ColombianoGringo

Hi all,

My wife has been in the US since August 2008 on a K-3 visa. She was given an I-94 on her initial entry into thhe US>

We went on vacation to Colombia earlier this year. She left a few days before me and the airline insisted on taking what I think was her I-94( a little printed and stamped piece of cardboard).

When we came back into the country together, we got an agent at Ft. Lauderdale POE that didn't know quite how to handle my wife's K-3. After about 15 minutes of waiting for her to talk to her supervisor, the agent came back, stamped my wife's passport and sent us on our way. Later, I realized that there was no I-94 in her passport. As I mentioned, there is a stamp for the entry, but no additional piece of paper.

We were waiting to do AOS until our second anniversary to avoid having to do removal of conditions later. We are now ready to apply for AOS. I am concerned about the missing I-94.

I understand that you can file an I-102 to request an I-94, but I have read that this can take a while. However, I noticed on the I-102 that one option under Step 2 Reason for Application is "I was not issued Form I-94 when I entered as a nonimmigrant, and I am filing

this application together with an application for an extension of stay/change of

status."

Does this mean we can just file the I-102 along with the I-485 package in lieu of the I-94? Would it be better to file the I-102 and wait for the new I-94?

Thanks for any advice. We are not in a huge hurry for EAD, but we would like a SS# so my wife can start taking driving lessons and get a license. You can't get a license in Texas without an SS# even if you have a valid visa.

Thanks for your help.

CG

Hi folks,

Long time no see. I hope everyone is doing well.

I have a question from someone about to go through their K-3 interview in Bogota.

DAS is now offering an online service to get the Certificado Judicial. It allows people to download a print the document straight from the site. Does anyone know if this version is acceptable at the interview or does it have to be gotten directly from the DAS office?

Thanks.

CG

Diana,

You read correctly. When my wife first came to the US in August 2008, she offered the envelope to the agent and he just told her to keep it. The guy just stamped her passport and wrote K-3 in the blank for visa type. Then he just sent her on her way. They didn't do any additional processing.

We just went to Colombia for vacation and came back yesterday. We had the envelope with us and again they did not ask for it. They let us right on through again. However, I am concerned that this may pose a problem at AOS time. Also, I didn't realize until later that they didn't give her the little I-90(?) form that showed her entry.

CG

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while. It's good to see old members still around and even better to see the approvals in the last few months. Congrats to all of those who have been approved.

I just got back from Colombia with my wife yesterday and we experienced something odd at POE in Ft. Lauderdale. My wife has a K-3 which is supposed to be a multiple reentry two year visa. We haven't started AOS because we want to avoid a conditional residency and the additional hassles of removal of conditions.

When we went through immigration, the agent was confused and had to go talk to her supervisor. She came back and told us that we should call USCIS whenever my wife is going to travel abroad. She claimed that when my wife travelled with the K-3, it could "reset something" and cause a problem down the road. I realize that this is probably nonsense, but does anyone know what she meant?

Another point about our situation is that on both occasions, including her initial entry, she has never been asked for her sealed envelope from the embassy or her x-rays or vaccination records. She has never been put through secondary processing. They just stamp her passport, scan her fingerprints and off we go. Is this going to cause a problem when applying for AOS? The whole thing just seems weird and I am a bit concerned. What are your thoughts?

Thanks

CG

Ja Ja. Muy chistosa.

CG, good to see you again, my tocayo friend.

I don't remember when was the last time I posted, but basically I've enjoyed the first few weeks with my wife at home. It is such an amazing feeling! I am sooo glad the previous stage is over.

She is adjusting to the US, and struggling a bit with the language. For that reason, I decided to apply for AOS and EAD as quickly as possible (there is no way I can drive her to her english classes *need to work*, and I know eventually she'd like to get a job). So I sent all the documents on Oct 16th. Today I got NOA1, dated Oct 22nd. Hopefully we'll be able to start the new year with a SS card.

Both receipts came with "MSC" letters for the case number, but I noticed the National Benefits Center only handles the EAD cases, not the I-485s. Do you know if the case gets transfered to the field office, or how does it work from here?

Thanks, guys.

Juan Carlos.

