You can email me at smitht30@yahoo.com. I will send you a scan of package 4 that I received in Feb.

I think this is an excellent idea. I also think that new members should read the threads from the beginning to understand the processes a little bit more, the problem with that is many of them (myself included back in the day) don't know that Colombian threads exist in the forum.

But anyway, here are a few pieces of info I thought about:

DAS web site (police and migratory movement documents) - http://www.das.gov.co/

Vaccines - TD, MMRR & Varicela (you may contact Cruz Roja of local city)

Lab work - Instituto y Laboratorio Clínico Calle 38 # 8-28, Local 1, Bogotá. 232.7272 (first come, first served 7am-10am)

Medical exams - Dra. María Consuelo González, Cra 8 # 49-25, Oficina # 307 @ 288.7629 or 245.9290 or Dr. Jairo Rosa @ 215.1763 or 658.9366

Department of State Visa Helpline in Washington, D.C. - 202.663.1225

leo here againg!
I have two final questions!

I just finish filling out the form I-134, my boss already gave me the letter from work and
this week thats coming up I will get the statement from my bank account. our enterview date is on May 17 which i plan to attend. For the form I-134 I have to sign it in front of a US notary public. (here are my questions.)

1.) so where I work I know that our secretary she has the authority to notorized papers, Could she notorised my forms and other papers
or I have to go somewhere else for that???!!!!!

2) Regarding the Statement from my bank account; it has been almost a year that I open this account and I really dont have money save there,
Usually When I get my check from work I have this bad thing that I usually cash it at the bank of where the check is from ( once in a while I deposit my checks, But starting last month I've been depositing my checks in my acount.) and usually I pay most of
my things in cash. Would this isue could be a reason for my girl not to get approved for her visa at the enterview even though I make 40k a year????

for this reason Im doing the fallowing thing to play it save.: I just move to a new place (rented) and Im goin to take ( to the enterview) the contract of the Apartment which is under my name, and a copie of the bills I pay there, so I could show them that I have enough money to pay the house bills and also that I could take care of my Trigueñota!

thanks for all your help, this Website is the best and sorry for my grammar is not the best!

Hola

1. I had the secretary at work notarize my paperwork...no problem
2. The instructions for the I-134 states " any or all " as far as evidence. I was not going to submit bank statements because my income was well above the required amount. I did only because i received a bounus and the balance looked more impressive.

That's my take on it but there are plenty of knowledgeable people here.

I agree with Tony about the I-134 evidence. Too much is better than too little.

Tony already gave you the answer on the notary. Any notary will do, even if it is someone you know.

As for the I-134...you can qualify as a sponsor by income or by assets. If you have tax returns and an employer letter, that should take care of the income part. You really don't need any information about assets (since you are not qualifying based on assets). I actually got a letter from my bank....and took about six months worth of bank statements to the interview....but was never asked for it. If you income didn't meet the minimum, you'd definitely need assets to qualify. If your income level was "close" to poverty level, I'd probably take information on assets. But beyond that, it's just for safety - good to have just in case, but not required.

I really don't know that an apartment rental agreement and copies of bills will do anything for you.

Mike

Bros/Sis's

Wendy and I just received our NOA2 last night. I will be here a lot more to learn from you all.

First, I'm going to gather I134 forms and documents that I need to send her. Then from there, i'm lost

Luco:

Have you done your readin og this thread yet? Yes? OK, good. ALways want to encourage everyone to read this thread. However, to get your started, let me give you some ideas.

Did you receive your NOA2 by e-mail or mail? If you got it by mail, it is possible that your petition has already been sent to the NVC. If you received it by e-mail, you need to wait about a week. Once you think your petition has been sent to the NVC....

The first thing you need to do is call the NVC (number provided elsewhere on this thread) and see if they have received the petition (they will ask you for the number from your NOA2). If they have not, call again in a few days. If they have, ask them two question: 1) what is the case number? (the number will start with BGT) and 2) when will the petition be sent to Bogota?

Meanwhile, your fiancee can begin to put together packet 3. That will include a cover letter (explaining that you are seeking a K-1 visa interview), a copy of her passport biographical page, a completed DS-230, part I ( you can find this on the embassy web site), and a signed OF-169.

Once the visa petition has left the NVC for Bogota by DHL, it takes three business days. Once the petition arrives in Bogota, give them a couple of days for processing. Then have your fiancee fax and/or mail the packet 3 information I mentioned above to the embassy. If you get the fax into the embassy by May 15, you should get a June appointment.

Once they receive the packet 3 info, the embassy will send your fiancee a packet 4 that includes her appointment time and a list of all of the other things she must do (medical exam, blood test, x-ray, pay the interview fee, etc.) and of all of the paperwork she must provide during the interview, including the I-134.

