Colombia Club

[lucho562 0]

Rafael,

The only document that you need notarized here in the states is the I134.

The only documents that you need to be autenticada in Colombia are the Registro Civil, and all the evidence that you will be taking in place of the Partida de Bautismo.

[Entonces... 0]

Rafael,

The only document that you need notarized here in the states is the I134.

The only documents that you need to be autenticada in Colombia are the Registro Civil, and all the evidence that you will be taking in place of the Partida de Bautismo.

Thanks Lucho..You da man.

[Entonces... 0]

Hey gang,

What are the vacunas that Yuly will need? I'm going to email her now about it.

Thanks

[lucho562 0]

Td

MMR

Varicela

Those are the 3 vaccinations needed for ages 18 thru 64....(not positive if its 64 or 65). FYI, some of the vaccines need to be given in multiple doses, several weeks apart.

[Entonces... 0]

Td

MMR

Varicela

Those are the 3 vaccinations needed for ages 18 thru 64....(not positive if its 64 or 65). FYI, some of the vaccines need to be given in multiple doses, several weeks apart.

Thanks Lucho.

I going to ask her get that taken care of.

Rafael

[Entonces... 0]

Lucho,

I saw you put Td, Varicella, MMR.

but what about these others don't have to be done?

Mumps, measles, rubella, polio, tetanus and diphtheria toxoids, pertussis,

influenzae type B (HIB), Hepatitis B, Varicella, pneumococcal, and influenza.

and any word on any policies about vacunas ..I remeber you metion way back that you saw a change...

just making sure.

thanks

rafael

[HAL 9000 96]

Rafa... use the search function in this forum... the questions have been answered about half a dozen times. Thanks buddy. You guys will be OK.

[buck501 0]

I wish Chester would hurry and get sober enough to give the details of the interview!!!

[Bill y Bella 0]

I agree with Buck. Where the hell is Chester's report?

I have a question. How many copies of the Baptism certificate will we need in the long run? Obviously we need one copy for the embassy. Will we need more later? One for AOS? The US church? St Peter?

Edited September 8, 2007 by Bill y Bella

[Chester y Monica 2]

GOOD!!

Is that the I-693a?? Hopefully so...

Its nice to know one of the MDs may be catching on to correct vaccination guidelines in lieu of getting their friends hooked up for more cash.

What we have here with us is the DS-3025 that the doctor gave us. According to the assistant at the doctor's office, it's also included in the sealed envelope.

[Chester y Monica 2]

First of all, thanks to EVERYONE!

Lucho, Willie, Buck, Mike y Adriana, parkpapa, byron, diana -I'm sure I'm forgotting more, but WE are thankful for everyone's help.

Arrived in Cali the night of September 1.

First thing on Septemember 2, Sunday was go to the basilica in Guadalajara to ask Senor de Los Milagros for help.

Got on the bus from Buga to Bogota and boy WAS I SORE the entire 9 hour trip. We are staying at the same apartment that Lucho stayed, which is a VERY NICE location relative to the US Embassy.

September 3 - Went to the bank across the street to pay for the visa. They did not accept our printed copies from the US. The forms were complete, nothing was blank and nothing was wrong. The printed copies from the US embassy website were in English. The lady would not take them and gave the only reason that the barcode is only for the US embassy. Monica had to fill the forms right there at the bank. While doing so she made a mistake on my home address, this caused us to do another round of forms. This time I watched her intently. Finally, 220 mil pesos later we were done. A sticker is placed on the passport and they stamped the DS-156 with some numbers.

September 4 - LAB and Medical

That LAB is FAR! It took all 10 mil pesos to get there in the morning. We got there at around 6:50 AM and there was a line about 15 person long. The person on the front door asked for the embassy appointment letter, a photo and passport. I was not allowed inside, so I went around the corner for the panaderia. I hade some great pan de bono and cafe con leche. She was done around 9:00 AM. The reason it took that long was because the person ahead of her was going berzerk when they were about to draw blood from her. Note: No DS-156 was taken from us.

2:30 PM Appointment with the male doctor. Same procedure, I was not allowed up the waiting area. We did bring the DS-156 but the doctor did not ask for them. The assistant asked for the appointment letter, passport and the photo. The vaccination cards showing TD, MMR and Varicela were accepted by the doctor. Everything went well and we were done in about 1 1/2 hour. I was hanging out at the Kokorico next door having a Coke.

September 5 - Rest day and mental preparations begin. We were going through the sample interview questions and making sure we jive with the answers. We compiled all the necessary paperwork in the order of Packet 4. FYI - The Packet 4 that you download does NOT have the same "order of documents" that the embassy sends the beneficiary. Don't worry, the folder in the embassy will show the correct order. We arranged the evidence of relationship with tabs, highlighted pertinent information, placed some stickies to attract attention on a specific section.....

September 6 - Thursday

Got up around 4:00 AM. We walked to the embassy around 5:15 with all our paperwork. There was a line of about 10 person long when we got there. This line is against the fence, along the main road sidewalk. This is NOT the line with 1,2,3. While we were there a person came by and "advised" that photocopies of the passport page, front and pabck were needed. Monica started to worry and I told her not to listen to anybody that is not from inside the embassy without any identification. Monica was so cold that she now wears my jacket as well, to be honest I never got cold. Only at 6:00 AM that they allow you to walk past through the entry way and to the main entrance of the embassy. We separated from the pack and went to line 3. As the day went on, people started joining whatever short line there was. Around 6:45 AM, announcements were made and the people shifted around, we stood our ground, first on line 3. I find it disgusting that elderly folks with younger companions, walk up the front of the line and expect people to budge... that's another story altogether.

