Parkpapa,

Hook me up with the packet 4 you have. I will PM you my email address.

PM me and I will be happy to hook you up with a package 4 I received in Feb. of this year.

The mention of the I-864 on the link is another good tip-off that the link is bad (i.e., not a link to the K-1 or K-3 packet). The I-134 is still required for nonimmigrant visas. The I-864 is required of CR-1/IR-1s as well as from K-3s who are adusting status (I assume it is also required of K-1s, assuming there is a marriage).

Yes, the DS-156K is only for K-1s. It relates to the fiancee/beneficiary. The DS-156 is for both the K-1 and the K-3.

Mike

OK, I have a question: due to the embassy not getting our fax (or maybe, not accepting our fax) and our failure to follow up by courier (stupid, stupid), it looks like we may not get a June interview after all. So here's my question: will we have to wait until mid to late June to find out when our interview is? Or will they schedule our appointment as soon as they have accepted and processed our document?

Also, how long does it take them to process the documents once they are received? I am still holding out hope that maybe, just maybe, they received our fax and just have not entered it in their system yet . . .

I think that since you will be mailing them the documents after the 16th of this month, you will probably be getting a July interview.




Luchito,

I was way off!! I don't know why I thought your fiancée was from Cali.

Anyway, the vaccines are not that cheap. I believe one of them is like $50USD, and I think my husband said all 3 would be close to $100USD. But going to the Red Cross will definitely save you some money.

Diana

i hope the expensive one is the mmr, my wife told me last night that she found the record showing that she got that one. now all she needs is the Td and varicela.
JK

I am sorry that you had trouble with your fax. You are the first one that has reported a problem on this thread. I can't imagine how they lost a fax. Anyway.....

I think I actually responded to a similar question from someone else a week or so ago....but, for convenience, here goes again.....

From what I can tell (based on reports of others and my experience), interview dates are assigned on a rolling basis. So, if you barely missed the mid-month cut-off for a July interview, then you should expect to have an early August interview. Really, it's not going to cost you that many days. We got our packet 3 into the embassy around December 13 and we got a January 19 interview.

Once you submit your packet 3, you should be receiving your packet 4 in about one week (assuming the beneficiary lives in Bogota; longer if not). We submitted our packet 3 on a Wednesday and followed up with a courier on Thursday. We left on a Friday for our honeymoon. By the time we returned to Bogota the following Friday, packet 4 had already been delivered to my wife's casa.

Wendy and I will be giving another shot at the DS156 form online today. Looks like the online form is now working again.

1 more question on this form.

I know that she will need TWO DS-156 forms filled out. The DS-156 form has a unique barcode and barcode number for each form. Will she need to make copys of one of the forms. Or does she need to have TWO seperate DS-156 forms??

For example

TWO DS-156 forms with barcode XYZ5

OR

ONE DS-156 form with barcode XYZ5
&
ONE DS-156 form with barcode OMN5

Thank you

At least as of January, the barcoding system was not being used in Bogota. The barcode of importance is the one placed on her passport by the Banco Credito when you pay the $100 and have your DS-156 information entered into the computer by the clerk at the bank.

Anyone know of any changes to the Bogota procedure since then? I have not read about any.

Mike

We just finished up the DS156 online. I just had her print out the same finished form twice. So both copies would have the same barcode. This makes the most sense...but with the US gov't...nothing makes sense.

Like I said, I don't think you have to worry about the barcode....but if they've changed the procedure very recently and nobody has reported it, at least you'll be in good shape.

Mike

can people who have gone through this process please post your experiences with the doctors in bogota that conduct the exams, dra gonzalez and dr. roa. how long did it take from start to getting your results? 2, 3 days
given the choice of the 2 docters, why did you choose one over the other? was it because of speed, availabilty, location, female doctor? i had read (i can't recall if it was in bogota or in other countries) how some male doctors have taken advantage of young women by asking them to strip naked where as the female doctors do not and conduct the exam with most or all of the clothes on.
for that reason alone i was thinking of taking my wife to see la Dra gonzalez.
gracias
JK

I haven't seen any specifically negative comments about the male doctor in Bogota, only that Dra. Gonzalez is "nice". Again, from comments seen here, it appears that the results are ready by the next day. Of course, I suppose that depends on how busy they are.

