Thank goodness that Packet #4 link is for CR1... and not K1. K applicants beware and do not confuse it with the general interview list that share some of the same URL roots.

With that out of the way I'll be posting within the next few weeks hopefully the establishment of an interview date for Maria and me.

"I think I'll take end of May" (lol)

So is that link for CR-1 and not a k1 ????? Does anyone know what is needed and is in the Packet 4. I am trying on my end to make sure she has everything that is needed since i can not see the Packet 4 they sent her.

What is the different things between a CR-1 and a K1??????

Thanks for your help.

Kyle

Apparently so. To my knowledge, the packets for K-visas are not linked anywhere on the embassy website. The only way to get packet 4 is to ask someone for it. If you read this thread (go back to November and start reading forward)...you'll find a lot of info about the packets and much more. You will also find out who has a scanned copy of packet 4 that might be able to send it to you. I have a packet 4 from April, 2005 (I have not scanned my wife's packet 4 from December), but it is a bit outdated. If you want it, PM me...but I think you'd be better off getting it from someone with a more current packet. By the way....it's in Spanish.

Do you want to know the difference between the visas? Or the content of the information packets? If the later, does it really matter? Get the K-1/K-3 packet 4 and check it out.

Kyle,

The first thing your fiance can do is try to get her Certificado de Movimiento Migratorio del DAS and Certificado Judicial (Migratory Movement document and Police certificate) if she does not live in Bogotá because it can take up to 30 days to get it. What she can also do is go a week before the interview and get it there since it only takes about 3 days to process in Bogotá.
The next step would be to see if she has the necessary vaccines which are TD, MMR, Varicela before her medical. If she doesn't have them, then she can have them done at the nearest Red Cross.
Once she has those done, she can then schedule her appointment with one of the doctors for her medical about 3-5 days before the interview just in case any problems arise.

Hi all,

I have nothing helpful to provide, just a note to say that our visa was approved this morning! We were the LAST people to be called but that was the hardest part. After a much needed nap, I will provide more information about the interview. But this thread has been invaluable, truly I would not have been prepared at all. But here is the irony...after all our careful preparation of documentation, evidence, photos, we were not asked to show anything. I saw many other people show photos, etc. but we were not asked to. Go figure. It only shows that each case is evaluated very differently by the COs. However, we felt much more confident with our folder of stuff.

More info to come, but thanks everyone for the advice!

Kathy

Kathy, I am happy to hear your good news. You made it. I would like to hear about the interview. what type of questions they ask you? Did they ask you both questions? I am going for my interview next month.

Thanks for any help. Congrats Kyle

Answering by my experienced,

MEDICAL EXAM,
Once you have the packet No.4 you called and they asked you about when will be your interview , after that they give you the appointment, I have my interview on the 30th and my medical exam is on the 18th , the vaccinations will be before the medical exam , you can go to the EL DORADO AIRPORT and you can find the RED CROSS for your vaccinations.

MIGRATORY LETTER OR CARTA DEL DAS OR CERTIFICADO MIGRATORIO
PAY TO BANCAFE $36.300 PESOS, NUMBER ACCOUNT 05699020-3 CODIGO 106 NAME OF THE ACCOUNT "FONDO ROTATORIO DEL DAS"
AFTER THIS COPY OF DE "CEDULA DE CIUDADANIA" ID CARD
GO TO DAS OFFICE THAT MAKE THE CERTOFICADO Callle 100 No.11B27 to 7:30 to 4 pm
takes 3 days!!!!

Good luck

Congratulations KathyB!!! It's always nice to hear when people get approved, especially in Colombia. Can't wait for it to be our turn.

K3 Interview on April 4th.

Long time waiting, everything is in order. Going to the interview with my wife

Will report findings and outcome

Happy Easter!

Hola Kathy

I'm very happy for you! Good luck with your new life

AWESOME Kathy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Kathy - such great news!!

Congratulations! I have to laugh because your experience was the same as ours. We were fully prepared with documentation...and my wife was asked NOTHING. But it's sure better than the opposite...not being prepared and being asked for all kinds of documents and proof of relationship!