If any of what I said is unclear or you don't understand, then that means you have more reading to do. All of what I have said here has been discussed, in detail, in this thread. This should get your started.

Good luck,
Mike

PS - if you have a specific question, feel free to PM me.

Also don't forget to work on the CERTIFICADO MIGRATORIO as a heads up for the package 4. As many of us know, this document can take up to 30 days to receive if the fiance/fiancee lives outside of Bogota.

I have done lots of reading in the past few days. However so many different types of visa in this thread. kind of confusing. I will take it 1 document at a time.

Tony, thanks for the migratorio tip.

Mike, Thank you very much for taking your time to write that up. Very helpful. I will now search for those documents.

Lucho:

There are basically three types of visas that are discussed in this thread: k-1, K-3, and IR-1/CR-1. K-2s are for children of K-1. K-4s are for the children of K-3s. We have done our best to separate the K-1/2 and K-3/4 stuff on this thread from a separate thread for IR-1/CR-1. If you see something about the IR-1/CR-1 visa on this thread, ignore it...it's likely not relevant.

As for your question, the packet 3 for K-1s and K-3 is the same - OF-169, DS-230, part I, list of stuff. The only difference between K-1s and K-3s that I can think of off the top of my head is that for the interview, K-1s need a DS-156K (K-3s don't because they are already married) and K-3s need a copy of the marriage license (K-1s don't because obviously they are not married yet). So, use the link to the packet 3 that is provided in this thread and you'll be in good shape.

Mike

Lucho - a question for you! :-) You mention here that you will send the I-134 and documents to her. Does that mean you will not be able to attend her interview? If not, then please be sure that she has plenty of documentation of your relationship (photos of you with her and her family, receipts for travel, meals, hotels, etc. that show you two have spent time together, etc. - more ideas are talked about in this thread). The reason is that with a fiancee visa, the odds of approval are very low for those unmarried Colombians that show up for the interview alone. Remember that her chances of being approved (and the two of you actually being together) are much greater if you can go to the interview with her. We want to see both of you succeed.

Please indulge me a moment as I would like to verify something... My wife lives far from Bogota (in Florencia) and the mail service is notoriously poor outside the major cities. Is it possible that she could fax or courier a notarized letter to either the embassy or to a friend in Bogota that would allow the friend (an attorney) to pick up her packet 4 for her? My concern, obviously, is that we want to be CERTAIN that we get packet 4 firmly in hand.

I will attend the interview. However, I thought that the I-134 was part of packet 3 that was supposed to be sent before the interview??? I'm still learning this process. Please help me if i'm wrong.

You could bring the I-134 and supporting documentation with you when you got to the interview. However, it would be wise to send a set of the documents to her ahead of time. Always keep back-up copies of everything. I'm glad to hear you will be going with her. That will improve your chances greatly. Good luck!

My wife lives in Bogota and the mail service was fine. But I understand your situation. From what I have read, it is possible to give a friend or relative permission to pick up packet 4. I would think this would be especially easy if your wife's friend is an attorney. I assume you would send the permission to the friend to present to the embassy....but this (the question) might be something you should e-mail to the embassy to be sure.

Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. Yeah, I know mail service is good in Bogota, but I have several friends in Bogota who have assured me and Lorena that there is almost no chance she would get an "official" looking letter where she lives. My daughter who is getting married in June, sent Lorena a wedding announcement back in February and it has never arrived.

If she can't go to Bogota it will take up to 30 days. But Catherine went two weeks early to Bogota (from Barranquilla) and got the Certificado de Migratorio in 3 days. To me it made more sense then worrying about the mail (though this goes against my earlier post saying we got everything no problem from the embassy in the mail)....Our interview is on the 7th, so we aren't across the finish line yet. I fly in on May 1st, I can't wait!!! Will post updates as I get them.

By the way, anyone have recommendations for hotels near the embassy?

Jay

Lucho:

Trust me, packet 3 only requires the documents I listed. You can check out the link yourself. The requirements are very minimal...just enough to begin the interiew scheduling process.

The I-134 is something that you provide at the interview (along with the support documents). There are also many other things that you'll need to bring to the interview (some of which you have already provided with your I-129F petition and some things you will need to get like the DAS certificate, the medical exam, etc.). Packet 3 will provide you with a list of the things you'll need for the interview. Technically, you are not supposed to fax or e-mail packet 3 until you have gathered all of the documents you can....but I doubt anybody ever waits.





I understand the mail service is pretty bad outside of Bogota. I remember reading about one guy whose fiancee literally went to the Cartagena post office and went in the back and searched for her packet 4....and found it sitting there. Don't trust the mail if you have an alternative!

Thank you so much. I know I should have done my studying on what to do once I received NOA2....but waiting for the NOA2 had my nerves to high.