We'll be finding out more about this part of the process in a couple of weeks, so I'll try to post something after I get back.

My wife had the male doctor. The female doctor was on vacation....and, actually, somebody referred her to the male doctor over the female doctor - personal preference, I guess. She had her lab work and x-ray done one day and her appointment the next day. They seemed to be willing to work with you given you embassy appointment date (for example, if you were coming from out of town....which my wife was not). She had a good experience. No problems. She got her "sealed envelope" immediately after her examination.

Mike

I'll try posting here the day of the visit. Otherwise, it will be an overall post with all the other stuff from the embajada.

Here's something new.... at least it's new to me.

In today's mail, I received a letter (in Spanish) from the embassy in Bogota, along with a photocopy of the packet 4 instructions (also in Spanish). The letter has me a bit puzzled, if not outright worried. It reads as follows (and pardon any typos):

Estimado Charles H***

Esta oficina esta lista para iniciar los tramites finales sobre la solicitude de visa inmigrante de (de los) solicitante(s) que aparece(n) a continuacion en este expediente. Se ha concertado una cita para llevar a cabo la entrevista de solicitud de visa en la seccion de visas de inmigrante en la fecha que aparece al pie de la pagina. Se debe presentar esta carta al llegar a la oficina en el dia de la cita.

Sirvase examina la informacion adjunta para obtener mayor informacion acerca del examen medico al que deben someterse todos los futuros inmigrantes. Asegurese de leer toda la informacion adjunta y seguir muy cuidadosamente las instrucciones contenidas en la misma. Al comunicarse con esta oficina, bien sea, por telefono or por carta, debera referirse siempre a su nombre y numero de expediente, tal y como aparecen al pie de la pagina.

Atentamente,

Jefe Seccion de visas de Inmigrante

Under this it lists the date and time and case number. Then it lists my wife's name and the names of the two boys. But, under that, it says: Traveling Applicants: *my wife's name only*.

Does this mean they are expecting my wife to travel if she gets the visa, but they expect the boys to come later? More importantly, does this matter at this point?

Oddly enough, though it says you can call or write the consul if you have questions, a phone number is not listed anywhere in the packet.

Wish I could shed some light on this question... I suspect things won't be as worrisome once you call the State Dept to see if they have any further information. Nevertheless, if the kids are listed for the interview, then assume all will be well since that information has been passed along previously.

Curiously, I also received said Packet 4 in my mailbox today.

When are you flying down?

I'm flying down on May 31 and will be there until the 7th. Can't wait!!!

Hello all. I'm leaving for Orlando tomorrow to get married and I would like to wish good luck to all with upcoming interviews. The "Colombia Club" has a excellent success rate so I know everyone will do great! A special shoutout to Corey, c'ya in Connecticut in a few weeks!

Bueno señores, felices días para ustedes. Yo soy nuevita, no entiendo ni J de inglés, soy de la ciudad de Bucaramaga, Santander Colombia. Y pues ando en esto de la visa k1... mi novio es de Florida EU, y estamos esperando respuesta de la aprobación (NOA2).

Mi pregunta es la siguiente: (Hipótesis) Cuando yo veo en la página de inmigración donde nos dan a consultar el estado del caso, aparece que mi caso ya esta en el consulado colombiano en Bogotá, yo puedo bajar el paquete 3 y llenarlo y enviarlo al otro día? Ej: llega al consulado el 29/05/07 y yo bajo el paquete 3 el 30/05/07 lo lleno y lo envio por fax. O tengo que esperar que el paquete me llegue? Es que he visto varios casos asi, donde al otro día envian las formas.

