I suspect the vast majority of your questions can be answered by reading posts since November, 2006. There has been a LOT covered over the past few months since many of us have gone through the process. The early posts, other than getting you up to speed on the "shortcuts" might not be so helpful.

I'm part of the club too

I cant really help but I can sure use some help! I have my NOA1 and waiting for NOA2 which should be in about 5 weeks....I hope. Saludos a todos

I still keep an eye on this post. I agree that the old info is obsolete. The useful part is the actual experience at the consulate. Having watched this for a long time I see a pattern where they seem to be pretty hard on Colombian men. When we went everybody got approved. There was almost no risk. Now it seems that you should probably take more care if you are male Colombian.
The consulate is still the same cold miserable place that it has been since it has been there.
Congratulations to those that have been approved, and good luck to those that are waiting!!!
You are all in our thoughts and our prayers.

hEllo to everyone here!!!

We received the packet 3 !!!!but I have a lot of questions...
1.We got aproved the I 130
2.We send our I 864 in thi case we have to fill the I 134¿?
3.How many days (probably days) toget our interview???

thank you if anyona can help us!!;)

One piece of advice for the new people that everyone thinks about in hindsight and is very important for everyone no matter what...

Although it's not so romantic, think of everything you do together as a possibility for obtaining a piece of proof of your relationship. Save your receipts, try to have cedula numbers of your fiance added to receipts that you pay for with your credit card. Bring your camara out when you go places. Even if it's just for a night out with her friends. I have no solid proof, but pictures that incorporate the US Citizen into the fiances life I think are important. That way you don't just have a bunch of pictures with your two heads together posing. Take pictures with his/her family at restaurants, take pictures at the bar with his/her friends, take pictures in her apartment with her family. Have some "action" shots of you guys doing stuff together. Than you can put everything in a little plastic flip through album and it tells a little story, a story about how you guys have a life together even though you live far away.

As many people echoed here in not so many words: During the interview process, the interviewer will first ask you for photos and then if the photos don't tell the story they want to see, they will ask you for more and more. Good photos will erase all doubt that you are in a real, loving relationship with not just your fiance but with another culture.

Everyone's experience is different, we found Bogota to be painless as an embassy, others have not. It all depends on the day, who you get for an interviewer, etc.. Take "factor x" out of the equation by having a story to tell in documentation, not just words and it won't matter who you get.
Unless it's just not possible, the US citizen should go to the interview. it's an easy way to take another x factor out of the quest. Think of it as another startup cost in the marriage. $500-600 ticket is a small price to pay in relation to losing everything you've spent so far (time and money) if you get denied for an x factor.
just my two cents

Hi:

Your best strategy is to review this thread thoroughly...going back to posts in November and reading forward. You will get a LOT of good information and get a LOT of questions answered....IF you are pursuing a K-1 or K-3 visa.

However, based on what you wrote below, it sounds like you might only be pursuing the IR-1/CR-1. If that is the case, you've come to the wrong place. There is a Colombia Club thread on this forum specifically for that type of visa. The process is somewhat different and some of the things we discuss here are NOT the same for that type of visa.

If I've misunderstood your situation, let me know and I'll try to answer your questions.

My Fiancee is getting help from the agency that we met through in filing her paperwork from packet 3. The agency told her that she does not need the Certificado de Migratorio because she has never left Colombia. The agency helps literally hundreds of women and seems to have a good working knowledge of the K1 process. However, the Certificado de Migratorio is a new requirement. I did not know if she needed documentation proving that she has never left Colombia or not. Can anyone advise on this issue?????

I would request the Certificado de Migratorio regardless of what the agency says. How would the consulate know she has never left Colombia without the documentation to prove that? I would want to remove all doubt in the consulate officer's mind. You should have enough time to request from DAS prior to your interview, even if you are outside of Bogota.

Kathy

The Certificado de Migratorio is listed as one of the required documents in the package 4. I HIGHLY SUGGEST she get it! Remember you want to cover all bases in this process...you don't want to have the visa held up on a small technicality. The certificate is not difficult to get, just time consuming if she lives outside Bogota. Better to be safe than sorry!

