Hello Scott...can you forward me that list of questions as well when you get a chance. I'll be in Bogota within the next 3 weeks.

Thanks

PS i figured out how to post pics...I place some of Dayfenix on there. The ones with us together coming soon

Santa............Pm me with your email addy and I will forward the questions to you. Your chica is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!

Andrea, Buck,

Thanks so much for the information you've provided. Only now do I realize how important it is to prepare for that interview (Scott, I just sent you my email address. I would really appreciate if you can send me that list).

About Panama, I am a little surprised to find out about the $500 USD. Is that because they are Colombian citizens? I ask this because I was in Panama (business trip) for three days back in June and I don't remember paying that much. I flew using CopaAirlines (I think they have a partnership with Continental) and unless the fee was included in the ticket, I didn't pay for it. Maybe rules changed. (overall price for the ticket was $700 USD round trip).

Have a great weekend!

Juan Carlos and Santamartachicago...the lists that you asked for are in your inbox.

To those who are looking for a list of interview questions, I posted a ton of them a few months ago. I had hoped that it would become an interactive list and people would update it (by replying to the post with the latest version of the list) after their interviews but that idea never caught on. I was also hopeful that we could enter the spanish translations right next to the english version but I never got around to combining the two lists. Maybe this list would be easier to manage if I posted it off site.

Here are the links:

List of interview questions I compiled with help from Buck & Dre.

Translation of questions into Spanish by Diana.

I think there might be some confusion on this. Does the Colombian citizen pay a $500 fee or only need to prove that they have $500 in their possession?

I'm pretty sure its just to prove you have the money so they dont think your broke and are there to stay and make money, basically to show you are on vacation.

Bryon, you are correct. We, as US citizens are allowed to travel freely to almost everywher in the world with only a passport. Not so with other countries. The $500 is to insure that they have some means of support for the time they are there. They just have to show that they have it. It is not a fee.

great news diana. lets hope there are no problems in actually getting the visa on monday.
JK

Bill,

thank you for the post and references about the questions. It was a great help.

Rafael

I am sure you all have seen this but just in case there are some new people out there in need of a consolidated info packet. This was very helpful to me and it has the Sept 2007 revised OF-169 included.



(Looks like Packet 3 for K1 & K2 - Bogota)

FYI...http://bogota.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/k1-k2instructionseng-_2_.pdf


(Looks like latest Packet 4 for K1 & K2 - Bogota)

http://bogota.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/wwwf...ntment_temp.pdf


I hope its helpful

Quick note. That packet 4 link is not for K1 visas. The dead give a way is the $380 fee, k1 fee is $100.

This is the K1 packet 4 link
http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/co1/wwwfck1cita_temp.pdf

As usual......................Luchco is all over it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry everyone...They both were on the official US Embassy Bogota web-site that is why I thought they would be accurate ( stupid me). Why would they have mis leading information on that site. They are a bunch of @!#&%$@#$%&. Why cant they just put in a simple form the information needed and stop with this crazy treasure hunt/subjective system. ARRRRRRGH!!!!

Again I apologize for the confusion.

Thanks Lucho...you are an awesome resource.

God Bless you

Eric,

Dont apologize. The embassy's website is not clear at all. It was an honest mistake. They shouldnt have packet 3 for K1's then put packet 4 for a different type of visa in the same section. It's not your fault, the embassy makes plenty of mistakes. They are always changing links to the packets every month or so. I can barely keep up with all the changes they make.

The embassy web site is far from perfect, but at least it is a lot better than it was when I went through the process a year ago. At least there are links to the packets....whereas before we had to pass them down from person to person. And it appears that more of the pages are better updated. Last year the web site, on many pages, was still referring to the wrong bank for payment of the DS-156 fee.

Mike

PS - regarding travel for your Colombiana/Colombiano outside of the U.S.....be prepared for some frustration until he or she gets the green card. I wanted to take my wife and step-daughter on a short cruise last May....until I found out we needed a $50 tourist visa to go to the Bahamas for one day. Same problem with going to Mexico. International travel becomes much easier once the green card is in hand.

Scott,

We practiced and practiced with lots of the standard questions - there are lists in several locations - and that practice sure helped keep Lorena calm and confident. We were never asked any questions about our age difference, but the CO sure caught me by surprise when he asked me why I came to Colombia in the first place! It certainly hasn't been a tourist destination anytime until the last year or so. I shortened the story somewhat but I answered him honestly and he seemed satisfied.

I think one of the most important things you can do is to not just study the questions but also be sure that your answers (memories) match. For example, we weren't asked how many people were at our wedding, but Lorena sure remembered the number better than I did (I guessed 35 and she said it was 50!!).

