Do we need apostilles from the USA?

[Nathan&Cata 5]

Hello everybody... My fiance and I have decided not to apply for the K1 and instead we want to get married here in Colombia, live here for a while, and apply for the spouse visa later from abroad. Things haven't worked out for my fiance in the USA with his job. He came to visit me and met my family for three weeks and He loved here around... It got harder after we saw each other to be separated. So, He said that next time he leaves Colombia it has to be with me... We have read that filing from abroad is not easy because you have to prove domicile in the USA, but even though we know that we still want to be together through everything that can come, so we trust that God will help us when that time comes.

My question is about the apostilles.... I have been searching at the notaries here and they ask for his birth certificate and a certification of that he is single. Do they exactly have to get the apostille from the Colombian Consul in the USA? or Can we get the apostilles here in Colombia?

My other question is: Do the translations have to get the Apostille also?

Can my fiance scan and email those documents to a friend that I have in Bogota so he can mail them to me or give them to my fiance when he gets to the airport there or they have to be taken to be translated in person?

I know it might be different questions in one thread but I think they are all related... I would appreciate if people who have already gotten married here in Colombia could give us some advises....

Thanks.....

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Mexico, Latin & South America regional forum; topic is Columbia specific.

[Mononoke28 134]

Hello everybody... My fiance and I have decided not to apply for the K1 and instead we want to get married here in Colombia, live here for a while, and apply for the spouse visa later from abroad. Things haven't worked out for my fiance in the USA with his job. He came to visit me and met my family for three weeks and He loved here around... It got harder after we saw each other to be separated. So, He said that next time he leaves Colombia it has to be with me... We have read that filing from abroad is not easy because you have to prove domicile in the USA, but even though we know that we still want to be together through everything that can come, so we trust that God will help us when that time comes.

My question is about the apostilles.... I have been searching at the notaries here and they ask for his birth certificate and a certification of that he is single. Do they exactly have to get the apostille from the Colombian Consul in the USA? or Can we get the apostilles here in Colombia?

My other question is: Do the translations have to get the Apostille also?

Can my fiance scan and email those documents to a friend that I have in Bogota so he can mail them to me or give them to my fiance when he gets to the airport there or they have to be taken to be translated in person?

I know it might be different questions in one thread but I think they are all related... I would appreciate if people who have already gotten married here in Colombia could give us some advises....

Thanks.....

Cata,

Apostilles are only needed in Colombia, not in the US and this includes the US embassy. Think of an apostille as foreign or international notary seal. Most documents and/or official letters need to be notarized in order to use them in Colombia. If they're from another country, like the US, they need to not only be notarized, but also apostilled, otherwise, Colombian authorities will not accept them. These include US birth certificates, US divorce decrees, and all translations as well.

However, like I said, the US does not request apostilles for any foreign document. All he needs to apply for any kind of immigrant visa is a notarized copy of his birth certificate and the translation. If you do decide to get married in Colombia you will also need a notarized copy of your marriage certificate along with the translation. The translations DO NOT need to be notarized. And you DO NOT need any apostilles for any document, including translations. I know that there are a lot of translating services in Colombia that will tell you that you do need everything apostilled an notarized, but that is incorrect and they only do it to get more money out of you.

So to review. If you want to use any foreign documents in Colombia, you need them to be recent, notarized and apostilled. This does not include anything that has to deal with the US embassy. If you want to use any Colombian documents for immigrant visa purposes, all copies need to be notarized. Translations do not need to be notarized. All documents do not need apostilles.

Hope that makes sense.

Diana

[Nathan&Cata 5]

Thanks a lot of for your information.... We don't have immigration purposes right now, just for later when we have kids to raise them in America...

I know I might be asking the same questions over and over but:

Do his documents have to be apostilled in the USA? Do they have to be apostilled from a Colombian consul there?

The paper I got at the notary with the requirements for foreigners say they have to be apostilled from a Colombian consul there.... But my fiance doesn't live close to any Colombian consul... Can they be apostilled here? Or can he just get them apostilled from any court house there in his town?

Thanks....

[Mononoke28 134]

Thanks a lot of for your information.... We don't have immigration purposes right now, just for later when we have kids to raise them in America...

I know I might be asking the same questions over and over but:

Do his documents have to be apostilled in the USA? Do they have to be apostilled from a Colombian consul there?

The paper I got at the notary with the requirements for foreigners say they have to be apostilled from a Colombian consul there.... But my fiance doesn't live close to any Colombian consul... Can they be apostilled here? Or can he just get them apostilled from any court house there in his town?

Thanks....

His birth certificate has to be apostilled in the US and each state has information on how to get that apostille on their website.

Diana

[Karmalious 50]

Double check everything!

