parkpapa, what is the current status with your returned AOS package? Any help from your representatives? I have seen where some other people have had the same thing happen to them but it does not seem to be universal. My guess is that there are some contract employees who do not undertand the submittal deadline correctly.

Their rules are definately strange and they seem to change daily.

Diana...I have another concern that maybe you can answer...the birth certs that Yenifer has just aquired do not have a raised seal type stamp on them. Is that going to be in any way a problem? There are lots of the other official looking seals and stamps on the certs but nothing raised.

Thanks,
Scott

Yes I also believe foreign income is not taxed (retirement), dollar is the currency and no property tax for 15 years. But I believe one has to move relatively fast as the foreigners are driving the prices up. But I'm looking at other places Argentina, or some hidden jewel LOL.

Scott, I know you addressed the question to Diana but I hope it is OK if I chime in again also. I figure that the more input you receive the better since documents seem to vary quite a bit in Colombia.

The birth certificates we received have a raised seal and colored stamps on the back. As I said before, they look like lousy photocopies; black and white on the front and color on the back. I did not realize the seal was raised until I felt it with my finger.

Since no two notaries in Colombia seem to be the same I don't know what is required to be considered an original. All I know is that without the raised seal I would conclude the ones we have are simply photocopies. I would be real nervous using what we have if it did not have the raised seal. But if your notary does not use one, what else can you do? Maybe Yenifer could call the notary and double check?

Did I understand you properly? That one copy of the birth certificate per day can be obtained for free? That just doesn't sound right. Notaries make their living from their document fees. Are you sure she is not getting a free photocopy? I have a hard time imagining a notary handing out free certified birth certificates.

Isn't it amazing how difficult the simplest things can be in Colombia sometimes?

When Paola got her B-Cert done, you could not read it. It was one of the most awful copies I have ever seen. They did notorize it though. We ende up having to have it re made, then thye marked her as a male instead of a female. She went back, the guy scratched it out with a pen and marked her as a female, put some kind of offical stamp on it, notorized it and that is what we submitted. No problems. Almost everthing in Colombia seems to be a hassel except getting a taxi. LOL>LOL>

I forgot......................We had to apply for a Certificate of Abandoment for her son as his father took off about 5min after finding out he was going to be a father and has not been seen or heard of since, that was 13 years ago. We obtained that with no propblem, no questions, piece of cake. You would think that would be hard to receive compared to a B-Cert. But no................go figure.

Buck,

Bella has a similar situation although her son is younger so your comment is very interesting to me. The father is not on Bella's son's birth certificate which many people have told me is not out of the ordinary in Colombia. Also a DAS agent at the airport told me that there is no problem with a parent taking a child out of the country if there is only one parent on the birth certificate.

So I stopped worryng about that issue until 5 minutes ago when I read your post.

Who requires the COA? The embassy or DAS?

Why did you need it? Was the father on the birth certificate?

How and where did you obtain it?

Also, on the birth certificate you described, do you remember if the the was seal raised?

Thanks!

Scott,

You don't have to have a raised seal on the Registro Civil, as long as you have some kind of stamp saying it's a certified copy (even though it may be blurry as hell), you're ok.

Diana

This is very true. We too needed 6 photos in total. The instructions only say 4, which is wrong. All our photos were attached to their respective documents, yet the CO asked for 2 more. Luckily for us, Wendy had 2 extra.

Bill,

Yes free...can you beleive it?

Like Buck said the only thing that is consistant in Colombia is being able to grab a cab!!!


Thanks for the input Diana.

First, you need approval from the paternal parent to bring a child to the US. If the parent is nowhere to be found you can get a Certificate of Abandoment. I am not sure where Paola got this, I do know it was in Buenaventura where she lives. I have come to the conclusion that if you can get a document from there, you can get it anyplace. I will ask her where and how she obtained the doc and post it. I will not be able to talk to her untill Friday or Saturday night though.

No the fathers name is not on the B-Cert. He is described as a "Illigitement" child.

There were no raised seals on Paola's B-Cert. The copies all had 3 different looking stamps on them, one was to certify the gender that was scratched out and hand written in. One notory stamp close to the bottom and then a large red stamp on the back. The stamps were out of ink and pretty wore out, you can not make out what they say.
When we went through the embassy no question was ever raised about the condition of the B-Certs. The ones I had translated here in the US are good and easy to read. The ones from Colombia are a mess.

Guys, no need to stress over the original birth certificate. They don't even ask you for it at the interview and if they do, they'll give it back. I have Oscar's here with me. I think two originals is more than enough. In the US you can have it translated for $20 or $30. But the one a day thing is pretty funny. And Diana is right, it really depends on the notary, but if that's where your fiance is registered, than you're stuck with the policy.