From what I have read the Certificate of Migration is new and is mandatory. Does nayone know what the purpose of the certificate is? I do not see the impotance of it, other then the Colombian Consulate requires the document. What difference does it make how many times you have left the country? Any past visa applications should already be on record. One other question. how do you post your timeline on your messages? Our timeline only has one entry as of now but I hope to add to it soon. We are going thru the CSC, they recieved our application on Feb. 2nd. From what i see it will be a while before I can post any activity.

They can always ask DAS in their hometown. My girl asked in Bucaramanga this last week and they told her the expected wait times for all her requests would take no longer than 3 days, Certificado de Migratoria included. Go figure.


Those of you that have gone through a Banco de Crédito in the last couple of weeks... how much in COP did you pay? We were quoted 240.000, which hits the exchange rate to the $100 US fee a little on the heavy side.

My wife is from Barranquilla, and she had to wait 30 days for her Certificado de Migratoria.

This document comes from Bogotá, and thus can be ordered and received in Bogotá within 3 business days.

At the top of your screen, select "My Assistant"

On the resulting pop-up menu, select "Edit Forums Signature"

Then you manually type whatever timeline info, or anything else you want to show in all your messages.

The "official" timeline that you are referring to does automatically link to statistics and charts on the VJ board, but it is not automatically displayed in your messages.

Gracias!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I only have a guess as to this requirement. The visa applications would be on record but not your actual departures/entrances for Colombia. I think the US embassy is looking for those people who have overstayed a visa in the past.

Get the Certificado de Migratoro regardless of what the agency says. Oskaryandrea had their visa denied and to me it seems it all started with the fact they did not have it. Just my opinion. As to a previous comment as to this thread and the CR-1. I read both. Our interview is April 12 and any info about the consulate helps. Not all is applicable but well worth the time to read. There is some good info in the other thread as to the interviews as well for those interested. Good luck to all.

Doug

HELLO EVERYONE, DOES ANYBODY HAVE A CURRENT PACKET 3 OR 4 THEY COULD SEND ME? I SEE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME ADDITIONS LIKE THE CERTIFICADO DE MIGRATORIO. ALSO, WOULD TAX TRANSCRIPTS BE GOOD ENOUGH OR DO I NEED OFFICIAL COPIES OF MY TAX RETURNS? I CAN GET EITHER ONE FROM THE IRS BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL TAKE A WHILE. I AM DEFINITELY GOING FOR THE INTERVIEW AND HOPING I CAN GET AN INTERVIEW DATE IN APRIL INSTEAD OF MAY. THANKS FOR THE HELP, GLENN

What's the purpose? I don't know and I didn't really care. The fact is that it is REQUIRED and, therefore, you shoudl get it. The same could be said when it comes to the requirement of a baptism certificate. If we want a visa, we must comply by the rules. Don't give them a reason to turn you down or delay the process.

While it might be OK for someone who is informed of the process to read both this forum and the IR-1/CR-1 forum, I DO NOT recommend it for newbies. If you are new and are pursuing the IR-1/CR-1, visit that thread first. When you get to the point of the embassy interview, then some of the posts on this thread might be useful.

On the other hand, if you are pursuing a K-1 or K-3, I DO NOT recommend you reading the IR-1/CR-1 thread until you get to the point of the embassy interview.

I have had several PMs from members who are totally confused about the process because of reading both threads. Up until the interview, the processes are somewhat different. No reason to be confused if you don't have to be.

Also, be careful with what you read on threads dealing with other embassies. The requirements are NOT all the same for other embassies....so, again, a newbie might get confused. For example, I was reading the other day that there is no such thing as packet 3 in the Phillipines.

Just some advice form a guy who got a little confused at first too.

Mike

1) I have the current packet 3, but a slightly outdated packet 4. There are others on the board that have both already scanned...but if you don't get in touch with them, PM me and I'll send you what I have.

2) Yes, the certificado de migratorio is the one major change I see in packet 4. Other changes are the cost of the medical exam and the blood tests/x-ray and the bank at which you pay the interview fee.

