I attended the interview and did not submit a new letter of intent.

I do not think that the father's permission letter is required by the embassy but I cannot confirm it with 100% certainty because Bella's kids were products of miraculous but strangely common Colombian immaculate conceptions. (No father on the birth certificates.)

If you are not already aware, DAS requires that the letter from the parent granting permission be very recent. I forget the exact limitation but you will definitely want to research that if you haven't already done so. I think September may be too soon to obtain the letter.

Also, keep in mind that the visa is only good for 180 days so if your visa is issued in April it will expire before November.

HEY BILL!!!!!!!!!!!
We can finally put faces to the family...well 3 of them anyway (the important ones )
Bella and the kids look soooooooo happy. Yenifer and I want to congratulate you again and wish your family a lifetime of happiness.

Thanks Bill! Beautiful family, btw.

Diana

Thanks so much!

Hi everyone,
When you have traveled to Colombia in the past, how and where do you exchange currency? I normally send money to Margara Western Union. I don't want her to travel with such a large ammount of money on her. This trip will require much more money than previous trips, what with the doctor and visas and vaccinations. I would prefer to bring it myself. On previous trips, I noticed a currency exchange at the airport in Miami. Is anyone familiar with these airport currency exchanges? I have a feeling they might charge large fees. Worst case I will just send her the money and we can pick it up together in Bogota.

Thanks

john

I just always use my ATM to withdraw COPs from any bank there and do not have the worry of transporting large sums of US dollars and than having to find a place to exchange them with a suitable exchange rate. Why do you not like to withdraw money with your ATM card in Colombia?

Rainman3

John,

As rainman said...use a debt or check card at the cash machines in Colombia and you get the best exchange rates and very low fees. I happen to have Washington Mutual and the transaction fee is a flat 1% and with no added ATM fee (great deal), and as I said you will get the best exchange rate. It's worth looking into...check with your bank.

John
I suggest using an ATM machine in Bogota. The exchange rate is best here. The airport will not give you the current exchange rate, they make money on every transaction. The atm's are very convienent. Just be aware, your bank will most likely charge an "international transaction fee". Check with your bank ahead of time. Also it is best to inform them where you are traveling to and timeframe. Some credit / debit cards get shut off when used in other countries, as a security measure!!!!

Thanks eveyone. I will call my bank today to check the fees. ATM sounds like a great idea.

john

Domesa delivered the visas today at the apartment in Bogota. She interviewed last Friday so that is 4 business days including the day of the interview.

Can someone please describe to me what is actually delivered by Domesa? She tells me that everything is inside an envelope that cannot be opened until she enters the US. But since she will need her passport to get through the airport in Bogota I am thinking that perhaps there is some confusion somewhere.

Thanks.

Last time I went I did two things. 1. I sent ½ the money to my husband to pay for some of the stuff. And 2. I took out money out of an ATM machine.

Diana

ATM's are the best way to go.. You can also exchange dollars for pesos at the banks, or vise versa.. They give a much better rate than the kiosks at the airports. There are also people who make a living exchanging dollars on the street.. While living in Colombia this is how I would do it.. But I highly recommend you NEVER do this..


I opened a second account in my local bank and obtained a ATM card for the extra account.. I gave the card to my novia and when she needs money I just transfer the money from my account to hers on line.. This bank cost me about $5.00 per transaction for the Colombian ATM's.. I didn't have time to open the account in the other bank I use that has nee attached fees.. But even at $5.00 a transaction, it's still a lot cheaper the Western Union, etc.. I think you could open a account and send her the ATM card DHL and still save money over Western Union fees..

Bill,
Just going through this on January 18th, here is how the package was delivered. First off it was a Domesa Employee as well as an armed security person. ID had to be shown (by whomever you have chosen to receive your visa's. Then Sandy was given two large clear envelopes, one was hers and one her daughters. Inside the clear envelope was the "brown package" with the Passport / visa stapled to the outside. The brown envelope has a paper taped to the front, advising not to be open! This envelope will be opened by Officer at your POE to USA. The visa is actually inserted in the passport book, similier to your passport page. You can see the visa in the passport, and will be needed at the airport. Just do not open the brown envelope under anu circumstances! Hope this helps you!

Thanks Steve. That helps a lot.

Hi everyone, I'm new to the site and thanks to everyone here, especially the Colombia club thread. I have saved a lot of time and learned quite a few tips.
I was wondering if someone here who has gone thru the K-3 route in Colombia could give me some advice.
I have been planning to send out my I-129F, after receiving the NOA1 on my I-130 petition, which I just received. But there still are a couple of things that I'm not sure about.


