buck501

Thanks to all!! As usual this is the best place to get accurate info!!

Hi All

It has been a while since I have posted here, you were all a great help thoughout the whole visa process. My wife is noe ready to apply for citizenship. Her son, who is 16 yeares old has his 10 year GC also.

My question. I could not find anywhere on the USCS site about him getting his citizenship along with her. I thought for some reason that if he was undwe 18 he would automaticly become a citizen. I askes a lawyer and he said that her son would have to wait until he was 18 and then apply. That does not make sense to me. Any input? Thank you

Hello Club Colombia!

It's been a long time since I have been active in the forums. I can see that Diana is still graciously helping everyone in the process.

How's everyone? lucho, buck, diana and Nydia.

Monica and I sent the I-751 Removal of Conditions yesterday. I can't believe it's almost two years of residency for her, plus the arrival of our son Ethan.

And oh, belated Happy 2010!!!!

Hi Chester, all is good here. Moved to South Florida, love it. Check was cashed for ROC March 5th. I hope this is not a pain like everything else. I am dreading going to Miami for the Bio Metrics. I have heard it is a very busy place.

De acuerdo!!! haha

From what I read, the letters are not required but are probably a good idea. We wrote a letter for a couple we met in Bogota when we were having the visa interview. Lorena talks to the Colombian half of the couple at least once a week by phone so we keep up with them and can vouch for the marriage - even though we live several hundred miles apart. Maybe your lovely wife could talk with Lorena about doing this (we might ask the same!). We do have a variety of friends here that can vouch for our marriage. These friends developed through work, school and church, though none of them are "buddy buddy" with us. Some of the closest friends we have kind of fall into the groups you mentioned. However, I would think that anyone here as a legal resident would be qualified to testify to the validity of your marriage.

Keep in touch!

Charles

Well Charles I am plenty willing to "scratch your back" if you scratch mine, ours I should say. Paola's phone gave up on her and I am not sure she has Lorena's number anymore. PM me with your email addy and phone number and we can talk about it. Thank you

Hello all! (at least I hope some are still monitoring this...lol)

We are approaching the time to renew Lorena's 'green card' at the two year threshold. She is wanting to go visit her family in Colombia after school is out in May. Our 90-day renewal window will begin in June (renewal date is in September). Question is this... Does she need to be present in the country when the renewal is reviewed? I don't know if there will be another interview or what. Any guidance on this will be appreciated.

Charles

Hi Charles. I have the same questions as you. We will be able to submit our docs on Feb 6th.

One big question I have is...........The affidavit letters, are they absolutly nessecary? We are living in our 3rd state since she arrived. OR, WA and now FL. It is not that we do not have any friends but we do not have any friends that we hang out with on a regular basis. I work from home so I do not have any daily interaction with people at work. Most all the people we have know or know now are immigrants, not US citizens or just plain illegal. I really do not think it will be possible for us to get those 2 letters. Asking someone in OR to write one and then take it to be notorized will not be very high on thier priority list and the odds of them following through would be next to none.

Thanks for any info. As with everything else in this whole process that started years ago, I will be glad when this is over!!!

WOW. it has been a long time since I have checked in on this site. We have moved from Seattle to South Florida. We got an opportunity to stop and see Charles and Lorena on our wayaccroos the country. GREAT to meet you Charles. Lorena came to visit us last week while here.

I am not going to offer any advice as I am the last person to give good advice. Paola and I get along very good, I have problems with her son from time to time, mostly cultural stuff. Since moving here we go fishing a lot togeather, just him and I. That has made a difference. Really, in the end, I am the stinker to deal with. LOL>LOL. Set in my ways, like to have everything in order and well planned out, be on time ect. Paola and Elvin are the exact opposite.

Charles I hope everything works out for you. It was nice meeting you and the family. Lorena's mother is a real sweetheart.

You will get NOAs for both, the AR-11 and the I-865 so keep those handy just in case.

Thanks. I will be sooooooooo glad when all this over!!!

Diana

When I did the AR-11 for the 3 in my house we got nothing in the mail. I got the receipt for my I-865 and then a receipt for the son my husband has an I-130 waiting for. Odd.