Mike

I feel like a new person today! And alert enough to give some details about our interview. We arrived early (about 6:15) but as you can see from my earlier post, it made no difference. We were the last people to be interviewed--just dumb luck, I suppose. You are given a folder to insert all the documentation. We could not determine where to put the DAS certificate (Migratorio) so Francisco was going to ask when he got to the first window. I went with him to the first window after we were called but was told that I was not needed. So I waited for him to go through the first check. All papers were in order and the DAS certificate was still not inserted into the folder. We then went to wait with all the other family based petitioners. From what I could see, about 75% of the people were approved. No interviews were taking too long at all, regardless of the outcome. We were finally called and Francisco was asked several questions:

How did we meet?
Why did I travel to Bogota? (to visit my brother and his girlfriend on the first trip--I met Francisco in Armenia when all of us travelled there for holiday)
Why is my brother living in Bogota?
Where do I live in the US?
What did he send me for my birthday this year?
When was he divorced?

Then she wanted to speak to me. She talked to me a few minutes about Francisco's answer and basically had me confirm them. She also asked me about the dates of my two other trips to Colombia after our petition was filed.

Then the big question (which we knew would come up): Did I know Francisco was still legally married when we met? (Yes, he had been separated for many years but had never had the divorce finalized. He only did that after we met.) I explained our circumstances (and that he had told me from the very beginning) and she was satisifed with my answer and approved the petition. No more questions for Francisco. No photos. No emails. Just told me that we can come back at 4 the next day to pick up the visa! And I do want to add, the CO was very polite and respectful to both of us. The interview was painless for us.

I think my advice to all those with interviews coming up is to recognize any potential issues the CO might have with your petition and be prepared to address them. I had documentation to support everything I was saying but they were only interested in my explanation. The COs are reviewing the papers before you are called so if you can review your petition through the eyes of a CO and think about what might cause them to give something in your petiton a second glance, that is probably where the questions will come from.

Anyway, that's it to the best of my recollection. Oh, and we left the embassy with the DAS certificate (Migratorio) still sealed. I have no response to that and am curious if anyone else has had the same experience.

Thanks again. We are absolutely thrilled today and are still pinching ourselves! He is planning to come at the end of April so I have a lot of work to do! I am still happy to help--it seems like several people have interviews coming up over the next few months.

Kathy

Wow, I'm so glad you were able to be there with him to answer any questions the CO had. I wonder what would have happened if you had not been there. Anyway, the important thing is that you got it all over with and will be together soon.

Once again, congratulations to you both!

CONGRATULATIONS KATHY!!!


I have a question ......they return all the documents????

Hi, we're new to this site. K1 petition at NVC but should be sent to Bogota soon. BGT case number already given. We've been reading VJ for months now and still a little confused over K2 children. Does the embassy require the 4 year old daughter of my fiancee to attend the interview and have a medical exam? She is listed in the I129F and we will fill out separate documents and have a passport for her. I've searched but could not find an answer for Colombia.

The daughter will have to get a medical exam and her shot record, and shots if needed but she does not have to attend the interview.
My fiancee has a 7 year old daughter and i called the embassy and ask and that was the answer i was told.

Hope this helps. You can call the embassy on mon and wed from 2-4pm and talk to someone. be ready to keep calling the number for a hour or so before you get through. Then tell the person you are calling from america and need info for fiancee visa. then the phone might ring for 30 mins or more, stay on the phone, sometimes you get disconnect and will have to start all over. Its a good idea to get a phone card that after it gets disconnect you can hit pound button or star button and enter new phone number again instead of having to call the phone card number then enter the phone card pin and ambassy #. You might have to call 30 to 50 times before it goes through,

Hope this helps Kyle

if you have a need to call the embassy, do as Kyle said. But there is no need to call them about this. Kyle is right....the 4 year old does not have to attend. In fact, while you can bring her, the embassy discourages it because of the wait involved and the fact that you are outside in a courtyard the whole time. And as Kyle said, the daughter will have to have a medical exam and have the required shots. If you want to know of the required shots, I believe I posted it on this thread a week or so ago (look back). If you need the info again, PM me and I'll tell you what packet 4 says about the shots.

Mike

Thanks for the info. This site and everyone on it has been a great source for help. Unfortunately we will be coming to Bogota from Medellin and will have to bring the baby for the medical exam and stay for the interview. Thanks for the answers again.

Which documents do you mean? The actual required documents that support the I-129F and the documents you have to bring with you....no, they do not return them. However, if you put anything addition in your I-129F (such as a letter, an addendum, photos, e-mails, etc.), they will give them back to you at the interview.

Be careful and check anything they give you back. They accidentally gave us the certified copy of my step-daughter's birth certificate back. They called us a few hours later when they noticed the mistake and told us we needed to bring it back to them that day or no visa. So, we had to climb back in a cab in mid-afternoon traffic and take the certificate back to the embassy.