I am considering not filing the I-129F and just letting the I-130(CR-1) go thru on it's own (since it would save a few steps). In Colombia is this a good strategy? Or should I stick to the original plan and go ahead and file the I-129F ? My main goal is to be with my wife as soon as possible. I'm not worried about her getting her SS# right away, it would be nice, but definitely not worth an additional delay.

I made 1 mistake, I sent in scanned copies of my wife's G-325A's not the originals. I had an original set of her G-325A's when I left Colombia, but unfortunately after I arrived here, I realized that I had left out some info and her form wasn't filled out right, my mistake. The originals are on their way and should be here by the end of the week. I already received my NOA1, so am I in the clear now or should I still be expecting a RFE ?

I received my NOA1 but no transfer notice. Is this all I will need to file the I-129F or should I wait for the transfer notice, before I proceed?
I sent my I-130 petition out on 2/22/08 and my NOA1 date was 3/3/08, that's just over a week! I hope the other service centers don't hear about this, as I'm sure a reprimand will be handed out to the person who is working on my case, for being too efficient... (they must be new).

Thanks

Hi everyone,
In the packet 3 that was sent to Margarita (in spanish), it says that her birth certificate, baptismal certificate, and police report need to be recent. It also say that one should have all documents ready before sending packet 3 back to the embassy. We followed those instructions, and have our interview for April 11. How recent do these documents need to be? On the date of the interview, her documents will be in the range of 60 to 80 days old. People at the DAS office have Mrgarita worried that her documents will not be recent enough for the embassy. I don't know what to think. Any insight is appreciated

thanks

john

I do not think the age of Margarita's documents will be a problem. Bella's documents were all older than Margarita's. I would not be concerned about what DAS says about the age of the documents required for the interview.

On the other hand, DAS does dictate how recent the father's permission letter for the children to leave Colombia needs to be and if your letter does not meet that requirement you will have problems at the airport.

Thanks Bill.

Hello Michael and welcome to VJ and the Colombian Club,

Thank you for reading the thread to get a basic knowledge of what the process is all about.

I got two things for you and they're just my own personal opinion. The first one is that I advise you not to file the I-129F for the K3 for two reasons 1. the USCIS stopped processing I-129F petitions for K3 visas, so if someone files for a K3 they will only process their I-130 petition for a CR1. Nobody knows if this is a permanent decision but it has happened to a lot of people who filed after 07/30/07. The other reason is because the CR1 visa for people going through Bogotá only takes about 1-2 months longer to process and once the beneficiary gets to the States there is nothing else that needs to be done unless their SS card doesn't arrive on time. Food for thought and for you to do some more homework about the possible cancellation of K3 visas.

The other thing is that if you forget to send any document to either the USCIS or the NVC, it's best to wait for them to send you and RFE because if you send it before, they will either not get it or get confused about why you sent it and delay your process even further. You might not even get an RFE but you will probably delay the process if you send something that was not needed in the first place. The best thing is to sit tight and wait.

Diana

Here are two VJ threads I found regarding the cancellation of K3 visas for further reading:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112427
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=113361

Diana

I got burned using Western Union then I switched to Money Gram. Now, I usually just use my ATM card too. What I ended up doing is opening a second account that I always keep a couple of bucks in for my wife to always have for daily use or in case of emergency. I deposit a couple hundred a month in there for her and she can take it at her leisure as opposed to me running to WU.

Our card is with Bank of America and the fee is $5.00 international ATM fee + 1%. It runs me a lot less than the other services, and since it is temporary I haven't been looking to hard to find a cheaper one, but some guys swear by the PayPal debit card account.

Hey Diana, Thanks for the info
I read thru the links you posted and it does seem like there is something going on with the K3's.
It looks like the USCIS is still drowning in last summer's glut and they are doing whatever they want to ease their backlog. I don't know if anyone is sure, if this is a new policy or just a way to help them get caught up, so it looks like for now the best strategy is to just let the I-130 go on by itself. If Bogotá doesn’t hold up the CR1's anymore than any other visa, I agree the CR1 route, overall is the best way to go. I only hope my CR1 goes thru as fast as yours did.
Thanks again Diana.

Mike

Mike,

The only delay you may come across with is if the USCIS takes its sweet old time approving your I-130. But once the NVC receives it and assigns you a case, things start moving faster.

Diana

Hello Colombia Club!

I was wondering what kind of evidence (if any) should I submit with the AOS package??

Thanks!

