jacoman

Hello everyone,

My wife and I were married in Colombia in 2007, have a 2-year old son who was born in Colombia and have now been in the US living together for 18 months with our son since going through the Direct Consular Filing for my wife in Jan 2008. Upon arriving in the US we were told that she would need to apply for permanent residence before her 2-year anniversary (Apr 2010). What do we need to do and what papers should we be ready to present so that she might become a permanent resdient?

Thanks,

Jaco and Andrea

My wife's visa appointment is in Bogota on March 14, 2008. I would like to be able to have my wife's mother come and visit us in the U.S. 6 months from now. What paperwork do I need to present to sponsor her for a 1 month visit? Just the I-134? Or do i need to do more? Are these types of visas less complicated? Or have they gotten stricter?

Will this require a minimum of 2 visits to the US Embassy? (1)Initial appointment, (2)visa stamp.

Thanks for your help. Any info appreciated.

Jaco

Hello All,

I am currently in the process of applying for the CR-1 visa for my Colombian wife. I would like to be able to invite my Colombian wife's mother to come and visit us for a month (6 months after we have relocated back to the US). Do I need to initiate a separate process for her? Or can I include her in the I-864 Affadavit of Support that I am currently filling out for my wife's immigration visa?

Thanks for any help,

Jaco

Hi folks,

I am currently living in Colombia with my wife and going through the CR-1 visa process. We are expecting packet 3 anyday from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

While living in Colombia I have maintained a mailing address in Florida with my parents. For instance my bank statements and tax documents go to this addresss. Is this enough to qualify as meeting the domicile requirement in filing form I-864 Affadavit of Support? I also have a job offer from a company in Miami to show sufficient income. Do I need to go to Miami and find an apartment and sign a lease before I can file the form I-864 and meet the domicile requirement or can I use my parents mailing address?

thanks for your help,

Jaco

Hello All,

I am currently filling out the "DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration" for my Colombian wife as part of the CR1 process.

In question 13 it asks for her present address. We are still living together at the address listed on each of our G-325's. However when they process this application (3 to 4 months from now) we will not be living together at this address as I will be in the US and she will be temporarily living with her mother. Don't I want to put her mother's address as this is where they will send the interview packet? If, not how will they know where to send the interview packet?

Thanks for help always,

Jaco

Hello All,

I am filling out the G-325 and am unsure of how to list my Residence for the last 5 years. The reason why? I have lived outside the US since Oct 2005 travelling around South America. During this time I have used my parents address in Florida as my US mailing address. However, I have also lived in Colombia for over 1-1/2 years at a fixed address.

For Applicant's Residence for Last Five Years: Do I list only my US addresses showing Florida from Oct 2005 to present? Or do I put something like:

Location----------------------------------Date

Popayan, Colombia---------------------June 2006 to Present

Travelling in South America------------Oct 2005 to June 2006

Somewhere, USA------------------------July 2002 to Oct 2005

Thanks for the advice,

Jaco

As usual, our man Pushbrk is correct. I didn't mean to imply that you could file for K-3 using DCF. The DCF route results in a CR1/IR1 visa. This is a better visa anyway.

Thanks Pushbrk and ColombiaGringo,

I will keep everyone informed of my case and what they tell me

jacoman,

How long have you been living in Colombia? If you are a resident there, you may be able to pursue the DCF (Direct Consular Filing) route. You may want to inquire about this as it is supposedly a lot faster. There is a DCF forum on VJ which may be of use to you.

ColombiaGringo,

Thanks alot for the advice. I just got off the phone with the Embassy in Bogota and a woman told me that if I can prove that I have lived here in Colombia for over a year (which I have) that I can process my wife's K3 visa in Bogota instead of sending it through the (slow boat to China) slow US process. Since I will need to schedule an appointment to naturalize our son (foreign-born citizen) at the Embassy in Bogota I am hoping that I can also submit the paperwork for the K3 before we go to Bogota. I need to call back tomorrow to get more details. Keeping my fingers crossed that we can do everything here in Colombia. Would save alot of time and hassles.

Thanks for the potentially great advice,

Jaco

pushbrk, yes, I am reading about the I-129. thanks for your help and patience.

I-129F is a dual purpose form.... Q18 is for the K-1... for K-3 the answer is N/A because you are petitioning for your spouse not your fiance(e)

Thanks fwaguy. Are you from Minnesota?

da.... for all but 3 or so yrs of my life...

I graduated from the U of M in civil engineering. Lived there for more than 10 years. However, since I had to leave to find my beautiful latin wife. I miss hockey big time. You married a Russian lady?

I-129F is a dual purpose form.... Q18 is for the K-1... for K-3 the answer is N/A because you are petitioning for your spouse not your fiance(e)

Thanks fwaguy. Are you from Minnesota?

Ok,

I have this question on the I-129:

18. Has your fiancé(e) met and seen you within the two-year period immediately receding the filing of this petition?

My answer is YES! We were married in September and are still living together in Colombia this moment as I fill out this form.

Do I need to attach a statement of how we met? Or is it standard to just fill in the box below the question with:

"My wife and I were introduced by a mutual friend here in Popayan, Colombia in June 2006".

Any ideas if I should elaborate more or attach an official statement at the end of the I-129?

Thanks,

Jaco

I am currently in the process of filing the I-130 for my Colombian wife. We were married here in Colombia a few months ago. I am using my last name instead of hers on the I-130 form. Does the fact that we are married (here in Colombia, not yet official in the US) give me thr right to use her last name on the form I-130?

Assuming it is official in Columbia, what makes you believe that the marriage is not yet official in the US?

OK, I raise my hand in admitting I posted twice. I have decided to use my wife's maiden name on all documents to avoid any hassles. Thank you all for kind advice.

Hello All,

My Colombian wife and I were married here in Colombia 3 months ago.

I am currently completing the I-129 as part of the K3 process (I-130 already submitted).

Since the I-129 (K1 visa) is for single couples intending to get married I have a question.

In line 6 (marital staus), do I state I'm single as well as for my wife even though we are married to each other? How about the accompanying G-325a. Do we state we are single or married? This is confusing!

Any help appreciated,

Jaco

I am currently in the process of filing the I-130 for my Colombian wife. We were married here in Colombia a few months ago. I am using my last name instead of hers on the I-130 form. Does the fact that we are married (here in Colombia, not yet official in the US) give me thr right to use her last name on the form I-130?

Also in filling out the G-325a Biographical Information should I use her maiden name only, since the G-325a will be used in the future for the form I-129 (which assumes we aren't married yet?

All help appreciated

Hello All,

I am currently filing out the I-130 form for myself and my Colombian wife. We were married at a notary here in Colombia on September 21, 2007. The marriage documents were filled out and signed by my Colombian wife using her maiden name and supporting documents with her maiden name. Does the fact that we are officially married allow me to put my last name instead of hers on the I-130 where it asks for her last name? Or do I need to change her last name (to my last name) by a court order or some other measure before I am allowed to assign her my last name on the I-130 form?

Any help highly appreciated,

Jaco