Mike

Thank you Mike!!!
I will try to be carefull and nor forgot anything.

My Fiancee and I confirmed our visa petition is in Bogota. My fiancee had called and she was informed package three would arrive at her house in about 20 days. We would like to fax and mail the documents now instead of waiting for package three to arrive. Could anyone help and list what I should be sending exactly? Some documents I believe are needed to send now are as follows:

134 ( I have a copy and an original) should I mail the original or bring it to the interview?)
230 part 1
passport ( a copy of her passport)
169 ( question, the 169 is just a form that needs to be signed at the interview? ) Does my
fiancee need to complete this form in anyway? Also should I place the reference number
assigned at the Bogota embassy on everypage

Any suggestions or information would be greatly appreciate. i really want to get the information faxed before 4/15 so hopefully we can get an interview date in May......I just do not want to make any mistakes. Thanks
Corey

Hi Corey,

The only documentation you need to fax/mail to the embassy prior to the interview are the DS230 Part 1, OF169, and a copy of your fiancee's passport page. We included a cover letter to specify what we were sending. We also included our BGT2007xxxxxx number on each page we faxed. I only faxed the documents and confirmed with the embassy that they had received our fax. Other people in this thread have both faxed and sent the originals via courier to the embassy. It is not required to do both, but it would give you peace of mind especially if you are close to that mid-month cutoff for the next month's interview. We missed the cutoff for March interview dates, but we had our interview on April 2. So missing the cutoff did not impact us too much.

Good luck!
Kathy

Kathy already advised as to what to include with your fax/packet to the embassy in order to get the interview. I want to further answer some of your questions:

I just finished reading from page 1 to 39 over the past few days.....as Mike ( Mike and Adriana) suggested......whew ...information overload. It was very helpful and I have about 4 pages of notes that I will be referring too. I also want to say thank you to KathyB for the information you provided about your recent interview.

One subject that applies to my situation I saw only touched is a minor child of the Fiancee. I really need some clarification on what is required. My Fiancee has a 19 month old son and I am attempting to learn what is required at the interview ( K-1) for my soon to be step-son. In reviewing the posts it mentions the appropriate vaccinations for his age. My Fiancee does have his vaccination records which are current. I also read he will need to have a Doctor's appointment prior to the interview. Does the Doctor's appointment have to be in Bogota? My Fiancee lives in Barranquilla. I am planning on attending the interview ( hopefully in the end of May), June the latest. In reading the past posts, I have read the Embassy prefers children are not brought to the interview, in the situation I would be watching our son rather then be able to attend the interview.

What forms are need, if any for the K-1? Do I need an additional DS-156 and does this have to be brought to the bank also? Are there any other forms required? I am aware a letter needs to be prepared for permission for the child to leave the Colombia and consent given by the Biological father. In our situation the father's whereabouts are not known. He does not provide any child support our call to inquiry how the child is doing. My Fiancee has gone to the family court ( do not remember the exact name) and was told she needs to present three witnesses at the court to verify the father's whereabouts are not known. Once her case is proven she would be issued a letter allowing the child to leave Colombia. The letter is only valid for 20 days. She was told it takes approximately 4 or 5 days for the letter to be prepared. We are awaiting the interview date before she applies for the letter due to it only being valid for twenty days.

Any suggests or advice regarding a child ( 19 months old) for a K-1 visa would be helpful.
Thanks in Advance.

P.S OskaryAndrea....I really feel for you and the problems you have been encountering. I really hope everything gets resolved and fast for you and your fiance.

I just finished reading from page 1 to 39 over the past few days.....as Mike ( Mike and Adriana) suggested......whew ...information overload. It was very helpful and I have about 4 pages of notes that I will be referring too. I also want to say thank you to KathyB for the information you provided about your recent interview.

One subject that applies to my situation I saw only touched is a minor child of the Fiancee. I really need some clarification on what is required. My Fiancee has a 19 month old son and I am attempting to learn what is required at the interview ( K-1) for my soon to be step-son. In reviewing the posts it mentions the appropriate vaccinations for his age. My Fiancee does have his vaccination records which are current. I also read he will need to have a Doctor's appointment prior to the interview. Does the Doctor's appointment have to be in Bogota? My Fiancee lives in Barranquilla. I am planning on attending the interview ( hopefully in the end of May), June the latest. In reading the past posts, I have read the Embassy prefers children are not brought to the interview, in the situation I would be watching our son rather then be able to attend the interview.