Hi Juanca,

Glad to hear things are going well with you wife. We just passed our two month since mine arrived and we are also very happy. You might consider starting her off on some computer based training like Rosetta Stone, etc. Good luck with your AOS process.

CG

In Texas you must have a social security number to get a drivers license. Consequently, she won't be able to get one until we file for AOS and she gets her social security card. We might end up following Andrea's suggestion and filing for AOS then simply dragging our feet a bit. She will need to start driving sooner or later, but I am not wild about having to buy another car.

Unfortunately, there are no English classes available at the community colleges around here until the beginning of the spring semester. In the meantime, I got her the full Rosetta Stone system which she is using on a daily basis. It is ridiculously expensive, but by all accounts, it is about the best way to study English. Hopefully, by the new semester starts, she will be ready to take an intermediate Spanish class.

That's what we're hoping for. She definitely couldn't sit for the bar exam with that degree from Colombia, but she could use it to get some other professional job. She was a branch manager for a large staffing company in Colombia so she might pursue something in that field. I happen to know a lot of people in that field here in town so she would have an easy time getting her foot in the door. However, she still needs to improve her English so she can really do well. Good bilingual skills would be an asset here in Houston.

I think that either way, we are just going to wait until next year to file for AOS. The biggest hassle is that she won't be able to get a drivers license until then. We are going to talk about EAD, but that remains low on the priorities for the moment.

As far as the English, she know some from taking classes during college, but she needs a lot of work to get to a good level. Unfortunately, we procrastinated and waited too long to get her registered for classes this semester. There was a free class at the local junior college that she tried, but it was pretty pointless. There was only one class for all proficiency levels and the teacher taught the same thing to everyone at the same time. She felt lost and decided to not continue. We opted to get her started using Rosetta Stone for the time being. She likes it and is progressing through the lessons. She will start more formal classes in a few months. Either way, learning English and finishing her law school thesis are the biggest priorities right now.

Thanks Diana,

I was looking at the fee schedule and it seems like even if she did need or want to work, it would make more sense to just request EAD now and wait to file AOS. The EAD fee is only $340, whereas the Removal of Conditions is $545. I realize that EAD is free when you pay the AOS fee, but it would still appear to be $205 cheaper to pay for EAD separately now and file AOS next year to avoid the hassle and expense of Removal of Status.

Is there something I'm missing in that scenario? Otherwise, is there some way to file AOS in order to get EAD, but slow down the process enough to the point that she wouldn't be approved until late next year?

She might get bored and decide she wants to work part time. Also, I have a side company for which she could work. I don't know if that would require EAD since we wouldn't necessarily have to cut her a paycheck.

This is all hypothetical since she seems pretty content to stay at home and chill for the moment. After all, she worked and went to university full time for many years. I don't see anything wrong with her taking it a bit easier these days. I am not exactly hating her awesome home cooking either. Going home for a great home cooked lunch is pretty great

CG

One more note about my wife's POE. I just asked her and she said that the entry officer did not give her back her I-94. I will double check this evening, but I don't ever recall seeing it when looking at her passport and other travel documents upon her arrival. I read that we can request a replacement from USCIS so I suppose that will be necessary before filing AOS.

Hi everybody,

I finally decided to start looking into AOS and I have a few questions. I figured I'd rather ask the Colombia Club usual suspects instead of the VJ community at large. I just prefer the people I've come to like and trust.

First off, I am a bit concerned because I don't think that my wife's POE was handled correctly by ICE. I had always heard that she would be sent to a special office for additional processing. Well, she wasn't. The POE officer didn't speak Spanish and didn't' seem to know what to do so he just stamped her passport and sent her on her way. They didn't even look at her big envelope or give her any other forms. Is this going to cause any trouble for us? If so, what should we do about it?

Also, I am curious as to whether we should wait a while before filing AOS. We were married in June 2007 and my understanding is that if her AOS is approved before June 2009, she will be given Conditional Permanent Residency and will have to file for Removal of Conditions at some point in the future. We aren't in a particular hurry because there is no need for her to work. I suppose the only drawback to waiting is that she can't get a drivers license although there is no big hurry there either. When would be a good time to file AOS to make sure that it is approved after next June and thereby avoid Removal of Conditions?