Estas son las direcciones (links) para quien quiera tenerlas:

K1 Paquete 3: http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsck1instrucciones.shtml
K1 Paquete 4: http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/co1/wwwfck1cita_temp.pdf

Agradezco en lo que me puedan colaborar, y también cualquier cosa a su disposición.

Nydia.

Nydia,

Si puedes faxear el paquete 3 ya cuando su caso este en Bogota. Nosotros lo faxeamos y tambien lo mandamos por correo. Lo faxeamos el siguiente dia despues que llego a Bogota, (viernes pasado) y lo mandamos por correo hoy mismo. No hay necesidad para esperar que te llegue el paquete 3.

Hola Nydia,

Bienvenida!

Bueno, cuando le apruben la I-129F, la petición va a parar al Centro Nacional de Visas. Ahí le darán un # al caso que empieza por BGT##########. Como la petición es para la visa K-1, el caso se queda en el CNV por más ó menos una semana y luego lo mandan a Bogotá. Mientras tanto ud. puede ir siguiendo las instrucciones del paquete #3. Cuando sepa que mandaron el caso a Bogotá, ud. manda los documentos del paquete tres por fax y por Servientrega a la embajada. Ya cuando ellos los reciban, le enviarán el paquete #4.

Diana

Diana,

Your case in Bogota yet??

Gracias!! que rápidos jejeje y perdonen si incomodo con tra preguntita

Es que alguien me dijo que tenia que sacar los certificados de policia, pero aqui me dice que es del DAS, aunque hay algunas personas que lo han sacado en estaciones de policia cerca a su casa, es algo asi como de "buena conducta y vecindad". Eso también hay que llevarlo?

Ay gracias por sus respuestas.

El certificado de polica te lo da el DAS, tambien el certificado migratorio es del DAS tambien. El certificado de policia se saca rapido. Pero del migratorio se demora casi 1 mes si vives fuera de Bogota. Entonces te recomendo que lo saces mas pronto posible.

Y desculpa mi ortografia

ay ay ay,

Wendy just called the red cross for the 3 vacunas, costs 233.000 pesos colombianos. She also found the 3 vacunas for 125.000 pesos at a different medical center.

We will be taking the 2nd place of course

Diana,
The red cross said that there is no special on vacunas.

Just to triple confirm,
The vacunas for K1 are

Td
MMR
Varicela

Just these 3?

Saludos Nydia,

Efectivamente si en inmigración dicen que ya está en Bogotá la petición aprobada están en buen momento para solicitar la cita pero le recomiendo que igual esperes un par de días antes de enviar el fax del paquete 3. La razón sería para que su novio pueda llamar al NVC y que ellos de esa manera le confirmen que si enviaron los papeles de la I-129f a Bogotá. Tarda unos momentos en hacerse eso. El correo entre Bogotá y Santander es bastante confiable a mi experiencia. Ambos paquetes 3 y 4 llegaron con amplio tiempo a Floridablanca asi que no dudo que tenga problemas a Bucaramanga propio.

Siendo hoy día 22 del més de mayo, cualquier envio resultaría en una cita consular generada para el més de julio con toda probablidad aunque por la embajada no puedo hablar e igual cambian sus procedimientos.

El único procedimiento que puedo imaginarme ahora en este momento es, en donde comer allá... Mercagán o Carnes del Potrero... decisiones!!

Saludos y bienvenida ud y su novio a esta comunidad.

No olvide el Certificado de Migratoria... DAS en Bucaramanga es altamente profesional y muy amable pero demoraron en el caso nuestro 5 semanas, no 3, en obtener dicho certificado. Y eso que mi novia solo ha salido a Venezuela.

Los demás documentos se expiden en el lapso de una semana o dos como máximo, pero toca solicitarlo todo lo más antes posible.

The form I received ( pack. 4) list my fiancee and child the same as yours, with only my fiancee as the traveling applicant. So hopefully this is correct for both of us.