To answer your question simply, yes you need an apostille from the US. But it get's worse. I was recently married in Bogota Colombia in August 2014

#1 Apostille your birth certificate: If you were born out of the country like I was it must be sent to the national vital records headquarters in washington dc ( Dulles, Virginia )

--- if you were born state side, it is obtained at your State's Vital Statistics office

#2 APOSTILLE your Proof of eligibility to marry: In the state of Colorado this meant I had to pat $34 to get a marriage-records search for the last 33 years of my age

--- HAHA, then I had to take that records search and take it to the main authority office in Denver, (downtown), where they then applied a seal

(AS PREVIOUS REPLIES SUGGEST) : the apostille is more than just a state stamp... Its an international stamp applied to Government documents to prove that they are in fact real and true

#3-- Even with preperation, the Notarias in Bogota will refuse to speak to your beneficiary who live sin Bogota. They will all demand that the American be there in person ( me ). The real problem becomes apparent when you actually show up in person and then either

A: they dont have any openings for months!!!!!!

or

B: if with all the correct paperwork, they dont want to marry an American because they may fear risk or something

END RESULT: I went to Notaria 73, And I begged the notaria officer to marry us. In the end it cost us a bribe of 100,000 pesos. And we were able to get married with 7 days notice.

If you need further information, your welcome to talk to my wife who is still currently in Colombia.... and she maybe can help out your finacee.

[TaniaG 0]

Where in Colombia are you getting married? I got married in Cartagena and my husband went to a couple of different notarias to find one with less requirements. I got all the documents required (including a power of attorney (poder especial) since I wasn't there in person to present the documents to the notary in advance of our wedding) apostillized in New York and not at a Colombian consulate. I then sent all the documents to my husband and he got them translated into Spanish in Colombia.

Good luck!

[Nathan&Cata 5]

I know I had disappeared, but I want to thank to everyone who took their time to answer my questions. I just want to update you guys about how we are doing.

Well, we got married here in Colombia at the notary and then at a christian church to get God's blessing. We are happily married. We just came from Bogota last week getting my husband's TP_10 Visa (a Residence Visa) and he'll get this week his foreigner ID to be able to work here. He found a job as an English teacher and will start working soon.

About moving back to America, we have decided that we don't want to wait a long time to have kids and we think America would be a nice place to raise them, but since I am pretty busy with my school we want to wait for this semester to be over to start the paper work... We are just reading around to see how that process is because we don't know much about it... I hope when the time comes you guys are willing to help and guide us.....

[Karmalious 50]

I know I had disappeared, but I want to thank to everyone who took their time to answer my questions. I just want to update you guys about how we are doing.

Well, we got married here in Colombia at the notary and then at a christian church to get God's blessing. We are happily married. We just came from Bogota last week getting my husband's TP_10 Visa (a Residence Visa) and he'll get this week his foreigner ID to be able to work here. He found a job as an English teacher and will start working soon.

About moving back to America, we have decided that we don't want to wait a long time to have kids and we think America would be a nice place to raise them, but since I am pretty busy with my school we want to wait for this semester to be over to start the paper work... We are just reading around to see how that process is because we don't know much about it... I hope when the time comes you guys are willing to help and guide us.....

Cool, I am glad the information helped. Congratulations to you both.

We almost went and got my Cedule de extranjeria, but like you; my wife and I would rather raise our children in the United States. Also when it came to gathering documents it became such a pain in the ### sending documents to/and/from the the united states. Also, with Colombian wages at 1/5th of USA; collecting documents became unbearably expensive. Hey, how much are they paying your husband to teach English? I am just curious...

Good luck to the both of you in the future!

[Nathan&Cata 5]

Cool, I am glad the information helped. Congratulations to you both.

We almost went and got my Cedule de extranjeria, but like you; my wife and I would rather raise our children in the United States. Also when it came to gathering documents it became such a pain in the ### sending documents to/and/from the the united states. Also, with Colombian wages at 1/5th of USA; collecting documents became unbearably expensive. Hey, how much are they paying your husband to teach English? I am just curious...

Good luck to the both of you in the future!

Thanks ... The pays here in Colombia sometimes are not good. He'll be making around a thousand dollars a month, but he won't have to do that much at the school just helping teachers and talking to the kids. Monday to Friday, from 6:30 am to 2:30 pm. I am also working as an English teacher... So I hope we'll make enough money to survive and to start the process later. Distance is so hard We couldn't keep it for any longer... So, I am trusting God everything is gonna work out good for us.....

Blessings... I hope you are doing fine with your process....

[NickD 202]

Ha, I remember apostilles, a preprinted piece of paper stating that a very legal looking personalized document was correct. Think we had to get these from our secretary of state.