Mike,

Just to triple confirm. Packet 3 contents and forms should only be...

Cover Letter
DS-156 (filled out by benefeciary)
DS-230 Part 1 (filled out by benefeciary)
I-134 (filled out by me, the USC)

This is faxed and mailed to the embassy in Bogota, correct? Faxed and mailed once they received the approval from NVC?

I received an email notification and also checked online to confirm my NOA2. I was approved yesterday, and touched today. Most likely my application was mailed to NVC today.

http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsck3k4instructions.shtml

Nope. You need to read the instructions for K-1 visas (first bulleted link on the embassy web site) to see the documents that need to be sent back to the embassy.

There are 3 "pasos" that you need to read, they will tell you that these documents are a signed OF-169 (which is page 5 of the instructions) and DS-230 (Part I signed, since Part II unsigned will be taken to the embassy and signed in front of the CO). It doesn't say to send the biographical page of the passport and no, the I-134 only needs to be presented at the embassy the day of the interview.

So to recap, the documents that your fiancée will have to mail back to the US embassy in Bogotá so she can get packet 4 with the date of the interview are:

1. Cover letter
2. Signed OF-169
3. Signed DS-230 part I

No.....that's not what I said. Not even close.

Cover letter (be sure to include your case number that you got from the NVC)
Copy of beneficiaries passport (biographical info) - send this, regardless of what others might say
DS-230, Part I
OF-169

These items are fax and/or mailed to the embassy.

DO NOT send this stuff to the embassy until you are almost CERTAIN that your petition has been received in Bogota. If you got your NOA2, then you might be lucky and they may have sent it to NVC right away. Other times there is a delay. So, do not do anything else until you have called the NVC and verified one 1) that they received the petition and 2) that it has been sent to the embassy. When you call, get the case number and the date on which the petition was sent by DHL to Bogota. It takes three business days for the petition to get to Bogota. Once it is there, give it about two more days before you fax the documents.

As I said before, the I-134 does NOT get submitted until the actual interview. The DS-156 is also provided at the actual interview (she will need to take this to the Banco Credito when she pays the $100 interview fee).

Please be sure to read this (and my previous post carefully)....because what you typed here is much different than what I wrote.

Thanks Mike y Mononoke!

I have everything except form OF-169. The embassy does not have it on their website. Does anyone have a blank form they can send me?

This is the k1, packet 3 forms. http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsck1instructions.shtml

Lucho,

Click on that link you just listed then go to Instructions for K-1/K-2 Visa Applicants (In Spanish). Once it's opened, scroll all the way down and you will see that page 5 is the OF-169. Your fiancée can print it and sign it before she faxes it to the embassy.

Diana

Thanks Diana!!!

I actually figured that out this morning....geeze. I was looking all over for something that said OF-169. Thank you so much for your time in helping me out.

Hello all,

When the visa is approved in Bogota, when is the visa issued? Is the visa issued at the interview, is it mailed to the beneficiarys address? Or do we have to pick it up the next day?

Thank you

Lucho!

Keep up your review of the thread. What you'll find out is that the visa, if approved at the interview (not a sure thing), will "typically" be issued on the next business day at 4:00 p.m. They will keep your fiancee's passport and affix the visa to one of the pages. If your interview is on a Friday, you won't get the visa until Monday. There have been some problems recently reported on the Board.....and some folks did NOT get their visas right away. So, as the embassy warns, do NOT make immediate travel plans for your fiancee (unless you are willing to pay for change fees). My wife flew to the U.S. one week AFTER her interview date.

Mike

PS - in the "old" days, visa used to be sent to the beneficiary by courier - no more.

This is true. The latest and greatest excuse for the US embassy in Bogotá for not having the visas ready the next day by 4pm is that they were having computer problems. It seems every person who doesn't get their visa is told the same ol' thing. Who knows if it's true but it's best to plan for this just in case it happens.

Gracias/Thanks!!!

I-134

I have the following as evidence of support for the I-134.

A. Statement by my employer stating my salary, permanent position and date of hire.
B. Last 3 months of bank statements
C. Last 3 years of 1040. (no W-2)

Is this enough supporting evidence?

Call the IRS and order the last 3 years of tax transcripts. Should receive them in about 3 weeks.

Tony is right. It took about 3 weeks to receive mine. The transcripts are preferable to your copies of the 1040, though DOS says the copies are okay, too.

You are either going to qualify by income or by assets. If you qualify by income, then the bank statements are not necessary (although, full disclosure, I took copies of them with me to my interview). If you plan to qualify by income, you need the employer letter and the three years of tax returns (or the tax transcripts for three years). I disagree that tax transcripts are better than copies of the return IF (and only IF) you can provide the appropriate W-2s with the returns. If you cannot provide the W-2s, then you need to get a transcript.

