few weeks or so....but it wont mean a denial. Relax bro. At this rate you'll end up as bald as me.

....im losing it bro!!!! time has never gone so slow in my life!!!! out of all the girls in my life the one that got me had to be like a million miles away?? go figure!

If you continue at this pace, Byron, you will have a heart attack. That won't do your fiancee any good. Instead of stressing out spend your time planning better things and continue to learn about each other. Take a chill pill every morning, afternoon, and night just before bed. It also helps if you bring questions to the forum that can be answered- we all agree that this is the kind of place for that. The rest you can find by reading up and using the search functions.

Relax, breathe, and wait. All of us here that did not get lucky to be able to file through Vermont had to wait a LOT longer than you will have to for an NOA2.

byron, read the signatures of the people that have gone through this and you´ll see that most, if not all have had to wait a long time. whether its for a CR1 or K visa we´ve all had to endure the slow paced system along with dealing with procedural changes along the way, just relax. use this time to ready everything, get things filled out ahead of time, read james shortcuts, plan ahead so when the time comes to move onto the next step you´ll be ready. good luck
JK

I suggest you read every post Lucho made here since the beginning of May. That way you will get an idea of what he and his fiancée had to go through and what type of paperwork you'll need since he also filed for a K1 visa. It will definitely keep you busy.

I understan Byron. I was fortunate. Our visa process was pretty fast...Dec to Feb! I must admit the speed caught me by surprise so I was not where I wanted to be when she arrived ( still remodeling house, looking for second car,etc ). So relax, you two have a long life together. Prepare for here arrival. Get her ready by prepping her for the interview. Practice possible questions and get to know more about each other and your lives. The interviews are different, if the CO senses a red flag then they will ask many questions..so have her ready and confident. After ready many posts on VJ, i'm not a fan of visa lawyers. I know some cases warrant them ( visa overstays, criminal record, etc ) but for most I don't think they are worth it. But you anyway, you will be fine.

Thanks Tony, wow i didnt realize that your process was tha fast, hopefully you will rub some of that good luck on all of us!!!! You know i am overlooking the whole interview process a little, great, another thing to worry about .....off the top your head or anybody else in here, what are some typical questions being asked???????

Byron,

Read my post on page 81, post #1214. It is a report from our interview. It has a few questions there. When I get home I can forward you a list I compiled of possible questions that I gathered from reading all the posts.

Gracias!!!! i would appreciate that. I will read the post also. Thanks so much Lucho.

I also wanted to ask where can i get a full scope of all the documents i need for the packages...maybe this will keep me busy and sane!!

Hey Byron,
I didn't get a chance to welcome you yet. If you read through this thread from about 6 to 7 months ago forward...you'll find a lot of people posted the questions that they were asked. It can be varied, but all of it is pretty much along the lines of, "do you really know this person and do they know you".
Don't necessarily try to guess what the questions would be, but think of yourself as an officer in the embassy window with the job of trying to figure out if this couple in front of you is legit. The officer's goal is not to trick you, it's to make sure they're certain you're not pulling a fast one on the U.S. and A. So think about what would you ask you. What is her grandmother's name on her mother's side? A question like that shows that you've actually met her extended family. Have you ever travelled together? This is a question that covers two things, it checks to see if you've ever been alone together and it's not an arranged visa thing, and it also makes you discuss details. The officer can ask the same question to you and your fiancee and it's vague enough for you to accidentally reveal a lie (if you're lying). Our interview experience was great, as was many other's here in this forum. Andrea and Oscar's not so great....but even with all they've been through they figured out what to do to press on and get to the next step. I'll echo above statements that patience is the most important thing here all you'll drive yourself insane with things you can't control.
Make sure you and your fiancee always answer the truth no matter if it's what they want to hear or not. But I digress, you'll have more chance to worry about the interview down the road. We'll prep you.

On the stress note...it might be helpful to think about it this way....
It's non of the governments business how quickly you fell in love, or how quickly you asked her to marry you. Their job is to decide if the situation is realistic and if you meet all the legal categories. The first part is to check for legal requirements. That's the I-129F. All you're doing is opening a petition to get a visa. If you meet the requirements, and you showed that to them, they'll approve you.
The next part admitedly is more stressful. The interview. (that's why you need to keep cool now). With the interview you need to prove to the embassy that you are legitamately a couple and that they shouldn't be concerned that your fiance will become a problem to the state. The good thing is, the two of you ARE proof of that, you just need to figure out how to show the government. So instead of stressing about whether they'll accept you, think about how you're going to present your case. Come up with your angle, just as if you were trying to show a skeptical mother that you found the woman of your dreams.
for example:
We met doing....it was amazing and I'll always remember it because of.....
We then couldn't stop talking, we would talk on the phone every night until my bill became $....... then we switched to messenger and you can see our conversations here.....
I had to get back to see here, and i came back here....We did ....and this...., (from her perspective)...it was hard for him to meet my family, he was shy but we did .....and we bonded over ...... my mother cooked with him...etc..
you get the point. Once you have your story board in your mind that you want to present, then you choose all the evidence to back up your story. If you see "holes" in your story, or things that might not be so believable, fix the holes. Go back if you need to, travel somewhere in colombia if you need to. You have time for all of this. Your story will continue to develop as you go.
Hope that helps.