Charles

Hi Charles,

Buck emailed me a list of questions that seems to cover everything that we will need and then some. Yenifer and I spent about 3 hours on the phone last night going through the questions asking and answering each other most of the questions on the list...It was actually fun because it was like trivia about our relationship and we reminised and reflected on our experiences together.

Charles and Colombia club...I would like to bring one thing up in this thread that I posted a while ago and it is stilll on my mind...maybe someone has some input on this subject. Yenifer thinks that there shouldn't be a problem...maybe my stress on this is for nothing...

Yenifer entered the U.S. about 16 years ago at the age of 9 with her family (aunt + uncle) and stayed in California for about 1 year and does not remember what type of visa this was. Her old passport lost a long time ago and she has since replaced it. Our question is...in packet 3 on form ds-156 asks if you have ever been issued a U.S. visa...when, where and what type...and she no longer has that info nor does she remember exactly. Is this going to be a huge problem or for that matter even a little problem?

Don't stress out too much, but don't let it go either. I assume you plan on being totally honest on this and indicating on the DS-156 that, yes, she has had a visa. Given that, I would imagine you could do something to get a little more information. Where was the visa issued? Bogota, I assume. If she knows she was 9 when they visited the U.S., you at least have a time period. From there, she should contact her relatives and get more information....what was the purpose of the trip? Why did they stay 1 year? Why did she travel with her aunt and uncle and stay for a year (did the aunt and uncle raise her? Seems odd for a Colombian family to let a 9 year old girl leave the country for a year with relatives). Surely someone from the family remembers something.

Perhaps you read some of the posts from Olafgypsy. Her fiance got denied on his K-1 visa. I believe it is because he overstayed a visa in the U.S. (and Olafgypsy never knew anything about it until the interview). I'm not trying to alarm you, but you need to find out what happened...determining if she was here legally and, if so, whether she overstayed her visa. Given that she was 9, she was not in control of the situation....but I would still want to know everything I could about the situation....to be prepared in the interview if the subject is broached. Bottom line....be as honest and forthright as you can be....with as much accurate information as you can provide. Due diligence is a must.

bill,

I wanted to ask you a question regarding your post about June filers getting approved. Roughly when do you see an approval for my case? My guesstimate would landing me roughly a last week of October first week of November. Would this be correct or would it be longer??

Rafael

Scott, I agree with Mike. The Colombian goverment seems to know everything about everybody, that is untill you want some info from them. If you try to skip over the issue it is likley they know about it and it could cause a mess come interview time. Old, or even new records can be difficult to get in Colombia. Something as simple as a birth certificate can be an exhausting experience to get. (Was for Paola).
I have been told, so take this knowing that, the Colombian goverment has record of everytime you have left the country and for how long. They know if you had any arrests in other countries. Most of the info they require they already know. It is best to cover all your bases. Remember.....................be prepared, prepared, prepared.
The visa process changed dramaticly after 9/11. They have become much more strict and do not need much to deny. This may be a hassel, you could hire a lawyer in Colombia to help you with this. I am not one to give advice, however, this could be a problem that you want to get control of before the interview date. If it were me, I would. Remember the goal!!! Get Yennifer here to the US, get married and live happily ever after till death do you part!!!!!
Also, remember some of the problems some have had on this board. Some amount to what wseems like nothing and yet it became important at the interview time. The US Embassy does not notify you in advance of a issue. You get to find that out the day of the interview.

Mike,

Thanks for the input...

Let me add a couple things...her uncle and aunt were buisiness owners living in the US for over 10 years legally and she came out and lived with them, her 3 cousins and her Grandmother. Keep in mind that she was 9 and had little control over the situation. She doesn't think that she over stayed but lets just say...worse case scenario that she did over stay...#1: she was a minor and #2 it was 15 years ago. According to the info I just read about Olafgypsy is that you can't apply for a visa for 10 years after overstaying so based on that are we OK?

I've spoken to Yenifer about this and she thinks I am being way too anal about this (maybe so) and I am trying to avoid undue stress on us by having her focus her energy on other neccesary preparations for her visa.

PS Were not by any means going to try to hide anything.

Scott..................Yennifer thinks you are way to anal. LOL>LOL. Sounds just like Paola. Us folks from the US are guilty of that!! Colombians, though, are guilty about not taking things serious. I swear they are the most laid back people on earth!!!! I can't count how many times Paola said to me "take it easy". LOL>LOL.
Paola goes the the embassy today to pick up her visa. I am flying down to Cali on Saturday to bring her back home on Sunday. A whirlwind trip. I will be in Colombia all of 7 hours!! I want to go thru the POE with her though.

O MY GOD BUCK...I'm glad I'm not the only one!!!!!!!!!!!

But really...I don't want to stress her out if it isn't neccesary...it may just bite me in the butt and not in a good way...you follow me???