HELLO EVERYONE IN COLOMBIA CLUB.
I WANT TO POST THIS AND I HOPE THERE IS ANYBODY HERE WHO CAN HELP ME, I AM WORRIED
MY INTERVIEW IS TOMORROW AND TODAY I WENT TO PICK UP THE RESULTS OF MY MEDICAL, YESTERDAY THE DOCTOR MARIA GONZALEZ TOLD ME THAT EVERYTHING WAS OK.
TODAY THEY GAVE ME A CLOSED ENVELOPE FOR THE EMBASSY AND A VACCINATION DOCUMENTATION WORKSHEET ATTACHED TO MY VACCINATION RECORDS, AND THE CHEST RESULTTEST.
MY CONCERN IS THAT ON THE INFORMATION FOR VACCINATION SHE WROTE ON THE RESULTS:
IT WAS MARKED VACCINE HISTORY INCOMPLETES
APPLICANTS MAY BE ELEGIBLE FOR BLANKET WAIVER(S) BECAUSE VACCINATION(S) NOT MEDICALLY APPROPIATE (AS) INDICATED ABOVE.
THEN I SAW ON THE INFORMATION FOR THE TD IT SAYS INSUFFICIENT TIME INTERVAL AND FOR THE VARICELLA SAYS THE SAME THING.
I HAD ALL MY VACCINATIONS DONE 8 DAYS BEFORE THE MEDICAL APPOINTMENT AS THEY RECOMMEND ME WHEN I CALL FOR THE APPOINTMENT.
I HAD THE TD, MMR,AND VARICELLA.
CAN ANYBODY EXPLAIN THIS TO ME PLEASE?
HAS ANYBODY RECEIVED THE SAME RESULTS AND BEEN APPROVED?
SHOULD I BE WORRIED?
PLEASE HELP.
THANKS
FAITH11.

Hello Faith 11!!

Don't worry about it, mine was the same, I called Dra Gonzalez office and asked the same thing they explained that is because you need a second shoot after a month. I'm looking at my vaccination documentation worsheet and it says the same as yours. My visa was approved and I'm already in the US...
Good luck at the interview tomorrow!!! everything is going to be just fine

Saludos,

Marcela

I hope everything is going well for you Faith! Let us know the outcome of your interview as soon as possible im curious to know how it goes for you!

Tons of luck!

Diana B

HELLO MY FRIENDS FROM COLOMBIA CLUB.
I AM JUST GETTING HOME FROM BOGOTA.
I AM SO HAPPY MY VISA WAS APPROVED, I WAS WORRIED FOR NOTHING,
TOMORROW I WILL WRITE YOU ABOUT THE INTERVIEW.
THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ADVICES HERE.
GOD IS SO GOOD.
GOD BELSS YOU

Felicidades faith and the rest of you with good news!

I can't wait to hear about the interview as well. Good to hear it went well for you.

YAY!!! Congrats Faith!!!

I cant wait till im in your shoes...Andres and I are still waiting for the NVC to forward our petition to the Embassy. A couple of days ago I called and they stated that we are in extended review...

Camron...I guess we are in the same boat you were a few months ago. Atleast your experience serves as proof that it will eventually get there...maybe not as soon as others but it will get there.

Congratulations Faith!!!!

I am very happy for you, and also that everything went well.

While I am here... we were approved on the 12th as well. I made the decision that I would use my vacation time when my wife was here instead of using it to go to the interview, and there were not any problems that I was not there.

God is good!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS FAITH AND AGENTES! It is exciting to share your good news. I can only imagine your excitement after such a long process. Best of luck to both of you.

Diana B,

Sorry to hear you are hung up in "Administrative Processing" as well. The good news is that there is nothing to it except a delay. I think mine was about one of the longest delays I have read about in Bogota. Mine was just beyond 3 weeks. I have read many others that were in AP that only lasted a day or two. I will keep the faith that yours will be a short process. In any event, you are getting closer and closer. Stay strong and focused. At this point, the longest part of the process should be behind you and each day will make the forward process closer. You will be a May interview and possibly an April interview if they hurry. I am pulling for you!!!

Cameron

WOW!!!!!! Congrats to Faith and Argentes. I have been traveling alot and not been in cnnecton with the goings on here. Lot's of exciting news!!!
Paola is leaving this Monday the 17th to return to Colombia for a month. We had the DNA test done, called for another interview date for her son. It is Monday March 31!!! Paola is going down to attend the intewrview with her son and bring him back to the US.
I am a bit worried that she will have problems re-entering the US, given all the hassels that can come up. She has her travel doc's and everything else needed to re-enter the US. There should not be a problem. I am going to miss her badly while she is gone. She will return on April 22.