3) Tax transcripts are sufficient....but I personally provided a copy of my returns for 3 years. You can request the transcripts by phone or fax. It took me two faxes and about a month to get the transcript...FYI...so don't delay, especially with tax season in full tilt.

Good luck to you.

It will be just as easy to make copies of your own returns, but I believe they need to be notarized. If you want the transcripts, they will take several weeks.

I requested the tax transcripts over the phone and got them in two weeks. they will be sent to the address of your last return.

Doug

Guys, you don't need to notarize your returns for the embassy. A copy of them will do just fine. I would recommend the last three years. Once you're in AOS you'll be required to have official tax transcripts from the IRS. If you want to, getting those is just as easy as Doug mentioned, but for the embassy they are not required.

Also, if anyone needs a sample Declaracion Juramental (for those without a Baptism Certificate), I have one that is ready to fill in and any notary will accept in Colombia. My husband's uncle is a notary in medellin and he prepared it for us. Just have someone in the family fill it out and sign it in front of the Notary. This will take the place of the BC.

And YES, you do need the Migratory Letter. If its on the list, you must have it. Don't give them a chance to delay your visa or to 'flag' your file. Have it all ready even if they don't ask for it.

UNFORTUNATELY I DIDN'T SAVE MY TAX RETURNS. I CALLED AND REQUESTED MY TAX TRANSCRIPTS TODAY AND MAILED IN A REQUEST FOR COPIES OF MY TAX RETURNS. CALLED THE NVC AND MY PACKET WAS MAILED OUT TODAY BUT THE OPERATOR SAID SHE DIDN'T HAVE A DHL TRACKING NUMBER TO GIVE ME. HAS ANYBODY ELSE EXPERIENCED THIS? SHOULD I CALL BACK? I HAVE A NVC CASE NUMBER THAT'S IT. THANKS AGAIN FOR EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED ME SO FAR AND GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE. THANKS

The NVC does not give out tracking numbers. Follow the instructions on tracking that are given earlier in this thread (I think the tracking instructions were just repeated a page or two back)....or separately on another three by "Peter from Miami." What you are looking for are packages that came out of the NVC that are headed to Bogota. The package should take about 2-3 business days to arrive in Bogota.

THANKS MIKE. I GOT THEM. MY PACKAGE IS IN MIAMI RIGHT NOW. IT SURE IS MOVING FAST NOW. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR HELP.

Great news! If it's in Miami now, it should reach Bogota by Thursday.

Mike

Does anyone have a good copy of a blank OF-169 that they can send me? I have a copy but it is very poor. I assume that Colombia is still not using the DS-2001 since I have not seen anyone mention it in recent posts. Thanks.

Skipper -

I have a scanned OF-169 from a packet 3 sent to me by the starter of this thread. It is also poor. In fact, the OF-169 we got in our packet 3 was poor as well. Don't wory about it.....send it.

By the way, if you prefer, you could also send the DS-2001. I actually sent both....the OF-169 AND the DS-2001 (from El Salvador). I don't think the embassy really cares.

As least as of December, 2006, the embassy was still using the OF-169 and the paper copy DS-156 (not the bar-coded version).

Mike

We only sent DS-2001. They will accept that one just fine. PM me and I'll send it to you.

K-3 Process

Embassy accepts DS2001 or OF169. I have both in PDF.

This is brief summary of steps:

Sent Cover letter, DS 2001, DS230 Part 1 after taking guess of application arrival in Bogota from NVC.

Wife recieved Packet 3 two days later. Saved a couple of days by guessing. She faxed and sent via courier.

Wife recieved Packet 4 within one week with interview appointment letter. Seems to take one week in Bogota for packet 3 and 4 to arrive by snail mail after embassy sends out. IMPORTANT - As soon as you get Packet 4, call for doctors apoointment (Dr Gonzalez is preferred and she is busy). Wife recieved March 27th appointment and she called on March 8th

She went to Red Cross to get vaccinations

She is going to lab this week.

She has requested migratory certificate from DAS (takes 3 days in Bogota)

She is going to bank tommorrow to pay visa fee with DS156.