TonyS Thanks for the "shout out" ! Looking forward to meeting you and your wife in person. Have a great time in Florida. Try to not get arrested in the airport

lucho, in what clinica is she going to get the vaccines? and yes, as far as i know those are the 3 she has to get.

Jedi,

I'll let you know in about an hour or so. I'll post the tel # too.

Sounds like you guys might be there ahead of me, but I'll buy a drink for everyone if we find time to get together.

Oh I smell a get together in Bogotá.

Jediknight,

This is the place that charges 125 mil pesos for all 3 shots.

Organizacion Vacunemos Colombia S.A.
Cra 47 No. 84-88
local 5
Tel 378-0866

I asked my beautiful bride, and she would enjoy meeting you guys and your novias, tambien!

Hello Everyone!! My apologies for not posting sooner. Catherine and I have been back here in San Antonio from our interview for about two weeks now. I wanted to share some of our experiences going through the interview.

General thoughts- Preparation is everything. I think that having all the documentation in order is key to success in this process. It ensures that you are not scrutinized and it also makes you feel more confident at the interview. Skip clips, binders, etc. You don't need them. I also believe that it pays to have both persons attend the interview and to dress well. Not strictly neccesary, but I wore a suit. Probably about 20% of the people there did the same.

Interview. We arrived at the Embassy at 6:15 am. There were about 20 people there already, all lined up close to the fence in line number 1. As posted elsewhere, there were three lines (they have numbered signs). At about 6:45 an announcement is made in Spanish as to what line you should get in according to which visa you are applying for. The first time they made the anouncement, they did not mention K1's(referred to at various times as Visa Fiancee or Visas de Comprometidas) at all, so there was some confusion. Anyway, everyone started to shift between the lines. The correct line for the interviews is number three. I would suggest going there first when you arrive and skip waiting for the announcements. It is important to go early because I believe it influences your success in receiving the visa the next day (more on this later). Once you are in the correct line, a Colombian employee (everyone we dealt with except the consular officer at the interview was Colombian) comes out and checks your appointment letter. She put a green sticker on each of our shirts and we were allowed to go to the metal detectors. The Embassy does not allow cameras or cell phones with cameras, but they do have a little cubby near security where you can leave your items. Once through, you walk across an outer courtyard to a door that opens on an inner courtyard. The interior is actually fairly open to the air (reminded me of some open air concert venues I have been to with giant covered sections to protect from the rain) and is lined around the perimeter with customer service windows. You line up near the higher numbered windows (20-32, I think) and the same employee who checked our appointment letter then handed out the folders (you have to sign on a roster that you recieved it, which I think is how they determine roughly in what order you are interviewed by the consular officer). The inside cover of the folder has instructions about what order to put your documents. She told us to take off all clips, plastic covers, etc. The order of documents were exactly the same as in packet 4, with one difference. There was no mention of Certificado del Migratorio, and while I recommend having this, she told us to put it last if we had it but if we didn't to not worry about it. We were then sent over to a seated area immediately to the left of the windows to assemble the packet. After about 10 minutes, we were called to one of the windows. It is similar to a bank teller, but with a pane of glass and a telephone handset needed to talk with the person on the other side. My impression was that this was just an intitial check of the packet. The woman asking Catherine questions was an older Colombian woman and she was a little terse. She asked her if I spoke Spanish. The only part that drew any interest was where Catherine put my cell phone instead of my home phone on one of the forms. The woman asked her why she did that and when Catherine said that is the number she used to call me, not my home phone. I had missed that when I reviewed the forms. The woman sort of rolled her eyes, but then told us to wait over by windows 1-12. Through this time we were talking with another couple and we were moving through the process at about the same rate. As I sat and waited, I noticed that there were numerous cameras all around. At about 9:45 the other couple went up and returned approved in less than a minute. They were asked where they met (online, then the first visit to Cartagena) and the officer told them they were approved. While we were waiting, I could see another couple going through a lengthier interview (they were in their 40's, the US citizen was born in Colombia). After a while, they were approved, and the Colombian fiancee came over and told us that she was asked some questions, and then later, he was asked the same questions but in another way. At about 10:00, we were called to one of the windows. The woman consular officer asked Catherine where we met (online), when and where was our first visit (Barranquilla in September 2006), when and where I proposed (Cartagena, on the same trip), if I spoke Spanish (yes, not fluently), if I have children (yes), and where does my son live (Catherine got this one wrong, she said Massachusetts, but my son is actually in Connecticut- it did not matter, she was not asked anything more about this). She then asked to speak to me. She asked where I learned Spanish (in the Army), and when did I first visit Colombia. I did not have a chance to answer, because she said, "Wait, it was, September last year...okay, well, I believe this is absolutely a real relationship. You are approved." During this time she asked to see our pictures and she saw the packet of the chat history that I had printed out for proof. We only printed out an extract of about 20 pages (but it stated 20 pages out of 156 pages). She then asked how do I like Colombia. That was it, she gave us a small slip of paper with a number on it and the next days date and 1600 (for the time) written on it. We were done by 10:30 am.