Good luck

Dre

Ok we're back to square one sort of speak like most of you here.

We just got our NOA1 for AOS and EAD!!

Now the waiting game begins......

Thanks Buck. Sounds like you obtained the COA to keep DAS happy. I was told several times we would not have any problem since the father is not on the birth certificate but if it is easy to obtain a COA we will get one just in case. It is hard to believe that document is easy to obtain. It seems to me that should be one of the most difficult. Pero no soy un Colombiano, verdad?

Gosh, I hope it does not say ilegítimo on his birth certificiate. That seems really harsh.

Please let me know as soon as you know where Paola obtained the COA. Bella will leaving tomorrow to go to her home town for a few days and if it needs to be obtained there now is the time to do it.

Thanks!

Hey guys, i had some questions

I saw in a previous post by Lucho that the birth cert for AOS process does not have to be translated by a certified translator. Is this still the case? They are charging her $60.000 COP for the translation I this is too much. Want to avoid any unnecessary expenses.

In a previous post by Diana I read that vaccines are only valid for 8 days. Is this still true? Chester and Luish how long before your fiancées had there vacancies done before going to the interview?

And if anyone knows changing addresses or moving states before going to the interview. Will this cause a problem at the interview?

Dre thank you for the Declaracion Juramental. My fiancées is also going to get a letter from the church she was baptized at.

Thanks guys

Rafael

Bill, I will let you know as soon as I talk to her. Paola's says the same thing on her B-Cert....."Illigitment" (sp) child. I thought is was a little rude too. LOL. One has to remember, Colombia is a country with a strong Catholic influence. Very loose, but still that stuff runs deep into all parts of society. That could be part of the reason. I am not a Catholic so don't know for sure. Paola is not Catholic either and it has brought up some remarks like, uh? No way. Are you sure? I never heard of that. LOL>LOL.

No, the documents you send along with the AOS packet do not have to be translated by a certified translator, but the person who translates them has to certify on the document showing the translation that he/she is fluent in English. This could be a friend, a family member or someone you ask. A translation can cost $9k pesos in Colombia but some of them will say that you need the documents "apostilled" in order to have them translated, this is NOT TRUE, they're just trying to get more money out of you.

Chester said that Dr. Roa accepted his fiancée's vaccination card and they were not that recent. My husband got his back in June, so we'll see what he says since he's seeing the same doctor.


Diana

OK. Thanks Buck!

I am looking at several Colombian birth certificates with no father listed and thank goodness they don't say ilegitimo. It must vary with the notary.

No, the documents you send along with the AOS packet do not have to be translated by a certified translator, but the person who translates them has to certify on the document showing the translation that he/she is fluent in English. This could be a friend, a family member or someone you ask. A translation can cost $9k pesos in Colombia but some of them will say that you need the documents "apostilled" in order to have them translated, this is NOT TRUE, they're just trying to get more money out of you.

Chester said that Dr. Roa accepted his fiancée's vaccination card and they were not that recent. My husband got his back in June, so we'll see what he says since he's seeing the same doctor.


Diana
[/quote]

Diana,

Thanks!

I was like 60,000 pesos is way too much for a translation . Right?

Yeah my fiance is looking into the vaccines. she she found a place that is goverment run. So she going to check it out.

Rafael

There are a couple of things that I really appreciate about Colombia....and this is one of them....they call it like it is. In the U.S., we'd be too PC to write something like that on a birth certificate. In a way, it's a little refreshing. Of course, just to be clear, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with not having a father on a birth certificate (or for a baby to be born out of wedlock...as my step-daughter is). As we discussed on some other part of this thread (I think), my understanding is that it is not uncommon in Colombia not to list a father, even if the mother knows who it is...sometimes because the father wants nothing to do with the child, sometimes because the mother doesn't want the father to have anything to do with the child. Heck, I've even heard of families in Colombia who "pay off" the father to go away and the baby's birth certificate is in the mother's name.

The other thing I appreciate in Colombia is the idea of personal responsibility for everyday things. For example, there are lots of cracks and holes in the sidewalks in parts of Bogota. If you step in a hole and break your ankle, too bad for you (according to my wife)....you should have been looking. Here in the U.S. there'd be multi-million dollar lawsuit against the city!