Hey Diana, I am in my window but do not have the funds, however I have 100's of pages ready to go

We are moving soon. I looked and found the I-865 form.....Notice of sponser change of address that asked info on me (sponser) and then asked for the info on my wife and her son. There is another form that is for the perment resident (wife and son), I-11 or sometning like that. Does any one know if we need to submit both or will the I-865 do? Thank you.

Another question. Since my wife came before her son (now 14), she will be elgible for the Lifting of Conditions before him by about 6 months. Can we apply for the lifting of conditions for him at the same time as Paola, or do we need to wait until 90 days before his card expires to file? I have looked for the answer to both these questions and dang if I can find it. GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Time flys by quickly!!! I'm sure that some here are getting close to the 10 year GC process (I-751). I have been doing some reading a head and want to make sure I understand correctly.

Apply for removal of conditions 1 year and 9 months from the date of issue of GC or 3 months prior to the experation of the 2 year GC. Correct?

Under a K1 visa application for citizenship is 3 years from the date of the marriage. Correct?

That is a bit of a bummer cuz those dates are close to each other, have to pay more fees and go thru more hassel with immigration.

It has been a while since I have posted but have kept up with the site as a lurker. Things are going good for us. Paola's english is comming along good. She should be able to become employed as fobotomis (sp), thats a blood sucking, urine extracting position in a clinic by this fall and be able to continue to attend nursing school.

We most likley will be moving to southern Florida by August which will be a huge improvement weather wise for her and her son. They are not fond of the Seattle weather.

Hi Buck!

Nice to see you around here again. We're also filing to remove conditions in July so I'll be posting the process for all others if they want to read it.

Yes, you need to file 3 months before her green card expires. That way you'll have her NOA in hand while her paperwork is approved. That NOA can be used as proof of her legal status even if her green card has expired.

She can file for US Citizenship 3 years after her first green card was issued, not from the date of marriage.

Diana

Thanks, as usual you are in the know!!!!!

Time flys by quickly!!! I'm sure that some here are getting close to the 10 year GC process (I-751). I have been doing some reading a head and want to make sure I understand correctly.

Apply for removal of conditions 1 year and 9 months from the date of issue of GC or 3 months prior to the experation of the 2 year GC. Correct?

Under a K1 visa application for citizenship is 3 years from the date of the marriage. Correct?

That is a bit of a bummer cuz those dates are close to each other, have to pay more fees and go thru more hassel with immigration.

It has been a while since I have posted but have kept up with the site as a lurker. Things are going good for us. Paola's english is comming along good. She should be able to become employed as fobotomis (sp), thats a blood sucking, urine extracting position in a clinic by this fall and be able to continue to attend nursing school.

We most likley will be moving to southern Florida by August which will be a huge improvement weather wise for her and her son. They are not fond of the Seattle weather.

A little off the AOS subject but this is where the "salts of the sea" are so I thought I would post here. If you think it would be better to post in another section let me know.

Paola and I did the K1 visa. So I am not real informed on getting married in Colombia.

A friend of mine is getting married to a gal in Panama. She is a Panamamainan citizen. I know the requirements may be a little different but, for those of you that were married in Colombia, what all was required? I went to the Panama Embassy site, they have a list of requirements that does not seem complete. No mention of divorce docs from past marraiges. Some medical stuff required and proof of identity but that is about it. Seems to easy. Thanks for your help.

Buck,

Each country is different so he needs to check with local authorities to see what is needed to get married in Panama. As far as getting married in Colombia this is what they need:

- Photocopy of birth certificate issued in the last 3 months.

- Photocopy of passport

- Declaration of bachelorhood

- Marriage certificate of any previous marriages

- Sworn affidavit specifying if any children were born during previous marriage(s)

- Divorce decree or death certificate if previously married.

All documents or copies need to be either original or certified copies, translated and apostilled.

If he wants to get married in a Catholic church other documents will be needed.

Diana

Thanks Diana.

A little off the AOS subject but this is where the "salts of the sea" are so I thought I would post here. If you think it would be better to post in another section let me know.

