Colombia Club Part IV

[Ryan76 46]

Ryan,

You should never wait for the embassy to send anything because it may never arrive. You need to call the NVC about a week after your NOA2 to get your BGT case number. Ask them when they plan on sending it to the US Embassy in Bogotá and wait about 2-3 days for it to arrive. Meanwhile you can get the Instructions Package from their web site.

In a different post you asked about the police certificate. Since the DAS does not exist anymore the National Police Department now issues this certificate. You can find more info in their web site, Antecedentes Judiciales.

Diana

Thank you. My NOA2 arrived Saturday and I will plan on calling NVC on Friday. I have begun doing the other things you suggested (looking at the documents required). This morning I spoke with my fiancee about the pasado judicial and I sent her the link to the website. Our only question on this (pasado judicial) is if she can go ahead and do this now, or if we need to wait until like a week or a few days before the interview. I assume we can do it now, I just wanted to ask because I want to be sure that everything is in perfect order on her interview day.

Also, it appears she will need 6 Passport size photos. Is this number correct?

Thank you!

[Mononoke28 134]

Thank you. My NOA2 arrived Saturday and I will plan on calling NVC on Friday. I have begun doing the other things you suggested (looking at the documents required). This morning I spoke with my fiancee about the pasado judicial and I sent her the link to the website. Our only question on this (pasado judicial) is if she can go ahead and do this now, or if we need to wait until like a week or a few days before the interview. I assume we can do it now, I just wanted to ask because I want to be sure that everything is in perfect order on her interview day.

Also, it appears she will need 6 Passport size photos. Is this number correct?

Thank you!

Yes, she can go ahead and get her police certificate since it's valid for at least six months, the old one was good for 12 months, so she's good.

As for the passport photos, yes, she will need all those because she has to hand them over to the lab,the doctor doing the medical exam and the embassy. She can get them done in Colombia if she asks for photos for "visa americana" which are the same size as our passport photos. If she asks for regular passport photos they will give her the Colombian size ones which are incorrect. I personally like places like Foto Japón which are of very good quality.

Diana

[GoingCrazy2012 16]

Hi there! Just an open question for anyone out there with experience willing to answer it for me: Interview date is on May 30th at the Embassy in Bogota and we're planning to book a flight to the US for June 17th for POE. Do you think that's enough time to receive (from May 30 to June 17)to receive our visa from the Embassy?

Visa will be sent from Bogota to Barranquilla where the beneficiary resides. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[Mononoke28 134]

Hi there! Just an open question for anyone out there with experience willing to answer it for me: Interview date is on May 30th at the Embassy in Bogota and we're planning to book a flight to the US for June 17th for POE. Do you think that's enough time to receive (from May 30 to June 17)to receive our visa from the Embassy?

Visa will be sent from Bogota to Barranquilla where the beneficiary resides. Any thoughts? Thanks!

It should be plenty of time since it takes between 6-10 days for the visa to be delivered by DHL; however, you always have to be prepared should a problem arise, just in case.

Diana

[GoingCrazy2012 16]

It should be plenty of time since it takes between 6-10 days for the visa to be delivered by DHL; however, you always have to be prepared should a problem arise, just in case.

Diana

Thanks!

[Ryan76 46]

Thanks for all the help. Something else I was curious about. You said technically the packet could never arrive to my fiancee, and we should just start doing the forms (which I am beginning to do)........but I was curious about the "open appointment/interview letter" that is supposed to be in the packet.

Won't this be something personalized to our case, and therefore be important to receive?

Sorry for all the questions...every time I learn something I end up having 3 more questions

[GoingCrazy2012 16]

For anybody who has already gone through the Medical Exam in Bogota prior to the CR1 Visa Interview:

What does the Medical Exam consist of?

My wife will be going through hers on May 28th with Doctor Dennis and she is curious to know this. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Mononoke28 134]

Thanks for all the help. Something else I was curious about. You said technically the packet could never arrive to my fiancee, and we should just start doing the forms (which I am beginning to do)........but I was curious about the "open appointment/interview letter" that is supposed to be in the packet.

Won't this be something personalized to our case, and therefore be important to receive?

Sorry for all the questions...every time I learn something I end up having 3 more questions

A few years ago the lab and the doctor used to demand to see the appointment letter before doing anything. Now, because of the amount of people who never get the package you can just print it out from the US embassy and show it with your BGT number.

Another thing you can do is email the embassy to find out if they received the BGT case and many times they will email you the interview package for you to print out.

Diana

[Mononoke28 134]

For anybody who has already gone through the Medical Exam in Bogota prior to the CR1 Visa Interview:

What does the Medical Exam consist of?

