Yahoo! K-3 approved (107 days) and CR-1 appoved (123 days) in the same day! Took a while, but happy that things will be moving along faster now. Time to finish getting packet 3 in order and collecting the information for packet 4. How cool

Congradulations Brad on getting your visa in hand! Although it took a while, it's definitely worth it. Kinda jealous of your trip to Bogota though, would like to have been down there myself.

Hello VJrs...

Just want to touch base with everyone before I head off to Colombia on Wednesday. We have our second interview on Friday, Feb 16th so wish us luck. I noticed some requests on the thread for PK3 and PK4, if anyone needs them, I have them. Just send me a PM with your email address and I'll forward them to you. If anyone has some advice on questions we might be asked and wants to share them with me, I would definitely appreciate it. Best of luck to everyone.

Dre

Good luck! Go get your man girl! I will be heading to the interview next wednesday.

Sorry LOL. The above reply was meant for Oskar and Andrea.

Thank you ALL for your support. I'll let you know what happens on Friday as soon as I can.

Hi Gang.

I am looking for some creative ideas how to document novia was in Bogota the same time I was. I have plenty of documentation that I was there such as airplane tickets, boarding passes, passport stamps & atm receipts. Unfortunately I don't have much for her. To tell the truth, my mind was on proving that I was there and I sort of forgot about her.

I paid for everything while we were there. She did pay for her airplane tickets from Cucuta and she is trying to recreate her receipt. Unfortunately the boarding passes were thrown away.

We have pictures of course, but I am trying to come up with some more primary evidence for her.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Hello Kurios,
For what it's worth, my fiance lives in Armenia. I met him in Armenia in April of last year and had no documentation that I actually travelled to Armenia, just my passport stamps and airline receipt to Bogota. In September, he came to Bogota. And I only submitted evidence that I travelled to Bogota: boarding passes, passport stamps. I gave no documentation that he was in Bogota. We were approved with no RFE.

Good luck!

Hi all,
One question from me...for now. Do any of the DAS certificates need an apostille?

Thanks!

[quote name='KathyB' date='Feb 14 2007, 11:19 AM' post='724194']
Hi all,
One question from me...for now. Do any of the DAS certificates need an apostille?

Thanks!



Kurios - if she flew Avianca, just have her go to one of the Avianca ticket offices and they can print a copy of her ticket/flight information. They did that for my wife.

Kathy - The DAS certificates do NOT have to be apostilled. One of the DAS certificates will be given in a sealed envelope (can't recall which one) - just don't open it.

Mike

Mike & Kathy,

Thanks for your help!

GOOD NEWS TODAY.. MY WIFE YADIRA WAS APPROVED FOR K-3 VISA TODAY!!!
ALOT PEOPLE WERE DENIED. YOU MUST HAVE YOUR PAPERS IN ORDER AND ALSO SHOW PROOF OF A REAL MARRIAGE. IF ANYBODY IS IN COLOMBIA AND HAS AN INTERVIEW TOMORROW YOU ALL CAN CALL ME ON MY CELL PHONE NUMBER IN COLOMBIA WHICH IS
310-352-5390.. FOR SOME TIPS...
WE ARE SO HAPPY!!!!

A mistake of the my cell number in Colombia = 310-353-9250
THIS IS THE RIGHT NUMBER.. 310-353-9250

Congratulations Yadira & Man!

I hope you will post the details of the interview questions when you get some time.

I have a few questions regarding the K-1 visa process in Colombia.

1. Does the Embassy in Bogota request 1 year of tax returns for the I-134 Affidavit of Support or 3? My two oldest tax returns will show no income. My most recent return will show plenty of income and I can document money in the bank and current employment. Should I expect a problem?

2. My fiancee is a single mother with a 4 month old child. I am not the father and there is no father on the birth certificate. Should we expect a lot of hard questions regarding this in the interview? And what about getting through Colombia emigration after the visa is issued? I know that Colombia requires the permission of the father and mother before they will allow a child to leave the country but in this situation there is no documented father.

I welcome any input. Thanks for your help!

Here are my thoughts:

1. The official packet 4 instructions only specific the most recent year. I provided three years. You also want to provide a letter from your employer stating your job title, salary, status (full-time/part-time), etc. As long as you meet minimum poverty level standards, there is no need to provide information about assets. I provided copies of bank statements, etc., but they were not necessary.

2. Based on folks in the "business," I am afraid to say that you are likely going to have some serious inquiries. First, you are applying for a K-1....that already makes it tough. Second, your fiance has a 4 month old by some other guy.....so I would expect them to really press you on the nature of your relationship. In expecting the questions, do the math related to the child and put yourself in the interviewer's shoes. Their job is to weed out immigration fraud...so be prepared to document your relationship thoroughly.