Mike

Mike. I agree 100%

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Find Member's Posts Thank you, Today, 03:47 PM


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This was sent to my mail box, by accident I think, so I am posting it here



Thanks for the words of encouragement. Today is the 60th day they asked me to wait. They said we would be notified by mail within 60 days. Today is that day. I called them yesterday and spoke with an officer and they told me that they still have not made a decision yet. They are still reviewing cases. They said maybe within the next 30 to 45 days. I don't understand. The documents are in order. We met last year. We sent the correct amount of money. We showed arline ticks, movie tickets, amusement park tickets, pictures over the year different time, climates etc. The process up unitl after the RFE it seemed as if we were on the fast track. Now it seems as if it has hit a vertual log jam. I guess all we can do is wait to here from them huh.

I asked about the process after this one the officer todl me once it leaves them the toughest scrutiny has been overcome. It pretty much passes through the NVC, and goes on to the embassy.

OK I have vented...sorry.

My questions for anyone. I have some other forms completed while in Bogota and did not relaize they were part of the package 3 that we will get next. Can some tell me what is actually in the package 3, and is it a good idea to have these forms completed and ready to go when we get the package or shoudl we just wait until we get our package 3 because it could include something specific for us.

Don't forget guys I just found out that Colombia "Valentines Day" is September 22 (next saturday)


SantaMartachica.........................I think the Colombian Valentines day is Saturday. Sept 15. Help me out folks, I don't want to blow this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FYI,

Colombian Valentine is tommorow.

Sept. 15th.

Well I have blown this whole thing. The previous post was sent to my mail box, by accident I think. I copied it and posted here.

Then I responded to Santamartachicas comment about The Colombian Valentines day being the 22nd of Sept. I think it is Sept. 15th. Who is correct? I want to make sure I don't mess this day up. Colombianas seem to be a little sensitive about this kind of stuff. You know...................Que? Tu no amor Paola no mas? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Colombia's Day of Love & Friendship is tomorrow (Saturday).

I was speaking to Dayfenix last night (Bogota) and her older sister told me that it was Saturday 22. That is my source. I will check the flowers to Bogotal website for confirmation. Sorry for the mix up...just trying to help

Dayfenix's sister was mistaken...it is tomorrow. SO SORRY GUYS, I got this quote DIRECTLY from the web site flowerstocolombia dot com so we both were correct. WHEEEY!

Don't forget! September 16th is the Colombian Valentines day, In Colombia it's
called "dia del amor y la amistad" and is celebrated the third weekend of
September.

Not to change the subject guys but I will...what is going on with USCIS?

NO approval today and very few over the last couple of weeks?

This is just pure craziness...and no definite answer as to what the problem is...?

I've given up calling the "help" line because they have less answers that we do and some of them are cold, rude ect... ect... ect...

I'm just so discouraged...tired...mad at our govt's slow...crappy...inefficient system and the horrible people that seem not to care at all about us that "work" there!!!

OK I feel a little better now that I've vented but I think I am pretty accurate in saying that I'm probably not the only one that feels this way.

Thanks for the ears,
Scott

The dia de amor y amistad is traditionally the third weekend in September. There might be some confusion this year because today is the second Friday of the month and tomorrow is the third Saturday.

I looked at a bunch of websites and most of them have the day as the 15th.

Hey Mike,

I have a story a little more on the lighter side of my last post.

Yenifer and I were on our way to the airport in Colombia I think it was in March. I was running a little late for my return trip to the states...OK I was running a lot late...anyway...the cab driver was aware of the time crunch and was cruising at a pretty good clip to get me there on time. Cruising along a very busy 2 lane street (each way) turned into 3...if any of you have been to Barranquilla you know what I mean and up ahead a few hundred yards or so I see and older guy (65 ish) begin to cross this busy roadway. I said to myself "no he isn't". It was like being in a busy firing range trying to dodge bullits and we were the lucky bullit...he bounced off the hood and up and over the car ha ha ha...oops sorry "at the time" that wasn't funny, but now looking back it makes me chuckle.

The guy ended up ok THANK GOD...we changed cabs and carried on to the airport.

The original cab driver was a friend of Yenifer and we found out later that day that the man needed some hospital care (nothing major) but as he was on the ground waiting for the ambulance he was apologizing for being in the street!

You know that would be a huge lawsuit here.

Scott

Scott,

I'd sure like to know what magic combination of keystrokes you used to reach a live person. I finally gave up after five or six calls and getting cut off each time.

Charles

Nothing new, Bill. I have the original AOS in my hands. I made copies of all the 'rejection' notifications and sent those along with a one page letter explaining the situation to each of my US Senators (I haven't contacted my Congressman yet), but have not received anything back from them.