My wife will be going through hers on May 28th with Doctor Dennis and she is curious to know this. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Each doctor is different but they usually check your eyes, your ears, your mouth, take your height and weight measurements and Dr. Roa just lifts up your robe to make sure you are in fact male or female and that's it. I've heard there's a female doctor that actually touches you but I can't tell you for sure.

Diana

[Ryan76 46]

I will be unable to attend my fiancee's Interview, so I am including the letter that re-affirms my intent to marry. Are there any samples for this letter. Who should I write this letter to? "Dear Sir or Madaam" or "Dear Embassy Case Worker"?

Also, how much "evidence" do they need to see? I front-loaded the petition and sent in a boat-load of pics, emails, receipts, etc. I'm sort of just preparing a watered down version of new evidence (post sending the I 129F application to USCIS). A few moneygram receipts, calling card itemized statements, emails between my fiancee and my mother, new photos from my visit in January, etc.

[Mononoke28 134]

I will be unable to attend my fiancee's Interview, so I am including the letter that re-affirms my intent to marry. Are there any samples for this letter. Who should I write this letter to? "Dear Sir or Madaam" or "Dear Embassy Case Worker"?

Also, how much "evidence" do they need to see? I front-loaded the petition and sent in a boat-load of pics, emails, receipts, etc. I'm sort of just preparing a watered down version of new evidence (post sending the I 129F application to USCIS). A few moneygram receipts, calling card itemized statements, emails between my fiancee and my mother, new photos from my visit in January, etc.

Since the purpose of the letter you want to send is pretty much to explain why you can't make it to the interview and why you want to marry your fiancée, it would be a good idea to address it to the CO, a simple "To whom it may concern" or "Dear sir or madam" should be enough.

As far as evidence, it doesn't hurt to send as much as you can. We brought a ton of photos of us, us with family and friends, about 10 emails and chat sessions, all edited as to not include personal information, plane tickets, hotel receipts of the trips we took together, etc.

Diana

[diani0626 1]

Hi everybody, just found this forum and I love it, I'm a CR1 filler.

Do you know what papers exactly to bring to the embassy the day of the interview???

I'm a little lost with it...letter from NVC says I don't have to bring any paper but that letter, but I have read most of people bring many things and the embassy asks for them...

My biggest question is...do I have to ask for immigration records again, that's my only concern because other than that I have pretty much everything but that one, which was a closed envelope I was told not open and sent just like that to NVC.

"IMMIGRATION RECORDS: Applicants who have been denied admission to the United States, requested extensions, changed status, applied for asylum, been deported, or granted voluntary departure from the United States must bring all relevant documents from the Department of Homeland Security or the immigration judge."

The list I found is this:

Appointment Letter received from the NVC

Passport(s) valid for six months beyond the intended date of entry into the United States

Police Certificate(s)

Birth Certificate(s)

Court and prison records, if applicable

Military records, if applicable

Color photographs

Marriage Certificate, if applicable

Evidence of financial support (e.g. Affidavit of Support, a notarized offer of employment, or evidence of assets)

Divorce decree or death certificate of spouse, if applicable

Family-based cases: All original documents establishing the relationship between the petitioner and the applicant

Employment-based cases: A currently valid letter from the prospective employer confirming the essential elements of the job offer

We are trying to get all our papers together but we are kind of lost

[Ryan76 46]

Ok, I have a few more questions as I am now in the final stage of gathering documents / evidence for my fiancee's interview.

I made the following post in a thread topic about the I-134, and it has not yet been replied too...so I want to re-post it here:

I'm getting close to being finished with everything...just wanted to get a little more feedback on the financial stuff.

I work 2 jobs..and for 3+ years i've been over the 20k level that they consider to be 125% of poverty.

In my packet so far I have the I-134 filled out. Transcript Income Tax Return receipts from the IRS for 2009, 2010, 2011. I have included my 2011 1040EZ tax document. I also have included two recent paycheck stubs from both jobs (hourly wage is shown on each). I've also written a letter to be attached to the I-134 because I wanted to tell them that in March I received a significant pay increase of over $2.50 per hour. I also wanted to tell them that I receive medical and dental benefits and my fiancee will be on the plan as soon as we're married.

I've been reading and studying the forums and it seems that a lot of people say if you meet the income requirements and provide accurate tax info, you do not need to bother with getting letters from your employer(s) and you don't need the letter from your bank.

Is this accurate, or should I get these letters just to be safe?

----------------------------

A couple of additional questions. After I prepare all of the documents/evidence and send it to my fiancee, exactly how do I proceed? Do I then log onto the US Embassy Bogota consulate website to pay the fee and schedule the interview date? Then immediately instruct my fiancee to call and schedule the 2 doctors appointments for about 1 week before the interview? Also, Friday I received (via email) our Bogota Case number. Does this mean that we are now entered into the system in Bogota, and everything is ready for us to schedule the interview as soon as we are ready? She has not yet received the packet from Bogota (and I do realize she may not receive it because of the mail in Bogota), and they have not sent me any packet/document info. I'm just looking at packet/document instructions from the PDF documents other VJ members have showed me.