Paola and I did the K1 visa. So I am not real informed on getting married in Colombia.

A friend of mine is getting married to a gal in Panama. She is a Panamamainan citizen. I know the requirements may be a little different but, for those of you that were married in Colombia, what all was required? I went to the Panama Embassy site, they have a list of requirements that does not seem complete. No mention of divorce docs from past marraiges. Some medical stuff required and proof of identity but that is about it. Seems to easy. Thanks for your help.

WOW!! Been a while since I have posted. Our sons interview for his green card was last Wednesday. The CO decided we needed a Civil Surgen t approve of his vaccinations. Man, I tell ya, it never ends. We seem to have to do everything twice.

We moved to the Seattle area and have had some problems adjusting. Paola is in school for english and taking some medical stuff as well. She had a job for about 1.5 hours and then lost it due to not speaking english well enough. Don't know why they hired her in the first place. Her english has really improved though. By this time next year she should be able to enter nursing school. She wants to drive also. This is one heck of a place to learn.

She wants a job bad. When we moved up here she left all her friends behind. Our son is doing ok but not making many friends. His english is improving but has trouble communicating. Many of the spanish speakers are druggies or gang members. They kind of have there own little group. New for me comming from a small town. He has found a few to hang out with though that are good kids.

The apartment we are renting got broken into and they took everything, including our food. Paola says Seattle is worse then Colombia. LOL>LOL. Needless to say Paola not real thrilled with Seattle.

Overall things are good. I do get pissed at our son from time to time. Mostley culture stuff and problem with good communication. I think I may push to hard.

It has been a while since I have posted. Sounds like things are moving along for folks, some slower then others.

I made a mistake when I did not bring Paola's son to the US with her at the same time. We recieved notice that he has to have an interview for his GC. They will not let me inturpet for him. I will need to figure out where to get someone for that task.

I should back up some..................I have sold my biz, moved to the Seattle area. We had Paola's interview in Oregon where we were told that we would not need another interview for her son. He is 14 years old. Now I have to provide all the same info as before. Proof of marriage, divorce papers, bank statements ect. I took some time off after selling the biz in March. I have got a job as of the 1st of Aug. Not much employment history and no income for April thru Aug. We were told they will not accept the money I recieve from the sale of my biz as proof of support. Sheesh, he is fourteen. What are they going to do, send him back to Colombia to live on the streets? In the mean time Paola's application for the 10 year GC is comming up in 9 months. More hassel I spose.

Good luck Charles!!!! No worries. It is just another formality.

A word of caution for the Biometrics.

The invite letter states that if you have open wounds or bandaged wounds you may be requested to make another appointment.................................our son broke his arm, his arm is in a cast.............guess what? Need to reschedule the appointment. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. We can do a walk in though so not to bad. We will return after he gets the cast off in about 3 weeks. This will be our third biometrics appointment for him due to a screw up on their part. I am not sure why we were not able to complete the appointment. They seemed to think that he would not be able to give the finger prints properly. All his fingers are exposed and he can move them freely. Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I will be so happy when all this ends for good...............years from now. LOL>LOL.

Charles, Are your sure it is really necessary to have those chat transcripts and emails translated? The embassy appointment instructions specifically state "Translations are NOT required for documents written in Spanish or English." (caps in original) I don't see why they would want correspondence translated when they don't require it for official documents.

Diana, I guess I will print out some of the actual emails in addition to the lists just to be safe.

Thanks to both of you,

CG

CG,

The only things that need to be translated when going to the embassy are any documents that are in French, Italian, Chinese or any other language not in English or Spanish. All of our e-mails, chats, letters and other documents were all in Spanish and we didn't have any problems since the people at the embassy are fluent in both languages. And by this I mean the COs, not too sure about the witches at the first windows though.

Diana

All of our eviedence was in English. No problem. The witch, and I do mean W-I-T-C-H at the first window did not asked for any of the evidence stuff. Only the requiered docs for the visa. I do not think they have the power to deny your interview. It may be possible if you are lacking many of the docs. We were missing one doc that got us turned down by the CO. The witch told us we were missing it, acting as though we were completly stupid, threw all the papers back at us and told us to go the interview windows where we were asked for the missing doc. We got that and no problem, got the visa.