One thing that's interesting about getting the packet back is how I received it. I'm submitting for three people - Lorena and her two sons. There was a I-485 for each of them, an I-130 for each of the boys, the 864 (?) for finances, and other supporting documentation. Each of those groups of papers was separated and stapled together. Where there were photos included, those were placed in a zip-lock bag and that was stapled with the respective packet. Even the original envelope that I mailed the stuff in was included in a zip-lock bag. The question is, if the whole thing was wrong, why did they go to the trouble to separate it out, staple it together, and do all that work? One look at the check should have been sufficient.

As a side note, has anyone seen a thread on VJ that is specifically dedicated to this issue? I'm sure there have to be tons of people in the same boat.

Charles

You're absolutely right. Prices are rising fast, though I think if you're willing to live outside of Panama City, you can still find some real bargains. Equador and Uraguay still seem to be very affordable and I had a friend suggest Costa Rica. I've been to Buenos Aires a couple of times and LOVE Argentina! A good life there would be affordable now, though I know prices were rising even over the course of the year that I took my trips there.

Charles,

Your way ahead of the game if you don't speak to anyone when you call because all you will get is "frustrated". In fact you would make more productive your time by watching grass grow!!! ha!ha!ha!

It seems like the problem you are facing right now will go your way. It's again another example of the system we are faced with. A little time and a little trouble I'm sure your problem will be resolved.

I have to keep reminding myself that we are all here for one common reason...LOVE...and everything that we are going through is well worth it and the problems will eventually work themselves out. When you reflect on each leg of this journey you will probably say " that wasn't so bad" but right now it's not so easy to say that. This reminder helps to keep me sane.

Thanks again to everyone in this forum ...it's nice to have so many people to lean on with mucho experience and knowledge about this process.

Scott

Scott, the wait is painful, the suspense is painful, the only thing that is not painful is hope. Hang in there, we all know exactly how you feel.

Bill, the Certificate of Abandoment can be received from the "Beinestar Familiar" or the Family Welfare office. This is one of those things that I would reccommend to get. You need to cover all your bases. I would rather have to much then not enough. I regret falsely inturpetating the requirements. It has cost me time and money, worst of all, Paola is not here with me.

Thanks Buck, and I agree with your advice. Any idea if that can be obtained in the ICBF main office in Bogota or if it needs to be obtained in the local office where the abandonment took place? If not we will find out Monday before she leaves. Do you know how long it took her to obtain it?

Thanks again!

Bill, Poala got COA in her hometown, I don't know if you can get it elsewhere. I would assume so. It would just take longer. She received in 3 days. She has to get letters from 2 people in the family stateing that the father was no where to be found. I can not remember the cost, but it was not much.

Thanks Buck. That is a big help. I really appreciate it.

Charles,

I hope your senators will resolve this for you PRONTO!!...you know...1 phone call from them probably could have resolved all of this paper shuffling for them and for you.

I've learned a lot being involved as a VJer and continue to learn and I know 1 thing for sure...there is nothing easy about this process.

Scott

Hey Charles...to answer this one when you call the 800# don't press any keys when prompted...just wait on the line and you will be connectedwith a rep.

I wish you good luck and I will also pray for you!

Scott

Valentines day is this weekend.

I also almost blew it! Just flat forgot until I noticed the post.

I called the flower service of Colombian Services that I've seen mentioned here before www.flowerstocolombia.com yesterday on valentines day, they saved the day, had flowers delivered two hours later, WHEW, that was close!! Thanks for the heads up.

Buenos Dias Colombia Club...I'm just enjoying a cup of cafe con leche to help open my eyes this fine morning and I hope you are all well!!!

I wish everyone the best of luck in their journey this week as I think we all need some good news.

God Bless,
Scott

Hi Scott,

Sorry for my mistake!, I did not realize that the post was sent by other person, oh I was so happy for you... but hopefully this week all may filers are going to receive great news!!

Yazz

Yo Yazz,

It's all good...It's was my mistake thinking you guys had the same timeline but the sooner USCIS can get through the May filers (us) the sooner they will get to the July filers (you).

We'll just keep plugin along and hope for some quick results frow our very very good friends at USCIS.

Think I'll get any brownie points for that last one? HA!HA!HA!

Scott

Dios Mio do we need good news!!! Day 119 for me..

Hey Byron do you and your fiancee have most of your things ready for your interview?

By the looks of things (VSC) you may be next?

Rafael

POE last yesterday at Houston.
Cali - Houston no problems. About 2 hours total for immigration. We went to the line for the visitors, then she was asked to go to a processing room and I waited for another 45 minutes. While I was waiting I was reclaiming our luggage.

Arrived here in SFO at 9:30pm and we were home by 11:00 pm.


A fin, K1 chapter closed, AOS begins.

Chester..Congratulations.

Rafael

Chester,

What did they ask Monica during questioning? 45 minutes is a long time.

Rafael