Waiting for interview set for April 4th (problem is Embassy is closed on April 5 and 6th due to Easter Holiday) Hoping to get VISA same day (crossing fingers) otherwise I may need to wait till Monday at 4:00 pm.

Making flight arrangments to go to interview.

MY PAPERWORK ARRIVED IN BOGOTA TODAY. IN JUST TWO DAYS!!!!! I'M PUMPED!!!

Best of luck to you!!! I'm hoping to hear similar news soon. If you have those forms in pdf, could I get you to email them to me? Let me know and I'll give you my address. In any case - good for both of you!

K3 Process

I will scan packet 3 and 4 in PDF that my wife recieved in early March 2007 to give those a heads up on what is expected similair to others that have helped me.

PM me after after this Thursday or Friday and I can send you info.

Best of luck to everyone!

Hello everyone! Great news! My I-129F was approved today!! So now my fiance and I are gearing up for the next stage in the process, which brings me to my question:

I am a ph.d. student on fellowship. About 1/3 of my annual income is paid in salary, and the other 2/3 are paid as a stipend. For this tax year, I was unaware that I was required to report my stipend (In fact, I just found out yesterday that the stipend IS in fact considered taxable income), and so I did not report it on my tax return. Thus, the return transcript does not fully reflect my income. I have adequate documentation of the rest of my income, including a letter of employment stating my full income and records of my stipend deposits for the past year. But will the fact that it doesn't all show up on my tax transcript be a problem at the embassy ? (I know it's a problem for the IRS, of course).

Your school should have sent you a 1098-T with the amount paid to you as "Scholarships and Grants," or the part B of the 1098-T (this is actually your stipend). Trust me, I got one. I am not a tax pro, but you can limit your tax liability by claiming the actual tuition paid on your behalf (its considered a qualified expense... or the part A of the 1098-T). See Form 8863.

You may want to file an amended tax return for the previous years you obtained this stipend. I know, it totally sucks, but during your school's orientation you should have heard that student stipends are taxable depending on the funding source. Check your appointment papers- chances are if you study science your funding source is public (like PHS) and that means you gotta file. There are always those that sneak by and then there are cases of those that get audited. Your choice. But if you want to add your school stipend as income for your affidavit of support then you gotta be ready to ante up the tax difference.

Suerte and congrats on the petition. Things will speed up soon.

Thanks for your response -- I was panicking because, being new to the whole tax process, I wasn't even aware I could file an amended tax return. But as my father would say, "nobody is ever going to prevent you from giving them money."

Surprisingly, my school's official line on stipends is as follows: "In addition, the University does not issue 1099 forms indicating the amount of stipend fellowship received by a student. Students are responsible for accurately reporting stipend amounts and for making estimated tax payments if appropriate."

This seems fishy to me, but I guess it's their prerogative. Wish I had read up on this, instead of just assuming, 'oh, if I need to report it they'll send me some sort of official document.' But hindsight's 20-20.


Thanks for your well-wishes. Unfortunately, my fiance's need for a German police certificate is going to slow things down a bit, but we're aiming for an interview in June.

I was originally in such a hurry...

Hopefully she has already requested that background check from the Embassy in Bogotá. You never know with Teutonic Efficiency these days!!! Maybe the nature of the request won't take too long to take care of.

Wow... seems your school is like mine- they pay you but then they don't take ownership when tax issues come around. Taking care of you from a payroll point of view would IMHO make a good recruiting position. Anyway, its something to consider when asking at recruiting weekends (for those of you looking at programs).

Congratulations olafgypsy on your approval! That's great news!

I assume you've figured this out by now, but to amend your return, file the 1040-X. You can present a copy of that, along with your original return to the embassy....in lieu of the tax transcript. If you are not going to be at the interview, it might not hurt to include a brief explanation of why you filed the amended return (so they don't assume you only did it to meet the support guidelines).

Good luck.

PS - welcome to the world of higher education! I'm been teaching since my doctoral days in the early 1990s. Universities are very strange organizational animals.

[/quote]

Thanks for your response -- I was panicking because, being new to the whole tax process, I wasn't even aware I could file an amended tax return. But as my father would say, "nobody is ever going to prevent you from giving them money."