Wife had to renew her Colombian ID to get her Colombian passport so she could visit her mom. Was this a mess, while she had all of the original documentation, wouldn't accept it, had to go to a notary to get a copy of it, that sure cost a fortune, then we wanted $500.00 US dollars under the table to expedite it. Let's just call this an expedient fee. Then we spent a week chasing all over Bogota for the application to get it. It took about a year.

With that we had to go to the Colombian consulate in Chicago to apply for her Colombian passport, they wouldn't admit her at the POE at that Bogota airport, because her US passport said she was born in Bogota. We were delayed for over an hour discussing this subject, the only way she could renew her ID was in Bogota, can't do this at their consulate, they finally let her in, but sure checked her applications before our return.

Consulate in Chicago said to bring a certified check, did that, but they just had a rate increase, wouldn't take that check either, had to go to their bank that was a mile walk from the Consulate, a very long day, but she finally got her Colombian passport, she felt she was going against her US oath. But no longer dealing with the USCIS where she took that oath, now with the DOS, still part of Homeland Security, but a different governmental agency. She need to show that passport to enter Colombia, but she can't leave without it.

She no longer has a US visa, so to get around this, has to show her US passport as well.

When we go down there, stay in her mom's home, that isn't a home, its a prison with all those bars on the window, need three different keys to get into the front door. She and her mom panics if I want to go for a walk, heck I am not afraid, ex-military and been in worse places than this.

Oh, and was also cautioned not to drink water from the tap, had to be boiled first, ha, took my wife and stepdaughter awhile to get use to drinking water out of our tap here.

When they first came here landing in Milwaukee, where are they? Were delayed for two hours being stripped searched, that was a nice welcome to the USA. But they didn't dare to that as long as I was traveling with them. Sure made a big mess out of their luggage, don't worry, will buy you new luggage, but at least everything was there.

[Nathan&Cata 5]

Ha, I remember apostilles, a preprinted piece of paper stating that a very legal looking personalized document was correct. Think we had to get these from our secretary of state.

Wife had to renew her Colombian ID to get her Colombian passport so she could visit her mom. Was this a mess, while she had all of the original documentation, wouldn't accept it, had to go to a notary to get a copy of it, that sure cost a fortune, then we wanted $500.00 US dollars under the table to expedite it. Let's just call this an expedient fee. Then we spent a week chasing all over Bogota for the application to get it. It took about a year.

With that we had to go to the Colombian consulate in Chicago to apply for her Colombian passport, they wouldn't admit her at the POE at that Bogota airport, because her US passport said she was born in Bogota. We were delayed for over an hour discussing this subject, the only way she could renew her ID was in Bogota, can't do this at their consulate, they finally let her in, but sure checked her applications before our return.

Consulate in Chicago said to bring a certified check, did that, but they just had a rate increase, wouldn't take that check either, had to go to their bank that was a mile walk from the Consulate, a very long day, but she finally got her Colombian passport, she felt she was going against her US oath. But no longer dealing with the USCIS where she took that oath, now with the DOS, still part of Homeland Security, but a different governmental agency. She need to show that passport to enter Colombia, but she can't leave without it.

She no longer has a US visa, so to get around this, has to show her US passport as well.

When we go down there, stay in her mom's home, that isn't a home, its a prison with all those bars on the window, need three different keys to get into the front door. She and her mom panics if I want to go for a walk, heck I am not afraid, ex-military and been in worse places than this.

Oh, and was also cautioned not to drink water from the tap, had to be boiled first, ha, took my wife and stepdaughter awhile to get use to drinking water out of our tap here.

When they first came here landing in Milwaukee, where are they? Were delayed for two hours being stripped searched, that was a nice welcome to the USA. But they didn't dare to that as long as I was traveling with them. Sure made a big mess out of their luggage, don't worry, will buy you new luggage, but at least everything was there.

Sorry your wife had to go through that to be able to visit her family here. I thinks things are a little easier than they used to be. My family does the same to my husband they worry a lot when he walks by himself here in this city. We do drink water from the top here in Valledupar. Manny blessings

[NickD 202]

Ironically she left Bogota when she was 18 years old for Venezuela, no jobs in Colombia, and visited her family for 20 years with her Venezuelan passport showing her place of birth in Bogota with no problems. This was during the Bush administration with her US passport and place of birth also shown in Colombia when they wouldn't admit her.

So only can assume our leaders weren't getting along. She got a very high paying job working for a large US corporation in Venezuela, but we got married ten years ago when that corporation was still there, but not there anymore. Colombia and Venezuela use to be one country, also part of history.

Whatever our leaders decide what to do, we pay the price, we are family can get along just fine, but our leaders sure can't. Still have family in Venezuela, but afraid to visit because we would end up in prison as American spies. So we pick a different country to visit. One that we both can go to.