There was another couple that was slightly ahead of us in line that morning. They were both in their mid 20's. The man was the US citizen. The Colombian fiancee was wearing tight white pants and in my opinion was dressed more like she was going to a disco than to an interview. The man had a button down shirt and blue jeans on. I didn't notice, but Catherine told me that she saw that they were denied. She also told me that she could overhear them talking and the fiancee was being a little stand offish and mean to the man before the interview. I did notice earlier that they were not being very carinoso with each other. I point this out because I think it is important to do everything to maximize your chances at the interview. I have no idea if their packet was not in order, but just from appearances, it seemed that they might have a problem. Like I said, I decided to attend, wear a suit, Catherine dressed conservatively, and we were being (naturally) affectionate with each other. I do not know if the consular official was monitoring any of the cameras (though I know somebody was, one of the couples on the way out took a picture of the embassy, and were quickly confronted by security. They had to earase the photos before they were sent on their way), or if there body language was wrong at the interview, or if it had to do with something else altogether. But because there may be observation going on, I would suggest making sure that any jitters or nerves do not launch a fight on the day of the interview. Also, even though I recommend the sponsor going to the interview, I do not want to freak anyone out if they can't make it. There was one fiancee I saw who was by herself, and she was approved, no problem. Coincidentally, she flew on the same return flight as us from Bogota to Houston.

The next day, we returned at 3:30 pm to pick up her visa. They opened the doors promptly at 4 and there were approximately 20 fiancees there to pick up their visas.The USC is not allowed in, so I waited outside and chatted with a few of the people I saw the day before. One man told me that he had to wait until 2:30 to be done. At about 4:40, Catherine came out, visa in hand. We chatted a few minutes more, and then at about 5, the fiancee of the man who had the later interview came out really upset. She was told to come back the next day. I know that earlier threads chalked this up to computer problems at the embassy, but my hunch is that at around 5, the Colombian workers finish for the day and if you were later in the day, you risk not getting the visa until the next day. This couple had arrived right at 7 the day before, and were quite far back in the line from what they said. So, my suggestion is to arrive early, get in line 3, and try to move quickly through the process. However, if you are later, do not be surprised if you have to wait an additional day for the visa.

At the port of entry in Houston, the interview was a joke. The Customs officer did not speak any spanish, so she addressed everything to me. The majority was the normal stuff on entry, no fruits or vegetables, no tobacco, and a reminder that the K1 visa is good for only one entry into the country. We had to wait about an hour for the interview though, it was fairly busy there.

That is all that I can remember for the moment. In regard to the barcode, they have not changed anything, it is still the sticker at the bank that they use. They put this on the outside cover of the Colombian citizens passport when you pay.

