Marriage Certificate - San Andres Colombia

[Mononoke28 134]

Yep, USCIS accepts photocopies of documents such as the marriage certificate, birth certificate, naturalization certificate, divorce decree, etc. You will need original or certified copies at the time of the interview for K3 visa or to send to the NVC for CR1 visa.

Edited June 19, 2007 by Mononoke28

[ColombianoGringo 0]

Now that I think about it, this wouldn't do us much good as I need to send in her signed G-325A.

I suppose she could scan her signed form, but I can't imagine they would accept a reproduction of her signature no matter how good it looked. We were going to have her take digital photos and have them printed and cut to size at a photo lab here.

Edited June 19, 2007 by ColombianoGringo

[Mononoke28 134]

Oh man, yeah she needs to send you the signed forms. I lucked out by running into this site before we got married so I was able to bring his photos and signed forms with me when I got back.

That sucks CG.

Oh but you know what? My husband uses Deprisa from Avianca every time he sends me stuff and I get it in about 3 days. It's a very good service and just think his package comes from Tuluá all the way to Denver.

[ColombianoGringo 0]

Cool. If it gets here from Tulua, Neiva should be no problem. I just asked my wife and she said she is familiar with DePrisa.

Thanks for the suggestion. I am chompin' at the bit to send this stuff off. I have gone over the forms a million times.

[cartagena2112 0]

First off, thanks for all the information and suggestions.

I was reading through the Assembly Tips section of the VJ Guides and came across this.

USCIS no longer routinely requires submission of original documents or "certified copies." Instead, ordinary legible photocopies of such documents (including naturalization certificates and alien registration cards) will be acceptable for initial filing and approval of petitions and applications

Does this mean I can just provide a photocopy of the Marriage Certificate. I could easily have my wife scan the original and email it. We have some really high end color printers at the office that could spit out a perfect copy on nice paper.

I assume we would need the originals for the interview, but would this work for the initial filing?

The key is.... no longer "routinely" requires.... The website states that the government may ask for "further" documentation

if they deem it necessary, (obviously if they think there is something fishy about an application) but normally, it seems you can

get by with simple copies, like many peeps are doing here.

If you do just submit regular copies, please tell everyone here how you made out. That could save some people a lot

of time & energy running around and getting certified & notarized copies WITH apostilles like I did!

Cheers!

George

[Mononoke28 134]

CG,

You can also suggest to your wife to go to any Foto Japon in Colombia to have her pictures taken, that's where we went to get ours done. Just say they are US visa style photos and she can send them to you with her signed G-325A forms. Also, don't forget she has to sign all 4 pages and since you're filing for a K3 visa, she needs to sign a total of 8 pages.

Diana

[ColombianoGringo 0]

Diana,

I think I am going to have her take some digital photos in front of a white background. This way I can resize and crop them as needed. Also, if I run into the need for duplicates I can have them printed. They print on photo paper so I can't imagine that would be a problem.

Thanks,

CG

[neophi 5]

That's what we did. You might want to wait for her to sign the G-325A pages and when sending to you, send the pictures along with the package. When I first decided to do the K-3 with my wife, I made the mistake of rushing and had her send me the pics first, only to then realize (after finding VJ) there were papers she needed to personally sign (G-325A). $40 down the drain.

CG,

You can also suggest to your wife to go to any Foto Japon in Colombia to have her pictures taken, that's where we went to get ours done. Just say they are US visa style photos and she can send them to you with her signed G-325A forms. Also, don't forget she has to sign all 4 pages and since you're filing for a K3 visa, she needs to sign a total of 8 pages.

Diana

Edited June 19, 2007 by neophi

[ColombianoGringo 0]

I emailed her the her completed G-325A in PDF. She just needs to print them, sign them and mail them along with the marriage certificate. I should have them sometime next week and I can send in the I-130.

As far as the pics, she will just email me a jpg of the shot she picks. I will have them printed here at a photo lab.

CG

Edited June 20, 2007 by ColombianoGringo

[ColombianoGringo 0]

Hey George.

I put up a profile picture. My wife finally sent me our vacation pics.

That's the last time she hangs on to the memory card.

Peace,

CG

[dougyceci 0]

We were married in San Andres as well and the marriage there is recognized by the whole country. My wife said there is no need to register in Bogota. As far as the translations go, I did it myself and then had the ELL specialist in my school proof it change the mistakes and then she signed the translation verification. I did this to both documents we got from the notary for the marriage. Had no trouble with anything at the USCIS.

[ColombianoGringo 0]

Thanks Doug,

It always helps to hear from folks that have already been through this.

We decided against doing the apostille and that is the only reason you would even need to validate the notary's signature at the Superintendencia in Bogota.

In fact, the certificate is on its way from Colombia via DePrisa. I am pleasantly surprised at the speed of that service. My wife mailed a package with the certificate, her photos and signed G-325A's. She dropped it off Thursday at 5:45PM and it is already in Miami. I expect to receive it on Monday or Tuesday. They only charged $60.000 COP to send it from Neiva to Houston.

If anyone ever needs to send a package from practically anywhere in Colombia to the US, definitely look up DePrisa. www.deprisa.com.

Mononoke recommended the service to me.

Peace,

CG

Edited June 30, 2007 by ColombianoGringo

[Mike and Adriana 0]

For whatever reason, I just happened to stumble across this thread. To those who read this thread, two things for you:

1) Understand that the K-3 process and IR-1/CR-1 process are not the same. So some of the things that one group might tell in all good faith may be totally to contrary to what is accurate for the visa you seek.

2) For the K-3 process, apostilled documents are absolutely, positively NOT necessary. Send photocopies with the I-130 and I-129F. Take photocopies to the interview to give to the CO (but have the originals or certified/notarized copies to show, if requested). Even when you adjust status and/or apply for EAD, send copies. Bring the original or copies with you to the AOS interview.

The only time I needed apostilled documents was when I was getting married in Colombia.

Good luck.

Mike

[Mononoke28 134]

My husband also sent me his DS-230 stuff from Tuluá on Thursday through Deprisa and it was in Bogotá on Friday. They could even be on the same plane. I'm shooting for today as well, maybe tomorrow.

[ColombianoGringo 0]

My husband also sent me his DS-230 stuff from Tuluá on Thursday through Deprisa and it was in Bogotá on Friday. They could even be on the same plane. I'm shooting for today as well, maybe tomorrow.

Have you tracked the package on the DePrisa site?

http://www.deprisa.com/Tracking/rastreo.php

My wife's package is already out for delivery here in Houston. I can't wait to make fun of her passport photos