Surprisingly, my school's official line on stipends is as follows: "In addition, the University does not issue 1099 forms indicating the amount of stipend fellowship received by a student. Students are responsible for accurately reporting stipend amounts and for making estimated tax payments if appropriate."

This seems fishy to me, but I guess it's their prerogative. Wish I had read up on this, instead of just assuming, 'oh, if I need to report it they'll send me some sort of official document.' But hindsight's 20-20.


Thanks for your well-wishes. Unfortunately, my fiance's need for a German police certificate is going to slow things down a bit, but we're aiming for an interview in June.
[/quote]

Congratulations on your NOA2. Vermont has been rocking and rolling on those K-1s!

I have been in Bogota for the past few days visiting my Fiancee. Yesterday when she checked her mail she received Packet 4. Things are moving fast now. Our interview date is April 13, 2007. She has all her paperwork with the exception of the Carta de DAS which she will get next week. I read that she should go ahead and make her Doctor's appointment now. How long does it take to get into the lab? Will she have enough time to go to the lab before her Dr.'s appointment? Also about the three vacinations that she needs. Is it better to go to the red cross and get them or wait until the Dr.'s visit to receive them? She needs Td, MMR, and Varicela. She does not have her shot record from when she was young. Any advice for the rest of the process including the interview? Thanks....

My wifes interview is April 4. Go to the red cross and get the shots. After geting the 3 shots she was tired for almost two days from taking 3 shots at one time. Call and get the doctors appointment scheduled ASAP. Dr Gonzalez is very busy, but when you call they will ask when your interview date is and hopefully fit you in. If not, you will have to go to the other doctor. Get your labs done now as well.

My wife has everything completed except for the labs which she is going this week and her doctors appointment is a couple of days before the embassy appointment.

She paid her interview fee yesterday at the bank.

Everyone she called was very helpful and every person at each of the palces knew the drill. The bank reviewed the DS156 in detail and even caught some mistakes I made.

Good luck!

erporsche answered most of your questions....but two points.

1) As soon as you know you medical exam date, get the blood test and x-ray a few days before. Results get sent directly to the doctor. No appointment needed for the blood test and x-ray.

2) In Colombia, vaccinations are done by the Red Cross, not by the doctor's themselves (at least that's what I've been told). So, definitely get them done at the Red Cross and bring plenty of cash...some of them are not cheap.

Francisco was able to get the lab in the morning before the medical exam. He will have lab at 7:30 am and exam at 9:30 (or something like that).

Kathy

Oh yeah, those shots can be pretty expensive. My husband told me that one of them, I believe the varicela one, was about $50USD and the other two about $35. The Red Cross in Cali was having a deal where if you get all 3 with them, they give you the 3rd one for free.

In the event that my fiancee's visa is approved, does she need to have a one way ticket or a round trip ticket for the satisfaction of immigration? Anyone entered through Miami recently?

Whatever is cheaper dude. A K1 does not necessitate a return unless you can foresee AP... but that means you'd need another ticket to come back to the USA. Airfares are on the up and rising...

Miami is getting better but its no picnic. Just about the same as any other POE when it comes to inbounds.

Good luck!

My mom bought a round trip ticket about 2 years ago and never used the ticket to go back to Colombia. Then this past summer something came up and called Avianca and they said she could still use the other portion of the ticket, just pay a fine and that's it. So if RT is cheaper, that's the one I would buy and save it to see if I could use it later.

As posted already, no need to have a round trip ticket. When my wife and step-daughter came, I paid about the same for a one-way ticket as I ORDINARILY pay for a round-trip ticket. From what I can tell immigration does not really care about the ticket....because of the type of visa (I am sure they would if she had a tourist visa!).

As far as entry in Miami....yes, my wife and step-daughter entered through Miami in late January. She arrived about 12:15 from Bogota. She entered the customs office around 1:15 and exited about 3:15. By the time they got their luggage and went through customs, it was about 3:45. They did not get hasseled at all....the problem was that they had only one guy in the office to process all of the arrivals.

Mike