Paola traveled on her AP prior to recieving the GC. I bought the tickets in her maiden name, that matched her passport. The AP was in her married name. I sent along a certified copy of our mariae certificate as well as her apps for the GC. She did not have any problems. The only issue that came up was when she returned to Houston POE. They wanted both copies of the AP, she had only one. When we went for the AOS interview the CO also asked why we did not have a copy of the AP with some kind of stamp on it. It was all cleared up after some disscussion between folks at the POE. I would advise taking both copies. I have not seen where that it required but, it must be.

Poala recieved a new I-94 when she re-enterd the US.

colombianogringo You helped me earlier am I right about the fax and sending everything. My lawyer has me thinking I have doubts. She says she will get a letter from NVC (packet 3) from them to respond. If she does not have it she will not send. I owe her @$1000 I think I it will be hell to pay right now.

Your lawyer is only a help when the docs are in the US. Once the papers are in Bogota your lawyer is useless, at least our's was. I would not wait for any papers to arrive. You can get it all and send it in. We did not ever recieve Pkt 3 or Pkt 4. Why the Embassy insists on sending them by mail in a country that does not have a mail systems is beyond comprehention. The docs you need for Pkt 3 are going to be gatherd in Colombia. Some take time to get. I would get started on that now and submit them as soon as you have them. Our lawyer did eventually recieve Pkt 3. I never did and niether did Paola.

Today May 19 was our interview in San Francisco.

We had to bring an interpreter just in case I was not allowed to translate, it was the good move.

Our appointment was at 8:15 AM and we arrived about 20 minutes early. It was hassle free getting into the building and to the reception area. We were called around 8:30 by the officer and she accommodated us inside her office. The only thing she asked for was: your current address, current phone number, your SSN and and am I still employed. She went to ask about 3-4 questions in the 485 -"are you planning on doing terrorism, have you received any financial support from the government, have you trafficked drugs"

Although we were approved, I would ADVISE and CAUTION those who used the Dr in Texas for "vaccination supplement". She raised eyebrows when she said that you live in California and you had a medical in Austin? After explaining my reason why I did what I did, she asked us to sign and date a sworn statement that said "my medical was completed, but never did I meet this doctor, go to office or examined by this doctor, and that business was conducted by mail". She said that we are approved but, we might get a call from State and Federal officials regarding the practice of doing mail vaccination supplements.

My argument was each of the local Civil Surgeons wanted a FULL physical and cost about $400. I did the mail method for convenience and believed that the instructions in the I-485 said, K1s who had physicals within the last year only need to submit vaccination supplements and not to a full physical. Her argument was that, a doctor who signs the paper, certifies that he/she has examined the patient.

She was really nice and was very thorough. En fin, we'll be waiting for the GC in the mail. She kept the I-94 and EAD card, and she wrote a few numbers on top of the K1 visa.

Thank you Club Colombia! It's been a journey and if had to do it again, I would without a doubt!

I'll always be around for any questions. Monica is active in the Spanish forum for K1 and AOS. If you need us, do not hesitate to drop us a message.

Congrats!!! It amazes me how different the interviews are both here and in Colombia. The good thing is the results seem to be the same!!

Our interview was a cake walk in Bogota, no questions to speak of, less then 5 min. The AOS interview was about 45 min and a real grilling. Paola has her GC in hand though.

Buck501 I noticed in your timeline your fiance went to the embassy and picked up packet 4 at the embassy. My fiance lives in Bogota and the NVC has our application now I believe (I will call latter today) since we were approved by the USCIS on May 12th. We will use the shortcut once we know the embassy has our application. My question is can my fiance still go to the embassy to pick up packet 4 rather than waiting for it to be mailed? Also when would she go to the embassy for the packet 4? I think that is the one that has the official interview letter No?

Yes you can pick up Pkt 4 at the Embassy. The invitation letter is the only important part, the rest you can gather from this site.

