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| Bogota, Colombia |  Review on May 15, 2018: |
rtsandlin
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Our interview was at 9:00 am 5/14 and we arrived at 7:30 am. We went to the entrance and told them we were there for an immigrant visa, and they ushered us directly inside and to a line specifically for immigrant visas. Only a few people in line.
They had tables set up where an employee reviewed the documents that we had. Even though the list of documents told us to bring originals, translations, and photocopies of both, they only asked for:
Original birth certificate of the beneficiary
Original marriage certificate
Original police certificate
Original birth certificate of petitioner (we didn't have it because it wasn't on their list). It wasn't a big deal, but bring it anyway if you have it!
medical sealed envelope
They organized the above papers and sent us into the embassy where we were directed to another table. They reviewed the same documents again, told us to sit down, and they would call us to talk to a lady in the window.
They called us in 5 minutes and the beneficiary talked to a lady in the window (via phone). She asked his cell #, email address, who petitioned for him, reviewed the papers again, and opened the medical envelope. She handed back all of the papers and directed us back to the nearby table where they gave us a number and sent us to another close-by waiting area to wait for the actual interview.
We waited about an hour and when our number was called, we stood up and joined a short line (they called about 4 numbers at a time to wait in the line in front of the window). When it was our turn, we talked to another lady through a window via phone.
She took all of our papers and asked my husband (beneficiary):
Who is petitioning for you? My wife
Where is she from in the states? Alabama
How long have you been married? almost 1 yr + we gave date
How many people were at your wedding? 7 + who they were
Have you traveled outside of Colombia? yes. to Mexico with my wife
How long were you guys there? 2 weeks
She did her paperwork shuffling and computer stuff and then said "Congratulations, your visa is approved!"
The actual interview took about 5-10 minutes and we were told that we would pay for the green card later. She also returned our papers that had been sent to the embassy, but kept the originals that we had brought with us that day.
They did not give us a sealed packet for entering the states. We asked someone that worked at the embassy and they said if they didn't give it to us, then we wouldn't need it.
They kept his passport and told us that we should receive it by mail (in the online pre-registered DHL office) in a maximum of 2 weeks.
Our review of 4 stars is only because there are basically 3 steps to do the exact same thing, but overall, the process is smooth.
Hope this helps,
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #23790