I'm also trying to make sure I'm aware of all the specific things that will need to be paid for. I see when i schedule the interview there will be a $240.00 fee I pay online right then. Then my fiancee will need approximately $300.00 to cover both the medical appointments (will this also cover if she needs any additional vaccinations?). Then we will have another fee at the end of the visa process, correct? Will she need to pay this at the interview or shortly after, and approximately what is the cost?

Sorry for all the questions...I'm just getting excited and a little nervous double-checking everything as we close in on the final stages before her entry to the US. Thank you

[Mononoke28 134]

Hi everybody, just found this forum and I love it, I'm a CR1 filler.

Do you know what papers exactly to bring to the embassy the day of the interview???

I'm a little lost with it...letter from NVC says I don't have to bring any paper but that letter, but I have read most of people bring many things and the embassy asks for them...

My biggest question is...do I have to ask for immigration records again, that's my only concern because other than that I have pretty much everything but that one, which was a closed envelope I was told not open and sent just like that to NVC.

"IMMIGRATION RECORDS: Applicants who have been denied admission to the United States, requested extensions, changed status, applied for asylum, been deported, or granted voluntary departure from the United States must bring all relevant documents from the Department of Homeland Security or the immigration judge."

The list I found is this:

Appointment Letter received from the NVC

Passport(s) valid for six months beyond the intended date of entry into the United States

Police Certificate(s)

Birth Certificate(s)

Court and prison records, if applicable

Military records, if applicable

Color photographs

Marriage Certificate, if applicable

Evidence of financial support (e.g. Affidavit of Support, a notarized offer of employment, or evidence of assets)

Divorce decree or death certificate of spouse, if applicable

Family-based cases: All original documents establishing the relationship between the petitioner and the applicant

Employment-based cases: A currently valid letter from the prospective employer confirming the essential elements of the job offer

We are trying to get all our papers together but we are kind of lost

CR1 visa petitioners don't have to bring all that stuff to the embassy since they sent all of the civil documents to the NVC for review before the interview was scheduled. I do recommend you bring copies of the stuff you sent to the NVC just in case they tell you they're missing a document but they're pretty good about sending the wholes case to the embassy intact.

As for immigration records, you're getting them confused with the Migratory Movement Letter or Carta Migratoria. Immigration records are only needed if the beneficiary was ever denied entry to the US at POE or if the person was ever deported. If that doesn't apply to you, then you don't need them. The Migratory Movement Letter shows all entries and exits from Colombia, the embassy used to ask for this document before but as of a few months ago they no longer need it.

Besides taking copies of the documents you sent the NVC to the interview, I recommend bringing as much evidence of your relationship as possible, things such as pictures with the two of you, with your families, plane tiquets, emaisl, chats, etc. They all help.

Diana

[Mononoke28 134]

Ok, I have a few more questions as I am now in the final stage of gathering documents / evidence for my fiancee's interview.

I made the following post in a thread topic about the I-134, and it has not yet been replied too...so I want to re-post it here:

I'm getting close to being finished with everything...just wanted to get a little more feedback on the financial stuff.

I work 2 jobs..and for 3+ years i've been over the 20k level that they consider to be 125% of poverty.

In my packet so far I have the I-134 filled out. Transcript Income Tax Return receipts from the IRS for 2009, 2010, 2011. I have included my 2011 1040EZ tax document. I also have included two recent paycheck stubs from both jobs (hourly wage is shown on each). I've also written a letter to be attached to the I-134 because I wanted to tell them that in March I received a significant pay increase of over $2.50 per hour. I also wanted to tell them that I receive medical and dental benefits and my fiancee will be on the plan as soon as we're married.

I've been reading and studying the forums and it seems that a lot of people say if you meet the income requirements and provide accurate tax info, you do not need to bother with getting letters from your employer(s) and you don't need the letter from your bank.

Is this accurate, or should I get these letters just to be safe?

Ryan76,

Since your post is a two part question I will try to answer each one individually.

As long as you make 125% over the Poverty Guidelines set by the USCIS, you're fine, it doesn't matter if it's only by one penny as long as you make the minimum requirement.

You only need tax transcripts OR copies of tax returns with corresponding W2s, either, or. Pay stubs are a great way to back up the info on the tax info and I personally believe employment letters are also a plus. Some people don't care for them, others, like myself do. Bank statements are not needed if you meet the minimum salary requirements.

Diana