Hola everyone here in Colombia Club, l am back.
The interview was good, it took about 5 minutes.
The lady was nice and she asked me questions about my husband, she asked some questions twice so please be alert with the answers, Then she asked me for the evidences, l showed her the evidences I took with me such as emails, letters, phone bills, pictures. She made questions about the pictures and the wedding, the honeymoon.
then she said that my visa was approved.
I want to give you some recomendations;
1.Be clear with the answers and feel sure of yourself.
2. Take with you all the evidences you can, they may ask for it l noticed that they asked evidence to everyone.
3. Make sure you have all the requirements they ask, it´s better that you have more rather than anything is missing.
Take with you everything you think you may need.
For example in my case when they first ask ed for the documents to check that you have everything, the lady asked me why l made the correction on my name, l explained her why, she didn´t ask anything else. l went prepared to the interview and l took with me the notarized copy of the certificate that l have to make at the Notary when I did this years ago, well she didn´t ask any proof or anything like to explain this but l felt good to have it with me just in case.
Most of the people applying for k1 or k3 were approved.
There was a guy who has to come back in a week because a document from his wife was missing.
A couple was denied, the consular officer gave them a hard time by asking them questions separetely and after that he had them to sit down in different places and wait to be asked asked again separetely. After that they were interviewed again at the same time with different consular officers.
I heard the woman was complaining about the question the consular officer was asking, she said these questions were very personals relating to their sexual relationships.
l was surprised to hera tis because this was the first time l heard anything like this with American Embassy in Colombia.
Ok guys, it was a long day, l was called at 11:50 pm but it was worthy. l am very happy, this process is over now at least this part, l know we have to dela with AOS but l will be by then with my husband.
l wish you the best to all of you, God´s grace is with all of you.
Thanks for your prayings and support.
God bless you.
God bless you.

"CONGRATULATIONS AGENTES AND FAITH 11"

That's great news for you guys...finally you will be together. Yenifer and I remember the pain of being in seperate countries and it was very painful. Now you guys will be able to share lots of time together as you go through the AOS process. ("together" is the key word!!!)

Hey Buck good luck with your stepson's interview...tell Paola we said "HEY" AND BUENA SUERTE!!!

Thanks for the congrats and I wish the best for everyone with these things in the future.

Yesterday, I started a little write up of my wife's experience with the interview, but it is on another computer. I will finish it up in the next 48 hours and post it.

I was sitting on the approval for a day and just recovering from the stress. I have slept pretty good these past 2 days. This whole thing is still kind of surreal to me.

God is good!

Hey everyone,

Just wondering if anyone can give me an update on the current costs for getting the 2 documents from DAS: police &
migratorio.

On a side note Sandra called and was able to obtain an apt. w/ Dr. Gonzales on the afternoon of April 16th.
We have our interview on the 18th and will be staying with Bob at Bogota Lodging.

Thanks for any info you can pass along. I am working hard every weekend on my house with interior painting, new carpet and flooring, spring cleaning and all around household repairs. Between my job and all the work at home and the perpetual second guessing myself about if I have everything in order is driving me a little crazy. Im just ready to bring my Paisita home to Louisiana.

Greg

Greg,

The migra was 36 mil and the police cert. was 30 mil so about 35 dollars total.

Suerte

Hey Diana, I’ve been out of town for the past week and I had a lot of time to think and talk with my wife about all the possibilities (K3 vs. CR1). We have decided to go the K3 route, I sent in the I-129F and if they reject it, well there’s nothing I can do about that. I know it’s going to cost me more money and paperwork in the future, but it will also mean less time apart and as the months drag on, that will mean more to the two of us. Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

Mike

I will just dive in here with our interview experience....

I decided not to go to the interview, because my theory is that they pretty much have their mind made up whether we will be approved or not. With all the 5 minute interviews, I just don't believe that they are making these approval decisions on the spot.

I am sure they have some people in an "undecided" category and some people that they want to talk to both of the husband and wife, but my wife and I decided to take this risk. My logic was that if I am there and we were denied then there is nothing I can do on the spot, so I will have to return anyway. If I am not there and they want to see me, then I will have to come at a later date too. I was willing to go, but we decided to just wait and see if they ask for me.

The reason for the decision of not going was mostly based on the vacation time that I have available and the Domesa delivery. Since our interview was on a Wednesday; we are assuming at least 6 days for delivery with Domesa. With this in mind, my wife and I decided that I will use my vacation time when she gets here rather than using it waiting for Domesa. It is working well for us, but it really was a really difficult decision.