What forms are need, if any for the K-1? Do I need an additional DS-156 and does this have to be brought to the bank also? Are there any other forms required? I am aware a letter needs to be prepared for permission for the child to leave the Colombia and consent given by the Biological father. In our situation the father's whereabouts are not known. He does not provide any child support our call to inquiry how the child is doing. My Fiancee has gone to the family court ( do not remember the exact name) and was told she needs to present three witnesses at the court to verify the father's whereabouts are not known. Once her case is proven she would be issued a letter allowing the child to leave Colombia. The letter is only valid for 20 days. She was told it takes approximately 4 or 5 days for the letter to be prepared. We are awaiting the interview date before she applies for the letter due to it only being valid for twenty days.

Any suggests or advice regarding a child ( 19 months old) for a K-1 visa would be helpful.
Thanks in Advance.

P.S OskaryAndrea....I really feel for you and the problems you have been encountering. I really hope everything gets resolved and fast for you and your fiance.

Hello Corey

I would be glad to help if I can. My fiancee is from Barranquilla and has a 2 year old daughter. They received their visas in Feb and are now here in the US. PM me and we can talk .



I just finished reading from page 1 to 39 over the past few days.....as Mike ( Mike and Adriana) suggested......whew ...information overload. It was very helpful and I have about 4 pages of notes that I will be referring too. I also want to say thank you to KathyB for the information you provided about your recent interview.

One subject that applies to my situation I saw only touched is a minor child of the Fiancee. I really need some clarification on what is required. My Fiancee has a 19 month old son and I am attempting to learn what is required at the interview ( K-1) for my soon to be step-son. In reviewing the posts it mentions the appropriate vaccinations for his age. My Fiancee does have his vaccination records which are current. I also read he will need to have a Doctor's appointment prior to the interview. Does the Doctor's appointment have to be in Bogota? My Fiancee lives in Barranquilla. I am planning on attending the interview ( hopefully in the end of May), June the latest. In reading the past posts, I have read the Embassy prefers children are not brought to the interview, in the situation I would be watching our son rather then be able to attend the interview.

What forms are need, if any for the K-1? Do I need an additional DS-156 and does this have to be brought to the bank also? Are there any other forms required? I am aware a letter needs to be prepared for permission for the child to leave the Colombia and consent given by the Biological father. In our situation the father's whereabouts are not known. He does not provide any child support our call to inquiry how the child is doing. My Fiancee has gone to the family court ( do not remember the exact name) and was told she needs to present three witnesses at the court to verify the father's whereabouts are not known. Once her case is proven she would be issued a letter allowing the child to leave Colombia. The letter is only valid for 20 days. She was told it takes approximately 4 or 5 days for the letter to be prepared. We are awaiting the interview date before she applies for the letter due to it only being valid for twenty days.

Any suggests or advice regarding a child ( 19 months old) for a K-1 visa would be helpful.
Thanks in Advance.

P.S OskaryAndrea....I really feel for you and the problems you have been encountering. I really hope everything gets resolved and fast for you and your fiance.

I just finished reading from page 1 to 39 over the past few days.....as Mike ( Mike and Adriana) suggested......whew ...information overload. It was very helpful and I have about 4 pages of notes that I will be referring too. I also want to say thank you to KathyB for the information you provided about your recent interview.

One subject that applies to my situation I saw only touched is a minor child of the Fiancee. I really need some clarification on what is required. My Fiancee has a 19 month old son and I am attempting to learn what is required at the interview ( K-1) for my soon to be step-son. In reviewing the posts it mentions the appropriate vaccinations for his age. My Fiancee does have his vaccination records which are current. I also read he will need to have a Doctor's appointment prior to the interview. Does the Doctor's appointment have to be in Bogota? My Fiancee lives in Barranquilla. I am planning on attending the interview ( hopefully in the end of May), June the latest. In reading the past posts, I have read the Embassy prefers children are not brought to the interview, in the situation I would be watching our son rather then be able to attend the interview.

What forms are need, if any for the K-1? Do I need an additional DS-156 and does this have to be brought to the bank also? Are there any other forms required? I am aware a letter needs to be prepared for permission for the child to leave the Colombia and consent given by the Biological father. In our situation the father's whereabouts are not known. He does not provide any child support our call to inquiry how the child is doing. My Fiancee has gone to the family court ( do not remember the exact name) and was told she needs to present three witnesses at the court to verify the father's whereabouts are not known. Once her case is proven she would be issued a letter allowing the child to leave Colombia. The letter is only valid for 20 days. She was told it takes approximately 4 or 5 days for the letter to be prepared. We are awaiting the interview date before she applies for the letter due to it only being valid for twenty days.

