Visa status "Issued" - When will it be ready for local pickup?

[DJH 1]

I checked the ceac.state.gov site this morning about 10am Colombia time and discovered that after my fiancee's 8/4 visa interview at the Bogotá consulate, the status moved from "Approved" to "Issued".  We had set it for local pickup at the ASC center where she did the biometrics. Does anyone know how long it takes the visa package to physically go from the embassy to the ASC?  She made an unannounced stop there about 4:15pm to check and they told her it was not there and she will have to wait for the email.  I'm also wondering what their process is for "shipping" it 3 miles down the street.

[Mickey + Roseni 2]

Did you receive the visa? My fiancé will be in Bogotá for her interview next month.

[DJH 1]

Yes, we received the email the day after I posted at about 4:15pm.  It was a good thing we decided to switch hotels to one within walking distance of the ASC, as we were able to get there prior to it closing at 5pm.  A couple of FYIs:

 

1. The email will also say it, but make sure to have a photocopy of the fiancee's ID plus a photocopy of any dependent's birth certificate (no translation needed). As soon as we got the email, we immediately walked over to the ASC without actually reading it.  When we arrived they told us we had to have those copies before we could pick up the visa packets (one for each applicant, and they are quite impressive in their dimensions by the way).  Fortunately we had enough time to walk to a copy place in the same building and make it back before 5pm).

 

2. If you decide to stay at a nearby hotel, I would suggest the ALOFT immediately across the street or the Marriott City Express PLUS about 800m away.  We stayed at the City Express Junior, which is co-located with City Express Plus, but the room was basically a prison cell it was so small.  Good thing it was only for one night.

[Mickey + Roseni 2]

Congratulations. And thanks for all the information.

 

How was the interview itself? Did it take long or did they ask any unexpected questions? 

[DJH 1]

The interview was less than 5 minutes, maybe three.  Asked how many kids I had, their names, where I live in the U.S., how did we meet, where did we first vacation together, things like that. Nothing she didn't already know or hadn't prepared for. 

 

Now, there was a guy with seemingly his fiancee or wife and two kids who had it way tougher.  She was being questioned for over 15 minutes, rifling through paperwork to show, etc.  Given how easy our situation was, I was guessing that there was either documentary evidence that she had failed to produce or she had some wrinkles in her background that also got extra scrutiny.  I have also read that folks with very common names (e.g. Maria Gonzalez) could face a bit more scrutiny.

 

In any case, the satisfaction and joy at the end of the interview of hearing that the petition was officially approved was priceless.  We left with big smiles on our faces.  It was also nice to see countless other couples with those same smiles as they walked away from their interview booth.

[Mickey + Roseni 2]

On 8/18/2023 at 7:10 PM, DJH said:

The interview was less than 5 minutes, maybe three.  Asked how many kids I had, their names, where I live in the U.S., how did we meet, where did we first vacation together, things like that. Nothing she didn't already know or hadn't prepared for. 

 

Now, there was a guy with seemingly his fiancee or wife and two kids who had it way tougher.  She was being questioned for over 15 minutes, rifling through paperwork to show, etc.  Given how easy our situation was, I was guessing that there was either documentary evidence that she had failed to produce or she had some wrinkles in her background that also got extra scrutiny.  I have also read that folks with very common names (e.g. Maria Gonzalez) could face a bit more scrutiny.

 

In any case, the satisfaction and joy at the end of the interview of hearing that the petition was officially approved was priceless.  We left with big smiles on our faces.  It was also nice to see countless other couples with those same smiles as they walked away from their interview booth.

Wow, it is so crazy to think that this years long journey comes down to just a 3-5 minute interview. But I’ll take it and hope to have the same experience you did. 

I’m sure that couple was terrified seeing that the officer was spending extra time on them. I can only imagine. The name thing seems odd, but thankfully my fiancé has a somewhat uncommon name. 
 

Thinking about that moment and hearing those words is the thing that keeps me going. It will be such an immense weight lifted.