I can say this though... My wife and I were 100% calm and ok without me going to the interview. My wife and I both felt confident for the most part, but on the morning of the interview I thought of my wife and how she must feel when she was sitting there by herself. I felt sad. I just imagined how she must feel and I wished I was there, so I totally support the "be there for support" side of this too. On a humorous note: I knew it was going to be over in just a matter of 2-3 hours and it was.

My wife called me around 11:00am. She was finished at the embassy and back at her friend's house. She told me that she was the 5th or 6th one done, and she said she did not know about the other's approvals or not. She said that the interview was only about 5 minutes too. Overall she said it was pretty easy, but naturally she had moments of being nervous while she was waiting, since this is a life changing thing.

Something that faith said really jumps out and it seems to go perfect with the couple of things I wanted to mention that jumped out at me:

"1.Be clear with the answers and feel sure of yourself."
This speaks loud and clear in relation to what my wife said. I think they tested her all the way through.

When they called my wife, they said: "F. Agentes?" (looked at her passport) and then said: "You are not F. Agentes. You are F. XXXX. Where is F. Agentes?" (My wife's maiden name is in her passport)

Next they said: Oh, you are divorced.
Wife: No.
Interviewer: Ah ok, your husband is divorced.
Wife: No
Interviewer: Are you sure?
Wife: Yes
Interviewer: Has your husband ever been married before?
Wife: No
Interviewer: Are you sure about this? He is not divorced, he has never been married before?
Wife: Yes I am sure, my husband has never been married.

When she was asked for evidence she presented communications, cards, letters, etc, but she said they cut right to the pictures. Something that I found very interesting is that they actually singled out one of the exact photos that I sent in with my original application and asked her about it. I thought this was a very interesting detail because my wife did not know which pictures I sent with the original petition. I also wrote a note on my picture and the question asked was inline with my original notation. I thought that was very interesting. She was also quizzed on some other very specific details, but that is a little personal to write about in this moment. It wasn't anything bad, it's just something that is personal right now.

We didn't prepare very much for the interview questions. The reason was that my wife's natural reactions speak volumes about her. She is overall a very honest woman. To know her is to love her, and I feel that if I was trying to prepare her then I would only make matters worse. In other words... We have been honest, she just needs to be herself, and I just need to let God do his thing.

Another thing: She was given back the Migratory Certificate from DAS. They told her they didn't need it, but my wife has never been out of the country. I wouldn't bank on them not needing it.

All in all, I like the embassy. I wasn't there for the interview, but I was talking/emailing with the embassy during this entire process and they were great to me/us the whole time. We know they need to test the authenticity of these relationships, so my wife nor I are bothered by anything. Quite honestly, I wish other businesses gave me the type of service that I got from the embassy. My wife says they were very friendly in person too. This is kind of long, but I hope it helps someone.

God Bless,

Agentes

*Edited to add a little more

Congratulations Agentes! I bet you cant wait to have your wife here in the states with you! Im glad the process was smooth and went without a hiccup!

Congrats again!

Diana B

Congratulations everybody!

Diana

Hi Buck,

I am glad that Paola will be finalizing the issue with her son. This must have been emotionally distressing for her. Carina and I have started to worry about her 19 year old son also because of your experience. We have our interview on the 31st as well, so I hope that we will run into Paola.

Best of Luck,
Cameorn

Conratulations Agentes

Conratulations Faith

HELLO I JUST WANT TO SHARE THIS HAPPINESS WITH YOU.
I ALREADY GOT MY PASSPORT WITH MY VISA. I WENT TO DOMESA TODAY IN THE AFTERNOON TO PICK IT UP OTHERWISE I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT TUESDAY.
THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR ADVISES AND SUPPORT.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
FAITH11.

Cameorn, They will be there!!!!!!! I will tell her to be on the look ouy for a fellow VJ'er.

Congrats Faith and Agentes. I'm leaving for Barranquilla this Saturday from LAX. Will be there 1 week...I can't wait to see my Onelis!!

Hi all,

I've been lurking around for a while, but we finally got our NOA2 for both the I-130 and I-129F. I noticed that there has been some discussion here about the closing of K-3s/ Apparently, USCIS may have reversed their practice of closing K-3s. There has been a flood of approvals and lots of people from CSC are having their K-3s forwarded to NVC and getting case numbers for them. We don't care about AOS costs or EAD, etc. My wife will not be working for a good while so we would rather have the K-3 since it is faster at NVC.