CR-1/IR-1 Colombia Club

[dougyceci 0]

Glad to hear you got your interview Cali, I look forward to the day I can say the same. I know many of us that are waiting to hear how everything goes for you guys. Good luck to all with the interviews this month and next.

Doug

[bradyvicky 0]

Glad to hear you got your interview Cali, I look forward to the day I can say the same. I know many of us that are waiting to hear how everything goes for you guys. Good luck to all with the interviews this month and next.

Doug

Congrats Cali!!! Good luck!!!!

[Looking4Wife 0]

Brad y Vicky (or others who may have input):

I am currently in Barranquilla (Wed 1/24). I will be back in the USA late Thursday night (1/25/2007).

Anyway, we went to the DAS to get my wife´s "Record of her entrances and exits out of the country". This was a form we didn´t know about until we saw Brad y Vicky´s list. Well the lady in the office told my wife that she needed to bring back copies of several other documents (passport, etc.), to pay $36,500 at a specific bank, and THEN call back in 1 month.

We told her that it didn´t make sense that the document takes 1 month to generate, since this is a requirement people don´t even know about normally until about 1 month before their visa interview.

Bradyvicky (or anyone else), how are you guys dealing with this? Were you given different info by the DAS?

Also... Bradyvicky, you mentioned you had to "track down" your wife´s package from the embassy that was sent by mail. How did you track it down? I presume the rest of us in Barranquilla may also have to track down our packages...

Thanks in advance...

[Looking4Wife 0]

Well BradyVicky...

I saw that "mystery" already answered my question about the DAS form. I see its a requirement so new that you were unaware of it initially. As I indicated, the timing to get this form could be problematical.

Mystery:

I noticed that you ordered the form in Bogota on Thurs, and got it Monday. How long of a stay in Bogota do you recommend to get everything done?

What else is needed to be done in Bogota besides the Medical and getting the DAS Entry-Exit form (and the interview obviously)?

Thanks in advance...

[anagd3 0]

[font="Trebuchet MS"]Someone can help us?

What is the next step?

We are very confused , here is our process

15-Sep-06 I-130 Was received at the USCIS

17-Oct-06 I-129 We send it

07-Nov-06 I-797C

02-Dic-06 I-130 has been aproved and was send to the DEPARTMENT OF STATE NATIONAL VISA CENTER 32 Rochester ave

14-Ene-07 I-864 Was received

18-Ene-07 I-864 We filled and we send it[/font]

[bradyvicky 0]

Brad y Vicky (or others who may have input):

I am currently in Barranquilla (Wed 1/24). I will be back in the USA late Thursday night (1/25/2007).

Anyway, we went to the DAS to get my wife´s "Record of her entrances and exits out of the country". This was a form we didn´t know about until we saw Brad y Vicky´s list. Well the lady in the office told my wife that she needed to bring back copies of several other documents (passport, etc.), to pay $36,500 at a specific bank, and THEN call back in 1 month.

We told her that it didn´t make sense that the document takes 1 month to generate, since this is a requirement people don´t even know about normally until about 1 month before their visa interview.

Bradyvicky (or anyone else), how are you guys dealing with this? Were you given different info by the DAS?

Also... Bradyvicky, you mentioned you had to "track down" your wife´s package from the embassy that was sent by mail. How did you track it down? I presume the rest of us in Barranquilla may also have to track down our packages...

Thanks in advance...

Hey Looking... Sorry, but I didnt see your post until now. Thanks for the info, and yes this has been coming up in the other thread. What we have found out is that if you order this Certificado de Migratorio at DAS in a city OTHER THAN Bogota it can take a month to generate...whereas Bogota only takes 3 days. Now the key point is that this document is NOT REQUIRED for a CR-1 visa to be approved, however in certain cases the consular officer may ask for it depending on what he likes/doesnt like about your case (this information direct from the embassy). So it can be a smart investment to get this no matter what.

