Colombia Club

[Chester y Monica 0]

Buck I can relate to your frustrations. I have seen it happen to others as well which were present the same time we were. All I can say is that I really hope that everything works out well for you and Paola on the next interview.

I did feel that the consular officers were really trying to find holes with her past. This is where I also started to get concerned that they are suspecting past prostitution history. I am so proud Monica stood her ground. Our relationship evidence was solid, it was really more on the previous travels outside of Colombia.

Chester

[Chester y Monica 0]

Thanks for the offer Diana.

We did get the registro civil and fe de bautismo translated. Cost of 8 mil pesos per page(that is the "result", not the original number of pages). This is after I spoke in very stern accent that, "Ya voy a pago para traduzcar esto, si quieres o no, no mi interesas la apostilla".

I actually regret having them do it. Could have save my 32 mil pesos and taxi money.

All we got was some fancy stamp and signature, but everything else was just plain translated words.

Chester

I was going to say that, if you feel comfortable sending me her registro civil I can do it for you for FREE.

Lucho sent me his wife's as an attachment and I just plugged away.

I just get so mad that they want you to apostille stuff when the US is not requiring them to be. Are they US officials? Nooooo. They're just a whole bunch of LADRONES!

Diana

[Chester y Monica 0]

I agree with Buck. Where the hell is Chester's report?

I have a question. How many copies of the Baptism certificate will we need in the long run? Obviously we need one copy for the embassy. Will we need more later? One for AOS? The US church? St Peter?

At the embassy, only one copy certified copy and it stays with them during the interview process.

If you are planning on a church wedding, then yes. I don't see it being needed for AOS.

St. Peter might ask for DS-156 though ...

[Chester y Monica 0]

Also...what was the 220 mil pesos for?

220 mil pesos is for the VISA fee.

[Chester y Monica 0]

I'm glad everything worked out for you Chester y Monica. When is POE???????

Sept 16 CLO-IAH then IAH to SFO via Continental Airlines.

[Entonces... 0]

Chester when they asked you how many times did you go to Colombia..and you went seven times ...

will my one time be a problem...

Rafael

[Scott n Yenifer 0]

Also...what was the 220 mil pesos for?

220 mil pesos is for the VISA fee.

Claro...gracias.

I'm so happy for you guys...I just read your whole account of events to Yenifer tonight because I really need her to help share some of the stress that I have when I read some of the experiences that some VJers go through when it comes time for the interview. Ours will be coming hopefully soon and I really want to be prepared for our interview to go flawlessly. Thanks for taking the time to tell your experience in Bogota.

Scott

[Scott n Yenifer 0]

Chester when they asked you how many times did you go to Colombia..and you went seven times ...

will my one time be a problem...

Rafael

Rafael,

That is just a bonus that some of us are able to visit several times...focus on other means of evidence of relationship such as e-mails...phone records ect... and keep all documentation organized to present at time of interview.

Scott

[buck501 0]

I may have come off a little hard on my last post, But, I am going to stick to my guns on this. This may just be my rant. We do need to be prepared for everything. However, how prepared can you be? Prostitution is all over, in every country of the world. Traveling outside the country does not prove or disprove anything. If they suspect fraud, fine. They need to prove fraud. I wonder, how many visas have been approved from Colombia or other countries that the women was a prostitute? How many from marrige angency's where the the couple became engaged after one or two days. Fraud is willfull intent to decieve. If a couple has proof of many visits, phone calls, emails and foto's, what more can they ask.

I have read where some of the women around the world are very good at decieving the man through a long period of time. How can a person determine that? I understand that the "forbidden job" by some women is looked down on by many. But that in itself does not prove fraud. I am a little offended that the embassy would think that about Paola just becuase she was in Panama. There are lots of Colombians in Panama working in other areas. True, many of the women do work in the sex trade. To label all of them the same is not fair. Even it was so, it still does not mean fraud is being commited.

When we were asked for the additional document at the embassy I did not think much about it. Having had time to reflect on what i saw while there, what I learned about others that were approved and turned down, I do not see any consistancy. That is my complaint.