You will need to call the embassy to pick it up in person. When Paola got hers she could only get it on Thursdays at 4:00pm. Things change so often that I hesitate to give advice. You can call the nEmbassy though. I would recommend it even though your novia lives in Bogota where they have a mail system of sorts. The more you can control the process the better!!! Make your own luck!!!!

Awesome Scott... it looks like stuff is happening faster now... TODAY, not one week after receiving the CRIS email about the Card production we actually RECEIVED the darn GC... man this has been an interesting week!

GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats. Paola recieved her GC just a few days after her notice of approval. It came last Friday. I have been gone for the last 2 weeks on biz, returned home, we went on a mini vacation for a couple of days...........nice. Now, I need to get more papers for Elvin, I will be glad when this is complete.

I am off on a biz trip, Paola called and said her AOS approval came in the mail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GC to follow soon. WAHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I have calmed down now. I was pretty riled up last night. The more time that went by after the interview, the more steamed I got. I expect an approval. The age thing should not make any difference. I do understand that there are chicas that use their charm and look to dupe gringo's, and that is a concern for the CO's. However, Paola is not one of them. I am just growing weary of the whole process. An example is, how many times you have to submit the same doc's, over and over. B-certs and tax returns every time. Why can't these things follow them? Whoops, I'm starting to rant again. LOL>LOL

Wow Buck, let us know! Hopefully all turned out great and by now you're getting ready with good news. Then its a year and a half more in wait for lifting conditions!

As for the AP... I have it on me at the moment. It clearly states that its good for multiple reentries... did they try to keep it/them??

Yes they kept the one copy that she went to Colombia with. They wanted two copies, we still have the one. I have no idea if you can travel mutiple times on it, I doubt it since thyew kept the original copy. Who knows, everything is different every time. I am getting very weary of all the unexected changes with out notice or, mis information from immigration adn my lawyer. The only good and current advice seems to come from this site. Then it could change at any time. Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

The interview today............................I think it was good. We were told we would recieve a decision in 2 or 3 weeks. This seems to be another "new" thing. They do not approve on site. They review the docs and evidence and then send you the decision later. At least this has been the case with me and other clients that my lawyer has had this last week and this week. I see no reason why we should be denied.

We were asked MANY questions about how we met, when we met, the circumstances under which we met and so on. This was a grilling compared to the interview in Colombia. Also Paola was asked the usual questions about being a drug dealer, prostitute, lying to immigration, being here in the US before, aiding any other person to enter the US illegaly and so on. No big deal on any of the questions.

Paola speaks some english, not much, I speak some Spanish, not much. The CO insisted that I not inturpet for her and asked all questions in english. Some Paola did n ot understand, when I tried to tell in Spanish, I was told to not talk. This naturally created some confusion. When Paola was asked where we live, address of our house, she gave our zip code. LOL>LOL>. The CO tried to turn this around as though she did not know where we live. Sheeeeeeeeeeesh. The other wierd thing.............we brought about 50 pics, the pics were of us in Panama, Colombia and the US. When Paola came to the US she put on about 15lbs. When she went back to Colombia she lost the wieght, (tells you something about our food) in the pics the CO asked questions about her having a twin sister, because she looked different. OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Paola told her it was the camara and the way the pic was taken, (in pretty dang good english). In another pic the CO said she looked very different, her hair was not the same!!!!!!!!1??????????? #######!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I asked many questions about why it was not approved at this time and was ignored. I asked what the outcome would be if it was a denial and was told that it would go before a immigration judge and would be determined if deportation was proper or not.

In the end, I consider this to be more BS by immigration due to immigration reform. The CO's are constantly being reviewed on their decisions, and raked over the coals for the few that are wrong. If you can't tell, I am a little pissed off. There is no way my wife is going back to Colombia.

Today is the day we go for the GC interview. 1:30 pm. I am a little nervous but expect things to be ok. P aola has lost her I-94 from when she entered the US. We have copies, hope that works. She has another I-94 that she got when she returned from Colombia.

When she came back going thru Houston POE, they wanted both copies of her AP, she only had the one. Why they would requir both, I have no idea. There was a biot of a hassel but eventully she was allowed to re-enter the US.

I will post the results of her interview later today.