Assuming the K-1 goes through....then I think you need to see a lawyer regarding the child situation. My wife's lawyer drafted a legal document for my step-daugther's father to sign in order to get her out of the country. I suspect you'll need to document that your fiance has done some sort of diligence to determine a father...or that a father has given up his rights. I can see this as a problem...as DAS gave my wife a hard time....and she had the legal document. On second thought, perhaps you need to see a COlombian lawyer about this now.

I know some of my responses sound a little harsh, but I am trying to be honest with you.

Good luck,
Mike

Mike,

Thanks for your response. And no need to apologize for being "harsh". I believe my circumstances warrant some candid observations and I really appreciate you taking time to post your thoughts.

The more I think about our situation the more I realize that we might be in for a tough time obtaining a fiancee visa. I will consult with a US immigration attorney next week to discuss our options. My guess is I will need to marry her in Colombia, adopt the child and then apply for the visa. I would be glad to do it but I hate to think about how much time that will take. In any case, I think the best strategy is to first determine what we need to do to obtain the visa and then proceed accordingly.

Does anyone have any experience adopting a child in Colombia after marrying the single Colombian parent? I can find lots of information regarding US couples adopting Colombian orphans, but nothing that relates to my situation.

As always, I welcome any input.

Kurios

[quote name='Mike and Adriana' date='Feb 17 2007, 12:01 AM' post='730278']
Here are my thoughts:

1. The official packet 4 instructions only specific the most recent year. I provided three years. You also want to provide a letter from your employer stating your job title, salary, status (full-time/part-time), etc. As long as you meet minimum poverty level standards, there is no need to provide information about assets. I provided copies of bank statements, etc., but they were not necessary.

2. Based on folks in the "business," I am afraid to say that you are likely going to have some serious inquiries. First, you are applying for a K-1....that already makes it tough. Second, your fiance has a 4 month old by some other guy.....so I would expect them to really press you on the nature of your relationship. In expecting the questions, do the math related to the child and put yourself in the interviewer's shoes. Their job is to weed out immigration fraud...so be prepared to document your relationship thoroughly.

Assuming the K-1 goes through....then I think you need to see a lawyer regarding the child situation. My wife's lawyer drafted a legal document for my step-daugther's father to sign in order to get her out of the country. I suspect you'll need to document that your fiance has done some sort of diligence to determine a father...or that a father has given up his rights. I can see this as a problem...as DAS gave my wife a hard time....and she had the legal document. On second thought, perhaps you need to see a COlombian lawyer about this now.

I know some of my responses sound a little harsh, but I am trying to be honest with you.

Good luck,
Mike

Kurios:

OK. After responding to Kurios last night, I spoke to my Colombian wife about the situation. She tells me that it is actually quite common for birth certificates in Colombia to lack the father's name. This can be for a variety of reasons: 1) Not sure the name of the father due to a rape situation (I drugging of drinks is common in some of the clubs); 2) Father refuses to acknowledge the child; or 3) Mother (and her family) do not want the father to be involved. In fact, my wife has a friend whose father PAID the guy who impregnated her NOT to put his name on the birth certificate.

That said, my wife believes that DAS will not be surprised by the child having a birth certificate with no father listed. In fact, she believes that if you present a notarized copy of the birth certificate (showing no father) to DAS at the airport when departing....your fiancee should have no problem.

Of course, I am the nervous type...so I would still have her see an attorney....but at least now you have two different persepctives.

Good luck,
Mike

Assuming the K-1 goes through....then I think you need to see a lawyer regarding the child situation. My wife's lawyer drafted a legal document for my step-daugther's father to sign in order to get her out of the country. I suspect you'll need to document that your fiance has done some sort of diligence to determine a father...or that a father has given up his rights. I can see this as a problem...as DAS gave my wife a hard time....and she had the legal document. On second thought, perhaps you need to see a COlombian lawyer about this.

Mike,

My fiancee said the same thing as your wife, as well as an attorney in Colombia. But it is getting approved by the embassy that is my primary worry. I know if I was the officer evaluating the application that I would have a lot of questions.

Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it!

Kurios

Kurios, In response to your earlier question about how to document you were in the same place at the same time, check your receipts.....
What I mean by that is that when you pay for something with a credit card sometimes they will ask for the cedula number. Because you don't have a cedula, your fiance might have offered hers. That will mean the receipt will show your credit card number and her cedula number. The system might even pull up her name from the cedula number automatically and put it on the receipt.