I hope this information was helpful. Good luck to all of you with upcoming interviews. It seems that it goes quite smoothly once you are there.

Jay

Jay,

EXCELLENT POST, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT.

Thank you so very much for sharing your experience. This has helped me out a lot, and will help more in the future once I findo out the interview date. Great tips!!!

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jay,

Please share more if you can. Give us as many tips and advices please. The line 3 tip is great!

Jay,

Any cheap/nice hotels??

I will try to think of anything else that was helpful...

I know there are much cheaper hotels if you don't mind being further from the Embassy. But we stayed at the Hotel Feria Internacional (Diagonal 22B (Avenida La Esperanza) No. 42c-54, Ph 337-8080). It is roughly 5 minutes from the Embassy. The rate was 167.000 pesos for two, breakfast included. I thought the rooms were very nice, comfortable bed, etc. Cable TV. The computer on the lower level has broadband and you can use it for free. The downside is that there is no bar (you can call room service) and there is not much to do nearby. We ended up staying there for 9 days. We usually ate either dinner or lunch there and ordered a few beers and picadas at night. The whole rate for the nine days came to $925 dollars, everything included. We spent a lot of time with Catherine's family, so we were not at the hotel during the day. But for us, the biggest consideration was it is near to the Embassy. I did not want to have any problems with traffic, or worry about getting there on time. A bonus is that across the street there is a peloqueria where your fiancee can get her hair done for like 12-15.000 pesos. Catherine loved that because she was worried about looking good for the interview, and it put her mind at rest.

FYI for everybody looks like NVC to bogota is taking only 2 days. So fax in your packet 3's on the 3rd day.

Our approval left NVC on 5/14, and Bogota sent out packet 3 on 5/16 according to the person I spoke with on the visa helpline at 202-663-1225.

This 1 or 2 day wait makes a big difference especially when trying to beat the mid month cut off.



And gracias Jay

lucho, thanks for the vacunas info, i'm going to call my wife tonight and let her know.

jay, thanks for that very informative post. it's funny you should mention the attire for the interview as my wife had asked me the same thing yesterday. i told her we would probably have to get her some conservative clothing since she's from barranquilla and everything they wear there is not conservative at all. after reading your post i completely did not even think about what i was going to wear and the idea of a suit didn't even enter my mind. i probably would have gone business casual, slacks, shirt, tie and sport jacket but the suit may be a better idea. thanks for the info and keep posting if any other details may have slipped your mind. congrats to the both of you
JK

Great post, Jay. I know that your detailed description will put a lot of minds at rest (at least partially). Quite frankly, I hadn't given a thought to wearing a suit, but was going to take a tie and sports coat. However, now that I know what my wife is going to wear, it might be better if I wear a suit. Glad you brought that up!

jediknight,

When is your interview? If you dont know, how about an estimate? We might be interviewing the same day. Our interview should fall on the last days of June or first days of July.

lucho, we don't have a date yet but i'm guessing beginning of july. i hope it's not sooner as i won't be able to fly down until the first week of july so we'll see. my wife got 2 of the shots today at coomeva for free only because we have health insurance there until this month. she needs to get the varicela this week but they'll charge her for that, 80,000 pesos. take care
JK

Lucky you for saving that $$ on the shots. I'll keep you updated bro on our interview date as well.

Jay,

You wrote skip clips and binders. So you just brought the documents in a manila folder or something? Just one behind the other like a stack of papers right??

Also how did you present all the photos? Photo albums??

Lucho, I think someone mentioned that you can keep the photos in a plastic sleeve, but not in a binder. The reason being that you have to slide the papers and pictures through a narrow slot for the consul.

Like a sleeve, eg how I used to store my baseball cards or something of that nature??

Thanks for your response! My fiance is going to try calling the embassy tomorrow between 2 and 4 to see what the situation is. I'll be sure to report back what actually happened; whether they really lost it, or we made a mistake on our end of things, or what.