Good luck on your trip to Cali and CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Hey guys...I want to add my experience to this note comparison. Dayfenix does the same thing. She is so laid back that I have to keep reminding myself that there is a distinct difference in our cultures. The sweetest woman in the world but sometimes she uses those same words "take it easy". I am stressing about the amount of information I am trying to digest on VJ, Embassy, State Dept, and USCIS websites and she just waiting for me.

We had this situation last night any advise. Her girlfriend asked her to go on a trip with her to vacation in Peru. I advised her that it would not be a good idea to go now that we are in this process...I thought it could raise unnecessary questions since she has never left the country before and is not currently working. I read in the 167 pages some where a couple almost was denied because of her travel to Spain and ended up have to endure a 50 min interview with multiple people. Am I being "WAY TO ANAL"?

Buck, if you are going through Houston, you can use the US Citizens line. Irregardless of what line you use, they will ask HER to to a room for paperwork processing. You cannot accompany her. While doing so, you can go down baggage claim, and go back up to wait for her. It took about 30-40 minutes for Monica to get processed and come out. They took her sealed envelope, ask a few questions like address, when do you plan on getting married. Then they stamped her passport and drew a circle on her visa highlighting "1 Entry".

Hello Everyone,

I jsut got am email from Avianca with flights from Mia to Bogota $318.00 round trip


*Conditions:
To commence travel from October 17 to October 31, 2007. To complete travel December 13, 2007. For purchase on or before October 8, 2007. Flight restriction apply. Minimum stay 3 days. Round trip fare. Fare Subject to change without prior notice. Does not include taxes or surcharges. Limited seats. Restrictions apply.


FYI...I hope it might be helpful

Hey Santamartachicago,

Thanx! Have to look into. Good looking out.

Thanx,


Rafael

Mucho gracias Chester!!!!!!!!!!!

Santa Marta.......................Comming from a guy that is way anal, I would try to discourage her leaving the country. I do not have any reason other then the fact that your in the visa process.............THIS IS NOT ADVICE............only an opinion. I had a fit when Paola moved to another house. We did not disclose that though.
Good luck........aside from being laid back, Paola can be a bit mule headed also. LOL>LOL. Changing her mind once it is made up, wellllllll. LOL>LOL.

American Airlines

ORLANDO TO MIAMI TO BOGOTA

BOGOTA TO MIAMI TO ORLANDO

FARE-USD 343.00 TAX 150.70 TICKET TOTAL 493.70


:dance: :dance: :dance:

IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME WITH THE TAX RIGHT ?

HI THERE

I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO STICK UP FOR THIS WOMEN HERE ,WE ARE NOT THAT LAID BACK YOU GUYS IS JUST LIKE WE ARE LIVING THE LAST DAYS IN OUR COUNTRY SO THE LAST THING WE WANT TO DO IS STRESS OUT AND YOU ARE ON US ALL THE TIME FOR LITTLE THINGS SO I TOTALLY AGREE TAKE IT EASY ONCE IN A WHILE :blush: :blush: :blush: .


BUT IS FUNNY HOW YOU GET ALL STRESS FOR SO MANY THINGS AND LET ME TELL YOU MY HUSBAND IS ANAL .GOD HE IS . :innocent: :innocent: :innocent:

Well my crystal ball is probably no clearer than yours. I think your projection is reasonable. I do have some good news however. If the received date on your NOA1 is in May, USCIS will consider you a May filer. They appear to primarily be processing early to mid May filers right now. My best guess is at their current pace they should be finished with May VJ filers in 40 to 50 days. There is of course no guarantee they will maintain the same pace. It might increase or decline.

I would assume nothing with the costs of tickets and taxes. I check Expedia and Orbitz frequently when I want to travel to Bogota. The same flight with the same airline listed on both sites will frequently show different amounts for the "taxes and fees" portion, so beware. My own experience on these two sites is that American Airlines is often the most expensive airline. You might want to check out fares with LAN Airlines (from Chile) for bargain prices and excellent service from Bogota to Miami.

Charles

You can also try Delta. If the planets line up and you search at the right moment, you can get a fantastic deal. I flew from NY to Bogota for $260 TOTAL!

he already bought it so there is nothing we can do now .

thanks :thumbs:

Good evening, everyone!

Most likely you already know this information, but the thing is my head couldn´t stop thinking about the vaccines. Basically I can't think of my wife taking all the shots at once, feeling tired (or even a little sick) for the next three days and then going to the most important interview of her life (or at least that is how I feel).

So, I called the doctor's office in Bogota to ask if she could start getting her shots immediately and only get reinforcements for those needed. They basically said: no. Vaccines need to be "fresh", taken within 8 days before the interview. Ok, so I guess I just confirmed what Diana and others had already said.