We had this happen purely by accident when we were looking through receipts. To everyone else who would like to create a goo piece of proof separate from boarding passes and hotels, try that trick next time. It lets you place yourself together at a specific moment in time in a specific place.

Just ask the waiter at the restaurant to add her cedula number and pay with your credit card.

Just a hello to everyone. I am new to the Colombia Club. Want to say thanks for all the information and good luck to all on here.

Hi Jay1234,
I'm relatively new to this Club too, but my fiance and I just faxed our information to the embassy this afternoon! I followed the advice of those who have gone before, so I've got my fingers crossed that we did everything correctly! It took about 3 weeks for the petition to arrive at and depart from the NVC. I'm happy to pass along any information we get as we move along. Congrats on the NOA2!

KathyB

Three weeks at the NVC! Wow, things sure have slowed down. My wife's petition arrive at the NVC and was there all of one day before it was shipped to Bogota. Maybe I was just lucky. Anyway, the worst is over. I am sure the shortcut will work for you. With any luck, you'll get a March interview.

Good luck,
Mike

Hola mi amigos! I'm leaving in the morning for the interview. Thanks to all for the help. I feel very confident due to all the information provided to me in this forum. I only wish to repay the favor to future and current members getting ready for their interviews.


Tony

Well, I don't think it was at NVC that long. I think it took CSC a long time to move it to NVC! Thanks for the good wishes. I think we either just made the cutoff window or just missed it!

Well Kathy, things are totally interesting as to that cutoff... NVC told me this morning (2/20/07) that they had very recently received the petition and they instructed me (without asking) to call back Friday afternoon, yes... 2/23/2007 to see if it was already shipped out to Bogotá. Hopefully so...

I guess I'll start reading a little more closely the postings here in Club Colombia, errr, Colombia Club (disregard that I have a couple of six packs of Club Colombia in my Chicago fridge now... )

From what I can tell, it appears that the petitions are sent to the NVC in batches...and are then sent to the embassies. I think Kathy is right....the hold-up was with the SC sending the petition to the NVC. Like I said before, the NVC sent my petition to the embassy the day after logging it.

By the way, just to make sure we are being clear, the cut-off date that Kathy and I are speaking of is the cut-off date at the embassy in Bogota. It has been established by those before us that the embassy finalizes its interview schedule somewhere between the 15th and 20th of the month. Therefore, if one's petition were to make it to the embassy by the cut-off date in February, he or she would get a March interview. Safe to say that if your petition will not be sent to the embassy until February 23...it won't be received by the embassy for three business days (DHL delivery time)....so therefore you will have an April interview.

Mike

That would be my assumption... I am already creating interview date scenarios in relation to totally missing February's cutoff with the Embassy. I am actually calculating a May interview due to several factors including the certificates my girl's gonna have to obtain from Bucaramanga, and at least now at this point, neither of us are going to freak out about it! We just want to be together here in Chicago by June and all will be good...

Hopefully TonyS can forward me his Packet 3/4 scans soon, unless someone else can volunteer that info. Obviously I have DS-156, 157, and 158 in Español from the Embajada Website.

Good luck to us!

I have an old packet 3/4 (April, 2005). If you want it, PM me with an e-mail address. I believe Dre (OskaryAndrea) has a scanned copy of the current packet 3/4 - you might want to PM her.

As for the interview date....if you have a reason to want to delay your interview until May....then DO NOT fax your DS-230 and OF-169 to the embassy until AFTER March 20. Otherwise, you will likely get an April interview. Once the embassy gets your packet 3 forms, you really have no control over your interview date. The only chance you have to delay the interview date (other than to try to petition a change) is by NOT submitting the necessary packet 3 forms.

Good luck,
Mike

I am a little confused about one thing. When Francisco goes for his interview, he will bring the DS-156 (this is the form he takes to pay the fee and receives a bar code), if I understand correctly. So we fill out the nonimmigrant visa and immigrant visa applications?

Sometimes my head just spins!

Also, what are the DS-157 and DS-158?

Thanks!!

Disregard my question about 157 and 158. Just found them on the Dept. of State website!

Thanks!

I'll PM Dre...

As for a MAY interview... its all about making a little Extra Cash... here (for me) and there (for her). We figure it will be a while before she can work in the USA, so the current job she has will carry her an extra month. She is saving money to have here so as not to be a huge burden. I will most likely have to resign from my current job (no time off allowed until August... long story) in order to go to the interview and go pick her up (we like flying together).

Are the DAS certificates good for a certain amount of time? We are planning on starting that process next week and don't want them to expire before the interview.