I am positve that Paola will get the visa. If not on Sept. 27th, then on the next interview. I am just a little POed that she is being judged on her travel outside of Colombia rather then the evidence we submit. Personaly, I am going to marry her because of who she is, not because of her past, no matter what it is or was. We are willing to commit our lives to each other. That is what is important.

How could any one absolutley prove that to anyone? I don't care how many pics, emails or whatever other evidence you have in the end it is impossible to prove or disprove without a shadow of doubt.

I still say there should be some consisitancy, we should know what to expect. I guess if your fiancee has been out of the country you can expect to be raked over the coals. If you are the same age, color, she has a good income, you have a good income and you have some evidence you can expect a easy interview. None of that has anything to do with love or committment. OK, I am done, this will be my last rant untill I have reason to go off again.

[Bill y Bella 0]

OK, I am done, this will be my last rant untill I have reason to go off again.

Not to worry, your need to rant is understandable. It is a shame that travel outside the country seems to create a suspicion of prostitution. That must be extremely insulting to anyone who is confronted with it.

However, I think that fraud is not the only grounds for denial. Conviction for a crime of moral turpitude also makes a beneficiary ineligible and that is probably why the CO's are being such a pain about this. Perhaps that is also why they are insisting on seeing police certificates. Here is the link to the regulation and my edited summary is below. Also, if you want more information search moral turpitude on the USCIS website and you will get lots of hits.

Sec. 212. [8 U.S.C. 1182]

(a) Classes of Aliens Ineligible for Visas or Admission.-Except as otherwise provided in this Act, aliens who are inadmissible under the following paragraphs are ineligible to receive visas and ineligible to be admitted to the United States:

A) Conviction of certain crimes.-

(i) In general.-Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-

(I) a crime involving moral turpitude

I think the lesson to be learned here is that couples should be aware of this and discuss it well in advance of the interview. If there are lots of trips out of the country then plan on getting the police report even if you are not certain it will be required. If there are any convictions on the police report, it might be a good idea to talk to an attorney before the interview. If there are no convictions on the police report, do NOT admit committing any prohibited acts no matter how many times they ask the questions. It seems obvious to me now that they were trying very hard to get Monica to admit she had done something wrong because that would have instantly made her ineligible.

Edited September 9, 2007 by Bill y Bella

[Bill y Bella 0]

I found this in another forum. I think it belongs here.

I need help.

A little over one month ago, I stood in line in the Embassy in Bogota Colombia, so happily waiting to get the 4 visa's I was sure we were going to get. One for my wife Clara, and 3 her daughters, Natalia 6, Luisa 14, and Veronica 19, all of course under the magic age of 21 so they could attach as K2's to my then fiance's K1. I had the plane tickets in hand to take my new family (Wife and her 3 daughters) to the USA. BTW, I have 3 children too. We were going to be the Brady Bunch!

Why would they not give us the Visa's? I had met every qualification, filled out the paperwork perfectly, hired good attorney's to check it all over, and best of all, it was already approved here in the USA at the CSC. I had not lied, she had not lied. I had plenty of proof of the relationship and good support, everything was going perfectly. Clara was brilliant in her abilities to get all the necessary documents together on her end, God Love her, she was amazing, it was going to be the happiest day of our lives!

We were at the final window, and we were so excited, they had already treated us like we were dirt, believing Clara was a liar with almost everything she said, but what the heck, that part was over now, and I had read enough on this site so I was expecting that, and who cares, we get the Visa's and we are out of there....Right?

Then,

The lady, (BTW, I never saw a man in any of the windows, all women.) started talking to Clara in Spanish, within seconds I saw her face turn so sad. The lady had said “I am sorry, I have good news and bad news, the good news is we are going to give you three Visa's, unfortunately the bad news is, we cannot give you Veronica's Visa, as she is too old, she is over the age of 18.” I told the lady, she was wrong, the age for a K2 Visa is under 21, she said “Yes but your case is different, you needed to have been married to your fiance and have already established a stepchild relationship prior to Veronica turning 18 years old” I said “What?” She said “Yes you would have to prove that you were married and have established a stepchild relationship prior to Veronica's 18th birthday”

I started to get angry but remained calm, I said “We are not applying for a K4 Visa? You mean to tell me that there are other cases where the people filed for a K1 Fiance Visa, but they were already married?” I knew she did not know what she was talking about, because obviously, your not going to file for a K1 if you are already married. I argued with her for about 15 minutes, she would not give in still sticking to her ridiculous and actually impossible position that we had to have already been married before filing for the K1 Visa.