1. There are two documents obtained by DAS, one is a criminal clearance more-or-less and the other is the Certificado de Migratorio. On the CR-1 the first is easy and required and the second is hard/a pin and not necessarily required. We have chosen to GET this Certificado even though it is not required. We paid the fee in Barranquilla yesterday and then will visit DAS in Bogota with our receipt first thing Monday, as our tickets are for Sunday. If they need it for our interview, we will not have it but the process will be started and we should be able to return with it a day later.

2. On another note, we mentioned that the packet stated one of the required documents as "english translations" of all spanish documents. This is NOT true - all documents presented need to be either Spanish or English. The request for translations at the point of interview is only if you have documents in French, Chinese, etc....they need to be translated to Spanish or English.

3. Tracking down the packet - Vicky planned to call all the carriers/couriers in the city and started with the public mail system (name I forgot right now). She found that the Embassy is using their government controlled public mail system to send these packets, hence the reason they hardly show up. You need to contact the office, which is close to the airport, and they will research it from there. We found that the carrier would not allow her to pre-sign, schedule an appointment to pick up or to deliver and would not allow it to be left with a neighbor. Bottom line is you have to somehow be home when they are coming, or set it up that ay, even though they dont show up when they say they will. After a week of this BS, and driving out to the airport 3 FREAKIN TIMES they finally had left it there for pickup, had a key to the box it was in and gave it to her. SHEESH!

[bradyvicky 0]

[font="Trebuchet MS"]Someone can help us?

What is the next step?

We are very confused , here is our process

15-Sep-06 I-130 Was received at the USCIS

17-Oct-06 I-129 We send it

07-Nov-06 I-797C

02-Dic-06 I-130 has been aproved and was send to the DEPARTMENT OF STATE NATIONAL VISA CENTER 32 Rochester ave

14-Ene-07 I-864 Was received

18-Ene-07 I-864 We filled and we send it[/font]

Read the Guides above for the best understanding of the complete process. With the CR1 (I-130) You are in the NVC stage where multiple forms are being processed at the same time. With the K3 (I-129) you are in the middle of a 3-9 month waiting period for the next steps.

[Looking4Wife 0]

Brad y Vicky (or others who may have input):

I am currently in Barranquilla (Wed 1/24). I will be back in the USA late Thursday night (1/25/2007).

Anyway, we went to the DAS to get my wife´s "Record of her entrances and exits out of the country". This was a form we didn´t know about until we saw Brad y Vicky´s list. Well the lady in the office told my wife that she needed to bring back copies of several other documents (passport, etc.), to pay $36,500 at a specific bank, and THEN call back in 1 month.

We told her that it didn´t make sense that the document takes 1 month to generate, since this is a requirement people don´t even know about normally until about 1 month before their visa interview.

Bradyvicky (or anyone else), how are you guys dealing with this? Were you given different info by the DAS?

Also... Bradyvicky, you mentioned you had to "track down" your wife´s package from the embassy that was sent by mail. How did you track it down? I presume the rest of us in Barranquilla may also have to track down our packages...

Thanks in advance...

Hey Looking... Sorry, but I didnt see your post until now. Thanks for the info, and yes this has been coming up in the other thread. What we have found out is that if you order this Certificado de Migratorio at DAS in a city OTHER THAN Bogota it can take a month to generate...whereas Bogota only takes 3 days. Now the key point is that this document is NOT REQUIRED for a CR-1 visa to be approved, however in certain cases the consular officer may ask for it depending on what he likes/doesnt like about your case (this information direct from the embassy). So it can be a smart investment to get this no matter what.

1. There are two documents obtained by DAS, one is a criminal clearance more-or-less and the other is the Certificado de Migratorio. On the CR-1 the first is easy and required and the second is hard/a pin and not necessarily required. We have chosen to GET this Certificado even though it is not required. We paid the fee in Barranquilla yesterday and then will visit DAS in Bogota with our receipt first thing Monday, as our tickets are for Sunday. If they need it for our interview, we will not have it but the process will be started and we should be able to return with it a day later.