Further dislosure: I also took copies of recent pay stubs to the interview as well, but, again, they were not asked for. I over-prepared, like many of us.

Mike

Ok revised now

A. Statement by my employer stating my salary, permanent position and date of hire.
B. Last 3 months of bank statements
C. 1040 & W-2 of 2005 & 2006. 1040 only of 2007.
D. Pay check stubs of last 3 months

How does this look now? I have never dealt with the IRS. I'm not sure on how to order transcripts from them nor the price.

I assume you mean the 1040 AND the W-2 for the last three tax years - 2004, 2005, and 2006 (assuming you filed 2006 and have not requested an extension). 2007's 1040 won't be filed until 2008. If you are missing a W-2, see if you can get a duplicate from your employer. If not, to be safe, you may want to get the tax transcript. You can order it by fax or mail (fill out the required form and fax or mail it) or by phone. You can find the form and related instructions on www.IRS.gov.

Mike

Ok, i'm currently on the phone with the IRS, ordering 2004, 2005 & 2006 tax transcripts. I'll keep you posted, thanks!!!

Ok, IRS will be sending me the tax transcripts. I should receive them within 2 weeks.

Here is what I should have for financial support for the I-134

A. Tax transcripts for 2004, 2005, & 2006
B. Job Certificate
C. Pay stubs from the past 3 months
D. Bank statments from the past 3 months

Sounds good to me. Let me know if I should add something. I wont be sending in the 1040 & W-2's since I will have the tax transcripts.

Thanks to all

...Interviews...

Too early for looking at June interviews, the http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwscappointmentlist.shtml site that showed interview appointments until May is different... they may be updating interviews for some reason or the link may have moved. Any hints as to what's going on with the embassy website? I don't have time right now to search for the State Dept # to see if a June appt has been established. Anyone have that number around? Thanks!

Unless something has changed significantly in the last month or so, the embassy does not schedule interviews until sometime between the 15th and 20th of each month. In other words, June interview dates will be posted around the 20th or 21st of May. All you do is look for your BGT number in the list.

TTT for help/input on post #688

Nothing has changed except the fact that that particular site is not reflecting April nor May interviews that were listed previously. I know so since I already looked at the pdf for May before hoping to have a last-week-of-May appointment since we faxed our Packet #3 papers right at the mid-month cutoff.

My fiancee just received packet 3 and is upset. She has never used her father's name since birth ... father refused to even have it put on birth certificate. Both last names on her birth certificate, cedula, and passport is mother's. On the g-325a bio forms we put her father's name where it asked for father. The embassy in bogota attached her father's name as her second last name. The first last name is OK with everything that has been filed to date. Will this cause a problem at the interview and how can we correct it? I plan on sending a fax to the embassy and explain the situation. Is the second last name that important in the visa process?

Someone with more experience here may correct me, but I suggest strongly that you be honest about all things at all times with the embassy. If you have sent them an explanation, simply bring that same explanation with you to the interview. All they really want to know is her legal name. As you know, it is often the custom in Latin American countries for a person to carry the last names of both parents. While what you describe is unusual, it is not unheard of. I would say don't sweat it unless it comes up in the interview and if it does then simply (and calmly) explain the situation. It will not be anything they haven't heard before. (good luck in your interview, by the way)

Just back from Barranquilla and Cartagena! Great time!

Wanted to inquiry if anyone had a draft of a letter giving a parent permission for a child to leave Colombia. In my case the father giving permission for the mother of the child to leave Colombia with the child. I know this would have to be notarized and presented to the court. Not sure I explained myself very well! Still tired but wanted to get this question posted. We have our interview date 5/25 in Bogota. Wish us luck!
Thanks,
Corey

I concur with Parkapapa. Just be honest. The second last name is often not used, especially by the U.S. In all likelihood, the visa will be issued in the name indicated on her passport....so tell your wife not to worry.

Corey:

Wish I had one to share. My wife got such a letter completed by her attorney (very cheap), but it was taken by DAS at the airport (even though it should not have been). So, just so you know, having such a letter may not always work. My wife has had her mother go to the local notary to get another authenticated copy of the document for her to have. However, DAS seems to be making its own decision. Sometimes DAS will honor the "permanent" permission and sometimes they will insist on taking it. It's really a pain.

Maybe someone else has a draft letter....but, if not, see an attorney. It was not expensive....something like 40,000 pesos.

Mike

Does anyone have a draft cover letter for the packet 3? I need ideas on how to write it up.

thanks!

Yes. PM me with your e-mail address again and I'll send it to you.

I'll be interested in any response also, Corey. My wife needs the same permission for her two sons. Good luck with your interview! We're hoping we can follow suit in June.