Clara and I were destroyed, we were both sobbing so hard with everybody looking at us wondering what had happened. I now see why these consulate's work behind thick securtity glass, because I wanted to strangle this lady who had destroyed our life, and did it with such ease. Then, we had to go and tell Veronica she was not going with us to the US, all of us were crying. We had already made plans for Veronica to work at the University near our home as a Teaching assistant in the Spanish department, and finish her education in the meantime.

Later, when we went back to pick up the Visa's I argued further with the same lady, and showed her the actual laws given to us by our attorney's back home, (<sy@myimmigrationlawyer.net>) who have been great BTW, these laws proved our position but the lady did not care.

We immediately purchased some furniture for Veronica so she could set up a temporary apartment in Bogota, as I don't know how long this is going to take to get her here. I spoke with Senator Feingold's office and they have started a congressional inquiry on this matter, about 3 weeks ago, Veronica went back to the embassy for another interview, as the embassy had left the case still open as it is today, and we were sure they were going to give her the Visa then, but they denied her again. This time she handed them the paper work, we had received from our attorney's after they had investigated this further, and part of that paper work was an memorandum from the director's to the consulate's which stated that they are NOT to apply the stepdaughter rules to the K1 visa process, and that all children under the age of 21 that are unmarried, and living with the K1 are eligible for the Visa. This still did not change the consulate's decision, but they were boxed into a corner because they could no longer argue there position given the information in front of them, so when Veronica asked why they were denying her the Visa? They said, “Ah, ah , um, ah, there are new laws that went into effect last month, and so we cannot give you the Visa” She said show me the laws, and they did not.

I spoke with many attorney's here and none of them are aware of new laws!

Today, when Clara called the embassy, for our weekly call between 2 and 4 pm on Wednesday's, the lady told Clara an amazing thing, she said “Listen, your case is still open here, but remember, they can do what they want, if they decide not to give Veronica the Visa then she does not get the Visa, they don't have to have a reason, they can do what they want, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

This is where the case sits now, they have so far, denied the Visa to my stepdaughter because they felt like it and for no other reason. BTW law also says they are required to give us a letter stating the reason (s) for denial. We have received nothing.

I need help!!! What can we do?

Rick

You need to contact your US congressman or Senator immediately. They will be able to help you.

I am going to make a copy of your post and put it in the Colombia forum. Start reading at the end of the forum. There are people there such as OskaryAndrea that have done battle with the Bogota embassy and won. Read her posts and contact her!

Unless there is something else going on with Veronica that you have not told us, I think you can overcome this problem quickly with some assistance from your congressman or senator.

Good luck to you.

[lucho562 0]

Buck,

I agree with you 100% This is NOT about protecting the US. If US needs to protect themselves from immigrants, they have 2 BIG borders that they really need to worry about.

Your situation is not about protecting the US. This is about a stereotype. When they see a pretty young woman that has traveled abroad, they immediately think she worked as a prostitute. Rightfully you should rant and be furious. This is an outright disrespect to your fiance and to yourself.

I wonder if they would have given so many problems if your fiance was very unattractive??? I doubt it.

Just my opinion

[buck501 0]

I tend to get carried away at times. All I have to do is sit around and wait, stew and frett. LOL>LOL. It is difficult for all of us at times waiting and having your future in the hands of others to decide. Being scruntized for what ever reason, right or wrong with an unpredicdable outcome is the hardest. It has been from the beginning and continues to date. When I read success stories, hope soars again. We will be persistant and not give up. I hope everone who reads this thread in the future can gain from it and learn from all that have posted with their experiance and frustrations. In all honesty, I am not sure where we would be if not for this forum. Love all of ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jmarsh22 0]

I guess I am a few days behind on things, but I just wanted to say congrats to Chester and Monica. That was quite an experience you had at the Embassy. Thanks for being so detailed, it gives the rest of us a little heads up....congrats again.

[Jmarsh22 0]

Hey does anyone know which affidavit of support is preferred, the I- 134 or the I- 184? Thanks for any help you can provide.