Thanks a lot,

CG

$440. That is a great deal. Since you are definitely going down, then my comments are more generally directed at anyone who might be considering attending the interview.

If you can make the time to go down for the interview, it is certainly worth the effort. As others have mentioned, it is a big positive for the petitioner spouse to be there and can often be the difference between a visa being approved or being asked to come back. Also, as E-man mentioned, the interview day can be quite nerve wracking even when everything goes well and it can be nice to go through this as a couple. I know it was a lot easier on my wife for me to be there. Also, it will be that much sweeter to be together when you get your approval.

Having said that, it is certainly not a requirement and many visas are approved without the spouse being there. In cases where the spouse is unable to be there due to time or financial considerations, the best alternative is to have all paperwork and evidence in perfect order. It is all the more important in those situations to have plentiful evidence to present.

In either case, good luck to you both.

We got our Visa! I want to thank Mononke and ColombianoGringo for the help along the way. During the interview process (only a few questions) at the embassy the CO told us that it really helped that I (Petitoner) attended the interview. I saw many people denied or their request for VISA put on hold because they did not bring their significant other. Once again thanks for the help!

Congratulations E-Man! I'm glad to hear that everything went well.

Harold,

We had our successful K-3 interview in June. We actually had at least 20 lbs worth of evidence including travel and hotel receipts, insurance paperwork, emails, chat transcripts and a full photo album printed on a color laser with captions for all the photographs. The only thing the CO cared to look at was the pictures. It was helpful that they were all carefully captioned with dates, locations and a description of the events and people in photos. We had a lot of photos with the two of us with her family and mine. The CO did say that it was good that I went to the interview and that I had been to see my wife so many times during our courtship, engagement and marriage.

Good luck getting an interview date soon.

CG

Hey Colombia Club,

I am planning ahead of the interview at the embassy and was just wondering what do you guys think is good evidence of a genuine marriage? I'm thinking of bringing emails, letters, pictures, receipts of the money I've been sending her for her monthly. What else do you guys think would be of use to bring to the interview? Thanks for the help.

Sincerely,

Harold Paredes

Congratulations John,

That interview day is certainly a long and stressful experience. For us, all the initial steps went quickly, but it took forever to get called for the interview. The place had mostly cleared out by the time we were finally called. Still, we were very happy when it was all over with.

On Sunday, it was a month since my wife arrived in the US. We are very happy and everything is going very well. Not only are we getting along very well, she has really hit it off with my family and friends. Good luck to you on your trip home and your new life together.

CG

I warned her about the potential for tornadoes during the run up to Ike. We were very lucky, our biggest hassle was the inconvenience caused by the multitude of store and restaurant closings.

Strangely enough, there was a really bad windstorm last week in Neiva, the city in Southern Colombia where she and a lot of my family are from. There were all kinds of downed trees and even some homes destroyed. This kind of thing never happens down there.

On a more positive note, my parents had a big party for us this weekend. My wife got to meet many of my aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. She had already met a fair number of my relatives that either live in Colombia or were there to visit including my all my living grandparents. She fit right into the whole crazy bunch as most of them are from the same city were she lived. It was kind of an odd hybrid of a wedding reception and a welcome party. In any case, everyone thought she was great and we had a good time. We also got some good loot out of the deal

Peace, CG

Osea, ya tienen luz para ver a donde van??

Those are indeed good news. Hope the hurricane didn't batter you folks that much!

Thanks Mavi,

We were very lucky. We live in the Southwestern suburbs so apart from a few roof shingles, we had no damage. In fact, we got our power back on Sunday night so we were only without electricity for one night. Much to her credit, my wife took her first hurricane calmy in stride. I thought she would be nervous and scared, but she was as cool as a cucumber.

Peace,

CG

JuanCa,

Felicitaciones hermano!!! Me alegra mucho que ya haya acabado la odisea por la que los hicieron pasar. Espero que pronto este tu querida esposa contigo y puedan disfrutar mucho. Mi doñita lleva casi un mes aqui y andamos muy contentos. Si pasan por Houston, déjame saber y los sacamos a comer una rica comidita Colombiana.

Un abrazo,

CG

I wouldn't worry too much. Just be upfront about the error and explain it to them. I am not sure how they handle mispellings, but we had a problem with an incorrect wedding date on our marriage certificate and the embassy didn't even blink about it.