Byron,

K1 Visa Packet 3 link
http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsck1instructions.shtml
(actual packet 3 is the 1st bulleted link)


K1 Visa Packet 4 link
http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/co1/wwwfck1cita_temp.pdf

Byron,

I hope these last few days have helped you put this process into perspective. I'm amazed at how many VJers are willing to invest the time and energy to help each other through this journey. You're in the best place you could be and at the right time. Don't freak out, be prepared. Don't focus so much on the paperwork and the processs (though its very important), focus on your fiance. I echo blueeyes and tonys on this one: spend time getting to know each other. The paperwork in the US is not usually a problem, but speaking on my personal experience, I will advise you to address ANY possible red flags at the USCIS level BEFORE your case goes to the consulate. Here's some info that I learned AFTER my husband's visa was denied and that EVERY VJer should read BEFORE they send their I-130 or K3 application in:

First of all, while its not a bad idea to think of WORST case scenarios early on, the other VJers are right in advising you to just be as honest as you can be with everything up front. If there are ANY issues you think may come up during an interview, bring them up from the begining. This may include you writing out the concern and the explination and including it with your I-129F and I-130 application. This way, it can be address at the USCIS level BEFORE your case goes to the Embassy. See...once the NVC approves your petition, the EMBASSY cannot deny the visa based on circumstances that USCIS is aware of and you've address. The Embassy can only deny issuing the visa based on evidience or circumstances that were not evident or exposed in your initial application. You may want to refer to this article by Ellis Island, an immigration attorney that posts here on VJ and has represented several VJers with 'soft denials' and 'administrative processing' proceedures: http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0323-ellis.shtm

I WISH I had read this before our February Interview. If you would like a COMPREHENSIVE list of questions (hahaha), PM me and I'll email them to you. Believe me...I have just about every possible question known to man...They asked me most of them in February.

And Byron...please don't read my posts and think this will happen to you too...if you look at the trends for VJ Colombia Club, I'm probably the only one with this issue, so its just the exception. And as you can see, I'll be in Bogota on Monday for my 3rd interview because I didn't give up.

Good luck,

Dre

As much as I've hated to wait this long, I'm really glad we did because it's given us time to gather every piece of document we've needed and we've also had time to plan for the interview. You can never have too much time to prepare for the interview.

Welcome to the club, Byron! As mentioned by others, read ALL the posts from November (or so) forward. That is roughly page 13 through 89. It's not as hard as it sounds. Also, focus on posts by and information for the K-1 process. There are three different types of visas being discussed in the Colombia Club, and there are several differences between the processes in the types of visas.

The best single piece of advice is to read, read, and then read again. The more you learn about the process and the documentation, the more sense it will make and the simpler it will seem. Then your stress level will go down. Believe me, if I can do it, anybody can do it!

Charlie

Byron, the lawyer thing................I am using a lawyer, my contract with them is good thru the AOS process. I decide to hire a lawyer cuz I did not have the slightest idea how to go about the process. I did not discover this site untill after I put forth the money for the lawyer. it seems they can help you with the process while it is in the US, after that when it goes to the US Embassy in Bogota, they do not have any more or better connections then you and I. In other words, your on your own. But not really on your own, you have this site!!! The paper work to apply for the visa is easy. If you can speak, understand and read spanish, your in good shape for the instructions and docs from the Embassy. I had the list of questions folks have been asked from this site translated to spanish for Paola. Cost>>> $450.00.......OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. So, getting the Pkt 3 and Pkt 4 stuff translated to english, is, or was not a viable option for me.
I have been doing what folks on this site have been telling me and I feel like we have good evidence of a true and real relationship. This is the part that taked time and is VERY important. The papers and docs can be a challenge depending on where you sweetie lives, but that can be overcome with persistence and time. Building your case to present is thre most important thing. That is really where it all comes down to. Whether it will be approved or not.
Once I got that in my head it helped me to calm down some and even appreciate the fact that this stuff takes time. I need the time to prepare for the interview. You are in the very beginning, in time it will all be taken care of. (easy for me to say).
Paola and I talk on MSN messenger every night. Talk on the phone every day. I have been down there to see her 6 times in the last 1.5 years. I am sure that we have a real relationship, but am still worried about the interview. I am doing all I can to build our case. For some reason I do not have a print option on MSN to print out our daily chats. Everyone I talk to says it is at the top of the screen, but I can not find it. LOL. At any rate most of the chat is going over the questions that may be asked at the interview and, or, is X rated. I don't really want to present that kind of evidence at the interview. LOL.
What all this boils down to is................Lawyers are a waste of money, so far anyway. The folks here have "been there, done that", so they are the "experts", prepare, prepare, prepare for the interview. Every thing else is in your control, the interview is not totally in your control. We need to get as much of it as we can under our control.
For the vets on here that read this, I am not done asking dumb questions yet!!!!!!!!LOL>LOL.