2. On another note, we mentioned that the packet stated one of the required documents as "english translations" of all spanish documents. This is NOT true - all documents presented need to be either Spanish or English. The request for translations at the point of interview is only if you have documents in French, Chinese, etc....they need to be translated to Spanish or English.

3. Tracking down the packet - Vicky planned to call all the carriers/couriers in the city and started with the public mail system (name I forgot right now). She found that the Embassy is using their government controlled public mail system to send these packets, hence the reason they hardly show up. You need to contact the office, which is close to the airport, and they will research it from there. We found that the carrier would not allow her to pre-sign, schedule an appointment to pick up or to deliver and would not allow it to be left with a neighbor. Bottom line is you have to somehow be home when they are coming, or set it up that ay, even though they dont show up when they say they will. After a week of this BS, and driving out to the airport 3 FREAKIN TIMES they finally had left it there for pickup, had a key to the box it was in and gave it to her. SHEESH!

Wow, great information! VERY interesting about the translation stuff. Did you guys get your stuff translated? Not having to get the stuff translated will save time, money, and most importantly reduce the stress of having yet another hoop to jump through.

Good luck on your interview!

[bradyvicky 0]

Well, Vicky kept hounding me that she thought OFFICIAL translations were needed and I said unofficial...then, in the midst of a week of arguing and not paying to get it done yet, I received the English version of the Packet and read where it is not even required.

So that was the end of THAT...we saved a few bucks!

[anagd3 0]

thank you!!!!

[bradyvicky 0]

The Complete CR-1 Bogota Experience - Part I:

Leaving today from MIA to BOG. The flight is scheduled to be about 3hrs and 15 min, and was relatively inexpensive because I am making a multiple leg journey for about two weeks from MIA to BOG to BAQ to MIA....$580.00...sorry I cant give a quote just round trip to Bogota but research showed that American Airlines came in the cheapest with about $370.00 R/T + tax.

I am bringing all items on the Packet 4 list, except we will not have our DAS Certificado del Migracion nor will we have English translations of all documents. For my I-864 I have one paystub (new job now), a letter from my employer and taxes for the last three years. Evidence of the relationship is a documented timeline of our history together, pages of passport copied and trip dates outlined, about 700 pictures of most of our time together printed out in a thumbnailed format, MSN conversation of over a year (324 pages worth), 67 pages of documented Skype phone calls and 45 pages of MobileCaller.com phone calls.

We are staying in the apartment listed at www.welovebogota.com and got a price of $50/nightly for the whole apartment, not just a room. We will be there for 5 nights, staying a bit long in case there is a problem with the Visa that can be corrected in the following days. Total trip time in Bogota will be Jan 28th from 7pm to Feb 2nd at 9am. Then off to Barranquilla, hopefully with the Visa!!!!!

Update to come soon.....

[florida-photo 0]

Brad:

Good luck with everything in Bogota. Hopefully, the DAS certificate will not be requested in your case. But I like your plan of requesting it Monday just in case and then you could provide it the day after the interview if necessary. I assume you are bringing your laptop. If I remember correctly the apartment you will be using has internet access, so keep us posted.

Mark

[RabbitNYC 0]

Hey brad..

Hope errthing goes well Tuesday!!! Please keep us posted.. remember my wife has the IR1 interview on Feb. 2 in BGT too!

GOOD LUCK!!!

RabbitNYC

[dougyceci 0]

Good luck Brad, from the looks of your previous posts I thought you were already there. I am sure the next few days will be long but it is almost over. I am emailing you, well private message here on VJ, Ceci's contact info. If you have any questions call her and ask, She knows the city or can find out for you if you have any questions. Good luck.

Doug

[TonyS 0]

Hola all

Just calling on the collective wisdom of this thread ( and the "Colombia Club" ). Anyone have a suggection for a apartment in Bogota? Tried www.welovebogota.com but they are booked up for february. Any suggestion would be appreciated .

Tony