We were married on a Monday that was a national holiday in Colombia. The notario in San Andres put the next day a as the wedding day and refused to change it. Per USCIS advice, we put the correct date on all our forms. I added an adendum to my packets explaining the situation and it never caused any problems at USCIS or the embassy.

Eman, Don't sweat this too much. At the Banco de Credito on Cra 7 and 116, they have a girl who helps you fill out the form. If you have questions, just leave those blank and ask her what to put there. They also have a big diagram on the wall explaining how to fill out the form.

Hi Folks,

The banco de credito is giving me conflicting information. I wonder if someone from the Colombia Club can help with these questions regarding the DS-156 and they are as follows:

1) Question 1 =Number of the passport = red? number on 1st page of passport (starts with 2 letters and 6 numbers) or the passport number on the bio page (banco de credito says no to this)

2) Question 6 -surname include second name.? (Passport has second name while the G-325, I129F and DS-230 do not). Banco de credito says to include full name on passport even though the other forms do not.

3) Question 37 = do I need to fill out question 37 for Husband/wife & son/daughter if the beneficiary does not have any.

4) Do I need to submit this form in english and from the website? The Banco de Credito says to submit it it hand written and in spanish (no barcode created from website).

Thanks for your help!

Ha Ha. Yep. I'm sure she has the poor guy shoveling snow all winter

Thanks for the info Kelvin,

I like Orbitel because it is low hassle and I don't have to be tied to my PC. I looked into that service you mention, but I think there were some limitations on the cities in Colombia you could call. My wife did not live in one of the major cities.

We are actually sending her family Magic Jacks so they can have US phone numbers. You can't beat $20 a year. We have unlimited plans for our cell phones so it will essentially be free to call them or for them to call us.

Peace,

CG

Very true Mavi. It seems that no matter how much I pig out in Colombia, I never gain weight. In addition to the differences in food, I also walk around a lot more down there so I suppose that helps.

Peace,

CG

Thanks Mavi and Diana,

I am a bit concerned about the seemingly incorrect POE process. I hope it doesn't bite us on the ### during AOS.

There is so much to do, I am tired just thinking about everything. She will be starting intensive English classes soon as her English is not that great so we need to register for those. She says she doesn't want a cell phone, yet she uses mine so much to call her family in Colombia that I had to add all their numbers to my speed dial. She is getting one tonight! We are sending her parents a Magic Jack so I don't go bankrupt on Orbitel bills. We also need to go to two different banks, the notary, etc. I need a nap.

Luckily, there are lots of places to get Colombian food here. Much to my delight, we found Arepas de Yuca, so I am going to scarf some down at lunch. Speaking of food, I hope she never gets used to the portion sizes. I like that she ended up having to hit up the teens section to get a good variety of clothes that fit her. She told me she was a size six in Colombia, but here it seems to be a size zero to two or even a 14 to 16 in the kids section.

Peace,

CG

- Do you have any advice on a good place to stay? I have kept links of places from previous months / years, but has anyone found recently any nice, cozy, cheap, clean, close to the embassy (you know what I mean) place to stay?

JuanK

Congrats on the interview date. I'm glad to see that you finally have an end in sight. As far as a place to stay, I would not put so much emphasis on staying close to the embassy. First off, it is not a particularly good neighborhood. It isn't terrible, but it certainly isn't the safest and there is really no reason to stay that close to the embassy. There is nothing of importance in that area besides the embassy itself. Since you have to be there so early, you really won't have any hassles with traffic. I am partial to Northern Bogota since that is where my family has always lived.

We stayed at the apartments managed by www.FernandoSuites.com and were very pleased. They cost $90,000 COP a night for a nice one bedroom apartment in a nice, much safer area close to good dining, shopping and entertainment. They are private apartments that you don't share with anyone and they have all the amenities you'd expect including WiFi, satellite TV and a full kitchen. Also, it is very close to Dr Roa's office and one of the banks that can accept your visa fee payments. It is on Calle 116 at Cra 22 and is close to Autopista del Norte and the Transmilenio. It took us less than 10 minutes to get to the embassy on our interview day.