Any suggests or advice regarding a child ( 19 months old) for a K-1 visa would be helpful.
Thanks in Advance.

P.S OskaryAndrea....I really feel for you and the problems you have been encountering. I really hope everything gets resolved and fast for you and your fiance.
[/quote]

Corey: My replies are imbedded below.....

Mike: Thanks Mike for the fast reply. I already translated the information and forwarded it to my Fiancee. Mike you should consider starting a business with all the knowledge you have acquired through this process. Just don't start charging until I am finished with the process!!!!



TonyS: I sent you a message, hope I did it correctly and you get it! Thanks!

My wifes K3 VISA was approved last week, but we are awaiting issuance of POE papers. I am posting detailed steps of the process of my wife and I experience of the K3 interview process. The US Embassy in Colombia refers to these processes as “residence VISAs”. The K3 interview steps are the same as K1 and CR1-the differences are in submission of paperwork. K1 VISA seekers read below for pointers on what to bring to the interview.

I am posting a detailed listing of our experience to allow future US residence VISA seekers to feel more at ease with the process. Also because the many people who wrote into this site, which assisted me greatly in the process. I know many lawyers in the immigration business due to the profession I have, but none on those lawyers could have given me the wealth of information this site has given me.

Here is the summary of my wifes (our) K3 Interview process at the US Embassy on April 4, 2007, 7:00 a.m.:

1. 5:45 a.m. Arrived at embassy, which is guard gate at street, about 10 people in line before us.
2. 6:00 a.m., entire group (at that time about 60 people) was ushered to entrance where you will see three large numbers, 1, 2 and 3. Number 1 is for toursit visa appointments at 7:00, line number 2 was for toursit visa appointments for 8:00 a.m. and line 3 is for potential “resident VISAs” (K1, K3, CR1, etc)
3. 6:15 a.m., embassy personnel will come out to look at your appointment letter and affix a colored dot to you (and your spouse/fiancee if present) to determine the location you will be going next.
4. 6:45 a.m., you will go through security checkpoint and then enter embassy waiting area. Area is outside, covered from the elements but wear warm clothes. Resident VISA seekers are seated on the right when you enter.
5. 7:00 a.m., after all residnent visa seeekers are gathered, embassy personnel will pass out a folder to each person and folder color is dependent upon the type of visa deisred. They will review what is requried for interview process and instruct you to proceed to waiting area so you can put all your documents into the folder.
6. 7:00 –8:30 a.m., we put everything into the folder, checked it once, checked it twice. As a part of the K3 the DAS migration listing (amount of time my wife traveled outside Colombia) was not listed but we included it anyway. Check the document listing many times, apparently the religious birth certificate and civil birth certificate look almost identical. We included the religious and that is not what the embassy wanted. We later found it in the pile of paperwork we brought and gave to second interview station.
7. 8:30 a.m., my wifes name was called for interview. Interview is a 2 step process, the first step is to have embassy personnel review if you have all the paperwork and if you have all the paperwork in the right order. If you are missing anything, they will send you away. Step 2 is interview with consulate official. I went to the window with my wife and was told to sit down. If you are attending with your spouse, go up to the window anyway. When I approached and waited for the person in front of us to finish, I noticed that the embassy person (clerk) was to say the least, not a happy person. She treated the person in front as if she was “no even a human being”. She appeared to be yelling and throwing papers all over the place. I thought, great of all the lines to be in, I had a frustrated “embassy clerk”. I left as instructed but observed off to the side the entire process. The clerk put everything in order and removed various documents. The documents she removed were the translations of documents from spanish to english. My wife had gotten a few of the documents translated and notarized. From what I could tell, if your documents are in english or spanish they accept both. My wife was asked a few questions about the paperwork only, but was basically chastized for not having the correct civil birth certificate. If there had NOT been a window between my wife and clerk, she probably would have been hit in the face with the numeorus pieces of paper the clerk was throwing around and even at the window. Obvisouly, the clerk enjoyed her work. She returned the translations and even our original marriage certificate. Everything was in order, my wife was asked to proceed to window 2 for the second step of interview.
8. 10:00 a.m., my wife was called to window to provide finger prints and then returned to her seat.
9. 10:30 a.m., after watching several persons being interviewed for K1 and CR1 my wife was called to the window. I accompanied her, I thought here we go, after the first step, I thought great, this was going to be an adventure. She picked up the phone and the consular smiled, sad hello, how are you in spanish (interview can be conducted in english or spanish). I thought , OK this is better. She was asked a couple of questions:
-When and where did you meet your husband?
-Were you ever married?
-Do you have children? Either of you?
-What is your husbands occupation? The consular commented, Oh that is a good job!
-Asked my wife for her mobile phone number? Wrote it down on one of the apps
I was waiting to be questioned,but she asked me no questions, I stood next to my wife and smiled and observed a very friendly smiling consular who made my wife feel totally at ease. After the first question, I noticed the consular was already pulling out the green slip of paper to write down her name to pick up the APPROVED VISA on the next business day. The consular indicated the VISA was approved and she could pick it up at 4.00 p.m on the next business day. I asked my wife to provide her the correct birth certificate and I asked if they wanted the original marriage certificate. She indicated she wanted the birth certificate but NOT the marriage certificate. Total time of interview, 90 seconds. I was not asked one question, I just smiled. It was obvious they review the file in great detail before you interview. I think what clearly assisted us in the recieving few questions, is that my wife had visited the US 8 times since we met in the US and the migration certificate although not asked for, indicated the number of visits. Interesting note, the migration certificate copy the DAS provided had two places she never ever visited. Our interview was on April 4th, Easter week and the embassy was closed for the next two days, therefore we had to wait till Monday to pick up Point of Entry (POE) packet
10. Monday, 3:30p.m. arrived and around 3:45 p.m. security personnel came out to advise those picking up packet to line up for security check. I was with my wife but was not allowed to enter and join her in the embassy. So I waited outside. After 15-20 mintes others in line came out with the imfamous large closed envelope with their passport on the outside. After one hour, I knew something was wrong, around 5:05 p.m. my wife exited with no envelope. Apparently the computer did not issue her POE papers and she needs to return the next day to “TRY” to retrieve the papers again. Apparently it is fairly common to not get your POE papers the next business day. As of writing this, we will be visiting the embassy today to hopefully retrieve the papers so we can return to Miami the next day, if not we will go back the next day, etc, etc.
11. What I brought to the interview, because I did not want to take any chances were the following:
-Wedding photos
-Photos of vacations (both of us in picture)
-Photos of my visits to Colombia with her family and vice versa her trips to the US
-Copy of all items submitted as a part of the entire process
-Airine tickets of our travels
-Some phone logs
-Copy of check from our joint bank account
-Copy of me naming her on my life insurance at my place of business.
-Copy of her being listed on my health insurance
(All of the above is in addition to the items required in the Affidavit of Support)