And that thing everyone was saying about Colombians being laid back, I totally agree. They use one phrase (in spanish) which kills me: "de pronto". "De pronto mañana voy". "De pronto mañana me la dan..." and so on. It leaves everything up in the air. Anyway...

BTW, Scott, thanks for the questions!!

Thanks Bill for the insight. Here patience is a virtue.

Rafael

Juan Carlos,

In regards to the doctors in Bogota, does this information apply to only one doctor or both, Dr. Gonzalez and Dr. Roa?
and did you find anythin else out?

thanks in advance,

Rafael

ME APROVARON LA CR1.

Yovanny Felicitaciones. Espero que lo demas del processo sea mucho mas facil.

de nuevo felicitaciones!!


Rafael

Greetings to everyone, I hope all your cases are going well. I just found out that mine was finally sent to the embassy. We are one step closer which is great, hopefully we will be back in the states after Christmas. Anyway coming to the point I was wondering if anyone had the fax number to the embassy. I want to fax my packet 3 in, but haven't had much luck finding an actual number. Thanks again for everybodies help.

Embassy Info. It looks sime of the information is incorrect. Hopefully the fax # is correct.

Rafael,

I specifically called Dr. Gonzalez' office. One of her assistants picked up my call. After asking me what type of visa my wife was requesting and her age, she mentioned the three vaccines which must be taken: TD, MMR, Varicela and she clearly stated vaccines needed to be recent, less than 8 days before the interview.

I then mentioned I was a bit concerned about reinforcements, which I know should be taken for certain vaccines like TD (I didn't mention my other bigger concern about my wife feeling sick or tired during her interview). She literally said reinforcements didn't matter. All that matters is that vaccines must be recent.

So, with that and with Diana's information from previous posts, I have accepted there is nothing I can do about vaccines. But I've been reading this forum from the beginning and I realized there is sooooo much I can do before my NOA2 gets approved: from geting tax transcripts to finding baptism certificates to geting that photo album all organized and ready. So I suggest you do what I'll do: worry about everything else... except the vaccines (for now)

Juan Carlos.

[
Rafael,

I specifically called Dr. Gonzalez' office. One of her assistants picked up my call. After asking me what type of visa my wife was requesting and her age, she mentioned the three vaccines which must be taken: TD, MMR, Varicela and she clearly stated vaccines needed to be recent, less than 8 days before the interview.

I then mentioned I was a bit concerned about reinforcements, which I know should be taken for certain vaccines like TD (I didn't mention my other bigger concern about my wife feeling sick or tired during her interview). She literally said reinforcements didn't matter. All that matters is that vaccines must be recent.

So, with that and with Diana's information from previous posts, I have accepted there is nothing I can do about vaccines. But I've been reading this forum from the beginning and I realized there is sooooo much I can do before my NOA2 gets approved: from geting tax transcripts to finding baptism certificates to geting that photo album all organized and ready. So I suggest you do what I'll do: worry about everything else... except the vaccines (for now)

Juan Carlos.
[/quote]

Juan Carlos,

Thanks for the info. Yeah, after reading Diana account while in Bogota I felt the same way, we can do all of this and not worry about it at the last minute. But this what it is. So we have to go through with it.Thanks for the info. Hopefully they change that policy in the future.

Rafael

Hi Colombia Club!!!

Can anyone confirm that this is the correct mailing info?

Embajada Americana, Sección de Visas
de Inmigrante, Calle 22 D-Bis No. 47-51
Bogotá, D.C.
Colombia

(consular section - visas)
Phone: 011-57-1-315-1566.
fax: 011-57-1-315-4155.

Hey Scott I went on the embassy site and I found this info. May want to double check with other members as well as the actual site.
_______________________________________________

Welcome to the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá. The Consular Section has two main missions:

to provide a wide range of emergency and routine services to U.S. citizens visiting or residing in Colombia, such as offering help in the event of serious illness or arrest, issuing U.S. passports, registering the births of U.S. citizens in Colombia, and providing assistance to recipients of Social Security and other Federal benefits; and
to provide immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services to Colombians and citizens of other countries who are in Colombia.
We hope that you will find our website useful. Please use the links on the left to find further information on our services.

The Consular Section pages were last updated on July 10, 2007.

Carrera 45, No. 24B-27
Bogotá, Colombia
Telephone: 315-1566

the web site is http://bogota.usembassy.gov/visas.html

Hope this helps. But Scott double and triple check the info.

Rafael

JMarsh ,

Current Embassy Address and Fax #

Embajada Americana, Sección de Visas de Inmigrante, Cra. 45 No. 24B-27, Bogotá

fax: 1-011-57-1-315-4155 (Bogotá)

Rafael

Hey everyone I went on the embassy website and I notice that at the bottom that it says sept/2007

here is the link

http://bogota.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/k1-k...ionseng-_2_.pdf

R.