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Not sure if it was the hack then.. and this just popped up on their site

'The Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with our overseas passport and visa systems. This issue is not specific to any particular country, citizenship document, or visa category. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working urgently to correct the problem and restore full operability."

http://bogota.usembassy.gov/immigrant_visas.html

We were approved bt the NVC for an expidited CR-1 interview in Bogota 2 weeks ago because my dad is very ill, and I want my wife to meet him while he is still around. We were at the 6 month point at the time of approval. We were excited and went to schedule the appointment at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/.

When in the site, we noticed there were no dates available to schedule the appointment... so I thought it was my browser or some tech issue and emailed the Embassy.... they responded by stating that for my type of visa, they were full and would release appointments at random. It's been 2 weeks now and nothing is showing... my subsequent emails explaining how we have an urgent need have gone unanswered and they will not accept phone calls other than to give general info... the NVC has had severe tech issues with their visa delivery system and I wonder if this is the problem.

If you remember, last week the government got hacked exposing many workers sensitive information, I thinks it's possible this may have affected more than we know... Is anyone here experiencing simular issues with Bogota in particular or anywhere else? I can't say they are not scheduling tourist visas but find it very hard to believe they are simply full at this time for our visa type. Going ahead 2 years on the calender shows no available dates.. something is not right.

Any help or insight greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks for the replies.. our intention was just to spend time in both places.. seems that's not going to be so easy. The thing that aggravates me is I keep hearing how the embassy is giving a lot of tourist visas out lately to people don't have a job or real estate at all. I'm not sure how that is possible. I would accept consistency in how they hand them out but it seems pretty random how they do things. So the CR1 might not be best? I was thinking it might be but maybe like you guys said, wait 6 months and try again.. the thing is I need to travel back once in a while and will have to do so without her.. not going to be fun.

My wife had her tourist visa denied this week. She came prepared with documents showing we live in Colombia and are married. She even showed my passport and my Colombian visa. The agent said we were married too recently( just a month) and not enough evidence that we have a life here in Colombia. It's really a shame because I think being married to a US citizen actually hurt our chances of getting the visa. She said don't reapply till we have further documentation. What that means to me is that she needs a job or we need to buy real estate. So I guess now my best option is the CR1 visa and not mess around anymore. I suppose using an immigration lawyer might be the best route as I don't want to take chances. The reason we wanted the tourist visa is because we don't want to live in the US full time. .. any opinions appreciated.

Thank you very much for the info..

I am having a hard time getting this question answered... After my wife receives her CR1, can she travel back and forth from the US to her home country?

I have heard she must remain in the US for 2 years, is this true? Thanks.