As I noted above, I did not need any of the above but I was ready. I had almost a suitcase of items and everyone waiting was wondering why I had so much “luggage” but I guess that question was answered when our interview was approved quickly

Hopefully today we will recieve the POE papers and we both arrive in the US tomorrow ---April 11th.

Now for some advice to potential K1 applicants. We talked to one K1 applicant and they were sure they had everything in place. They were up at the consular window 30 minutes, showed pictures and were asked numerous quesitons. We had left and they were still being asked questions. We did not see them on Monday, so I do not know if they were denied or approved, but I would guess they were not approved. Based upon my reading of this site for 8 plus months and talking to other K1 applicants I would suggest those K1, K3 and CR1 interviewees bring as many of the above listed items as they apply. I STRONGLY recommend K1 seekers bring as much of the above as possible.

Next time you hear from me, it will hopefully be in the US with my wife!

I love the details of your post. And you know what? I'm so fed up with embassy workers in Bogotá, it looks like they are so extremely unhappy with their jobs that they should be fired. Augh!

I noted that erporsche's wife was fingerprinted. I do not recall my wife doing this....or if she did, she did it at the same time as her "interview." I'll have to ask her. Perhaps this is new. I know they take fingerprints for IR-1/CR-1 (since you don't have to adjust status).

I guess one's experience at the embassy will vary. We had nothing but a good experience. The ladies at the gate in the morning were nice and helpful. The guards were fine. The lady who explained thing to the group initially was pleasant. The lady at the first window was a Colombiana who was very pleasant and efficient (by the way, the lady at the first window not only review all of the documents to see that you have them and that they are in order, but she also highlights the most relevant information...so that the CO will be able to quickly identify what he/she needs to know). We also have a good experience with the CO. We were all commenting that his name must be "Mr. No" because of all of the denials that came from his window that morning. But he was very pleasant to my wife. I stood behind her at the window. He did not ask me anything, but he did not send me away either. We had to return later that day to provide a document that they returned to us by mistake...and I spent some time talking to the guard at the gate while my wife went inside. Again, nothing but pleasant. It's too bad everyone can't have our experience.