I tried to infiltrate my camera into the embassy....j/k. However I did take some photos from the outside. Enjoy

The Embassy


The preliminary line. This is where you stand before the guards let you in to the area where lines 1, 2, and 3 are.


The infamous line 3

LUCHO....eres un bacano total!!!

OK guys, after reading BUCK's last post I have to ask for someone more tech savy than me to post the interview questions I have somewhere on this site. They are in ENGLISH and SPANISH. I don't want anyone to have to pay $450 to translate something I can give them for FREE. I should have thought of it sooner. Someone please PM me and I'll send you the questions so they can be posted for everyone to use.

And by the way, I have a lot of docs translated if anyone needs them. Just let me know.

Dre

Wow Luchco!!!!!!!!! Nice pics. Not what I had in my mind at all. The sign that has the number "3", is that where the K visas line up? For some reason I thought that was inside. Thanks for the pics!! The more info the better.

Yup, line 3 is for K and other immigrant visas.

Thanks Lucho! My husband is going to love the pics as well. I keep talking about line 3 and now I can put a "face with the name".


I also have some samples that might be useful for the people starting the visa process. I have samples of affidavits of a bona fide marriage (submitted with I-130 for K3 and CR1/IR1 visas). And I also have samples of the translations of the marriage and birth certificates.

I'm totally with Dre on this one, please, please, please do not spend so much money translating this stuff. You can ask for samples here or get them done in Colombia where they will charge you around $7USD.

Diana

Great article Dre. It really has me reconsidering my strategy of keeping it short and sweet for the USCIS.

My original thought was to just submit enough to get the first approval and then bring everything but the kitchen sink to the interview. But if I understand Marc Ellis properly, he is saying if a potentially troubling fact is revealed to USCIS then the consulate cannot consider it as grounds for denial.

So another possible strategy is to reveal any possible grounds for denial, address them in the application and thereby take them off the table.

I've got some thinking to do!

Bill, you're taking the correct approach and you understood the article perfectly. I can site some laws for you right off the USCIS manual that state just what Marc Ellis discusses in the article. Its much better to deal with RFEs and explinations on the front end becuase 99% of applications that are returned to USCIS for Revocation or Denial have a 15-24 month wait before the case is returned to the embassy. I would recomend you go to the Waivers and Administrative Processing Forum on this site and read some of the posts to get an idea of the various issues faced by applicants. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

Dre

However I did take some photos from the outside. Enjoy

Dear Lucho... thanks for the memories!

Hey lucho, andrea , papa, and everyone else being such a great help on here....well i followed all of your advice and i am reading away...i started from page one tonight and got to page 16, taking notes and reading very carefully... ...it is a lot of reading!!!!!!!!! i see where all of you guys came in just like me full of worries, but now i see that the document phase is something strenous and important.. I am going to keep reading away.. In the mean time, if any of you can e mail me ALL the forms to read and start filling out i will greatly apreciate it...the p3, p4, ds-156, g-325a, whatever the das report is ...basically everything!!!!!!!!!!! and also my fiance has a little boy, so if anyone knows what extfra i need for him i would appreciate it also...again thanks A LOT for everything....my e mail address is bh2074@yahoo........

You can get most of the forms from the "guide" section and the embassy web site.

Be sure the boy is identified on the I-129F. You will eventually need to submit an I-130 for him (assuming you are going the K route). You'll see all of that as you review this thread. I went through this with a 10 year old step-daughter, so pay attention to my posts on issues related to that.

good luck.

HI DIANA IS THERE ANYWAY YOU CAN SENT ME THE SAMPLE OF THE MARRIAGE AND BIRTH CERTIFICATE TRANSLATION , HOW CAN YOU SEND THEM , PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW !!!!!!!!!!!! THANKYOU DIANA MARIA

Tocaya,

I just PM'd you.

Diana

I-130 for the child? I thought as long as minors are in the I-129F, in the DS-230 they are considered as "one" application. Maybe I misunderstood?