Mike

Although I have been following this thread for quite a while, I have not yet begun my own process. I am the American Citizen (born in Cali, raised in NY) and my fiance is in Cali. I have been back to Cali many times since we first met in July 2003, thankfully I get a lot of vacation time b/c I'm a teacher, and we definitely have A LOT of evidence proving we are a bona fide couple.

I will be going back to Cali in July and Leo and I will be spending the summer together. We have finally decided to get married and here is my question to you experienced VJ'ers. I'm not sure which visa we should pursue. I have read the comparison info. that the site provides, but I don't know what to do. I know the Fiance visa would get him here sooner, but if we were to marry in Cali and go for the CR-1/then he would not need to go through AOS. For any of you that had to make this decision, is there any advice you can provide?

ALSO - MANY CONGRATS TO ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE RECEIVED YOUR VISAS RECENTLY!!!

I noticed that you will be going through the Vermont Service Center, so that's a huge plus if you decide to file for a K-1. I've seen people getting approved within 2-4 weeks and getting their visas just 3-4 months after they filed. Now, if you are filing for a CR-1 and even a K-3 through Vermont, that's a long wait. There are many CR-1 filers who have been waiting since June/July and they still haven't been approved, K-3s take a long time also but not quite that long. Deciding which visa to file for is a very personal decision so I would recommend for you to go through the K-1, K-3 and CR-1 forums to read people's experiences with VSC and then you and your fiancee can decide.

By the way our situations are very similar. I'm also a US citizen, born in Medellín but raised here in the States with a Colombian husband.

HELLO!
MY NAME IS LEO AND WELL MY GIRL IS IN COLOMBIA AND WE JUST RECEIVED HER CASE NUMBER, WE HAVE EVERYTHING READY TO BE FAX TO THE US EMBASSY BUT WE ARE MISSING THE FAMOUS "OF-169"
CAN SOME ONE PLEASE SEND ME THE PDF OF THAT FORM, I HAVE THE DS-2001 BUT I WANT TO PLAY IT SAVE SO I WANT TO SEND THE "OF-169", MY EMAIL IS LE_NARDO@YAHOO.COM
THANKS!

Hello Leo

Don't worry, the DS-2001 is ok to use.

Hola

I guess the decision comes down to a personal choice but I recommend the K-1. The process from initial filing to receiveing the visa took use 97 days. I also went through the VSC. We will have a simple wedding here and a larger ceremony in Colombia later.

My advice is to not focus so much on which type of visa and/or how quickly it will get her here....rather, focus on your relationship. Do you feel your fiancee needs a "trial period" in the U.S.? Are you concerned that she might not like it here? Or could not adjust to the U.S.? Are you worried that she will turn out to be a different woman than the one you met and have spent time with in Colombia? If so, perhaps the K-1 is the way to go.

Further, if you are absolutely desparate, for some reason, to get her here ASAP, then PERHAPS the K-1 is the way to go. A claim was made that K-1 processing times were much shorter than K-3 times. That may be true, but check the timelines on the site to make sure this is true (and not just the experience of one or two). My wife's I-129F petition was approved in 40 days. We submited it in October and her interview was in January. And it seems like things are moving a bit faster now (not that I'm complaining).

Also understand (and this is just my opinion based on what I saw at the embassy and what I've heard) that the K-1 is more likely to be rejected than the K-3 by the embassy in Bogota. This is not to say you will be rejected...rather, it is to say that you take on more risk by applying for a K-1, IMO.

If you are certain you want to marry and it is important for the wedding (the acutal wedding, not a second wedding or a cermony just to placate the relatives) to be in front of friends and family in Colombia, then the K-3 or IR-1/CR-1 is the only way to go (because with a K-1, you must marry here in the U.S.).

We chose to go the K-3 route (instead of the CR-1 route) because, at the time, the CR-1s were taking a lot more time. However, I've noticed (and you can verify this by reviewing timelines on this site) that CR-1s are getting processed much more quickly now. If I had it to do all over again, I'd go the CR-1 route....to avoid adjustment of status in the U.S. Here are examples of some of the issues I could have avoided if we had gotten the CR-1 instead of the K-3:

1) My wife and step-daughter could travel outside of the U.S. without a visa, because they would have been permanent residents of the U.S. (e.g., currently, with the K-3 visa, I would have to get a visa for my wife and step-daughter to travel to Mexico or the Bahamas).
2) My wife could get a permanent driver's license in Florida, instead of a temporary one (again, because she is not considered a permanent resident).
3) We would not have had to drive to Jacksonville for biometrics.
4) We would not have had to fool with the AOS paperwork...and the eventual interview.

Honestly, given that a K-3 does NOT give one permanent resident status (until AOS), it is far inferior, IMO, to the CR-1. The only reason for going K-3 was to save time...and from what I can see....the time savings is no longer that great.

Just my opinions....

Mike

thanks for the info Tonys!
But I went to the Website of the Us Embassy in Colombia, and if you look at the forms that they have for the K-1 visa. In the instructions sheets for K-1/K-3 if you look at it they have the form "OF-169". ( is one of the last sheets)
So to everybody that needs that form is right there for you.

Also one last question for now, I just moved to a new place and Im not sure if I should change my address; would this delay the process? Because we're about to Fax the papers to Bogota and we have to put the address where my girl is gona stay when she gets her to Miami.
thanks.

Hello to everyone!!!
I think we have a problem, initially we were applying for the CR1 but the K3 arrived before, and today I just receive a letter from the NVC with our case number and they send me the letters with another case number…… what to do????
If we have our k3 interview for April 30th ??? ???we can get the K3 and in US continue with the CR1????please if anyone have an idea let me know….
Thank you

I'm not sure I follow your post. If you applied for a K-3, then you filed an I-130 first, followed by a I-129F. Based on information on this Board (and an official notice by the U.S. government last fall), once your I-129F petition is approved and sent to the NVC, your I-130 petition, once approved, will be held in limbo at the NVC. The assumption is that you will complete theK-3 process and then adjust status when the beneficiary arrives in the U.S.

So, if you have an April 30 interview for the K-3, you should probably forget about the CR-1 at this point.

Mike

You should put the correct, current address on the papers....even if it differs from previous addresses you have provided. The U.S. government wants to know where the beneficiary will be staying when he/shee arrives in the U.S.

YES , that is the point..........and I have to forget the CR1 in US??????or definitely forget it , thank you for your help

I called the colombia embassy on wed and was told they are no longer taken any visa questions by phone and you can not talk to anyone, all you can do is fax them your questions. In the past you could call on mon and wed between 2 and 4pm there time to talk to someone, My fiance still has not receive her packet 4 yet by mail and not sure what to do. It seems the goverment like to make things harder. Kyle

I am going down there first part of may for our interview. Where is a good place to stay in Bogota? I called one place and they wanted $682,000 in peso per person for 4 nights, Ouch, I don't think so, Thanks for the help. Kyle

Once the K-3 is approved and the benficiary arrives in the U.S., then you must file for adjustment of status (see the related "guide" on the web site on how to do this). You may also want to file for EAD if you want to get the beneficiary a social security card.

If you are following the K-3 process and you have an interview date, forget about the CR-1.

Review this thread....about a month or so ago. This question has been asked and answered before. I personally stayed with my wife. I've also stayed a Lloyd's apartment-suites (something like that) and then Real Suites. I think Real Suites is within a reasonable distance from the embassy, not that it matters at 6:00 a.m. Other folks have recommended hotels that are closer. Take a look and you will find the info you seek.

[/quote]

thanks for the info Tonys!
But I went to the Website of the Us Embassy in Colombia, and if you look at the forms that they have for the K-1 visa. In the instructions sheets for K-1/K-3 if you look at it they have the form "OF-169". ( is one of the last sheets)
So to everybody that needs that form is right there for you.

[/quote]

Good catch! I had to go the embassy website today for some information and noticed that it has been revamped! Packet 3 is now posted on the embassy website under Immigrant Visas/How to Begin the Visa Process. The instructions for Immigrant Visas, K1 Visas, and K3/4 Visas are then organized into separate sections. You will see a link saying "Package of Instructions for K1/K2 (or K3/K4) Applicants." Nice work Bogota!

For those coming up in the process (if you read back through the old posts and get a little confused about sending PMs to VJ members for certain forms or needing to go to El Salvador embassy website for forms), note that the Packet 3 instructions are now posted on the US embassy in Colombia website!

Thank you again Mike , I was waiting a light but seems like we loose the CR1, but the most important is that soon we will be finally together!

….now wait to the embassy interview.

Well, I see a ton of info and a list of documents for K-1, K-3 & K-4 visas and none for CR-1/IR-1s. That's not cool.