She was asked for what type of visa, for the appointment letter, and the DS-156. I was asked for my US passport. Green stickers were given to us and the line started to enter at 7:00 AM. We went straight to area 40. You can't miss it, the numbers are huge and there's no way to get lost. As with the experience of everyone else, a lady came by to explain the purpose of the folders and to follow the correct order.

Around 7:30 AM, Monica's name was called by the assistants and asked to go to window 30. I guess this is the lady everyone has mentioned, no smile, no salutations, frowning face. I was always about two steps behind Monica. This is where they will review the contents of the folder, look up your case from their database and verify that you are ready. What was weird here was she was asked to sign the DS-156 at this window, which all along I thought the consular officer was the one to ask this. She was asked a few questions about our relationship, where did we meet, how, when, what do I do, what does she do for a living.... Around 7:45 we were done.

The lady also asked for MY birth certificate which surprised me. I did not bring one with me, but she found the one on my 'original I-129F packet'. She returned the whole packet to me with various print outs from the USCIS.

Now the LOOONG wait begins around window 2. Around 9:00 AM fingerprints were taken. One by one names were being called to get fingerprinted. Around 9:30ish, the first round of interviews, some with the other half, some alone, some mother and daughther, some father and son. There were about 5-6 K1s that I could identify because the petitioner's were present.

Some interviews were short, some were long, some lasted 30 minutes. Some walked away smiling with the "claim slip". Some walked away with tears.... This is where Monica lost it, she saw a couple crying and she just lost it. Took a while to calm her down and set her straight again.

Interview after interview, I started to get worried past 11:00 AM. Since all the experiences I read here in VJ had their interviews done before 10:00 AM.

Finally, 1:00 PM her name was called, Window 3, a male consular office. Salutations were exchanged and she was asked for the evidence of relationship. I was right alongside her and I pulled a last minute stunt to pull the engagement ring receipt from my wallet and slip it through the window. She was asked if I was the petitioner and she said yes, afterwards I was asked to sit down and wait.

She was asked basic questions and all went smoothly, where did me meet, how, when, when did I first visit her in Colombia, how many days, when was the second time, what did I bring her when I visited, what have I bought her, when did I propose,how she feels leaving the country, how her family feels leaving them, why she wants to marry me, why does she like me , what does she do, do I send money to her, how often do I send money....

Then the consular office asked for me. Describe how we met, where we met, when was the first time I came to Colombia, where did I stay, where there any problems when I met her family, what do I do, how many times I've been to Colombia (when I answered that is is my 7th time, he smiled and said "it's true love"). When did I proposed, where, was there a ring at that time.

This is where it got dicey - He opened the DAS Record de Migratorio and found numerous travels. He placed me on mute and I can see them inside discussing about it. One woman comes over, shaking her head, another woman comes over, smiling, he's smiling. They huddled and went on like 3 minutes passing around the document.

A woman comes over, and asks that she speaks to Monica. She was grilled for her travel in Spain, numerous travels by bus into Ecuador. The consular officer was trying her best to poke holes on Monica's anwers. Why do travel so much, where were you in 2003, what did you do in Spain, then again, then again, what did you do in Ecuador, who paid for your travel, what type of work do you do.

Then the original male consular officer comes back. He asked the same questions, again, again and again.

Then he grabs the passport, paperwork and was ready to slip them back to Monica.

"Senorita" - The only thing I need from you is a Police Certificate from Ecuador.

At this point, Monica points out that we called the embassy in Cali, Bogota, called the Police dept in Quito, even asked for someone to get a Police Cert and no one would get her an concrete information. She was waving her hands, with much confidence that we did everything we could to get the cert ( this is only after learning that 6 months stay might be cumulative). She said we have a page from the Internet (http://travel.state.gov/visa/reciprocity/Country%20Folder/E/Ecuador.htm) saying that "No police records are give to foreigners residing or have resided in Ecuador". He answer's back saying "Show me." Since I am hearing all of this, I was already walking over to hand over the paper. He looked at it, smiled and said " You came prepared, huh".

He reaches for the "claim slip", Monica gives out a yelp. He says " Felicitaciones....." you are approved.

At this point, I did not see the slip, I did not know why she yelped, I can only see her smiling.

She hang up and went straight for me and tears flowed. She handed me the claim slip and I was so glad it was over. I heard a few claps from the crowd. We were on that window for 50 minutes!!!!!

That my friends is our story.

Plan A was to go to Ecuador

[Chester y Monica 2]

continued ...

Plan A was to go Ecudador and apply in person for the cert

Plan B was to have someone there do it for us

Plan C was to use the information we got from VJ showing information from travelstate.gov

That piece of paper, changed EVERYTHING!

Feel free to ask any questions. Again our endless gratitude to the VJ community and most especially Club Colombia!

Until I have the visa at hand on Monday afternoon, I won't be completely satisfied!!!!

[buck501 0]

Pardon my language Chester, that is bullshit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is our responsibility to prove the reality of the relationship. It is the responsibility of the embassy to prove fraud. Not by trying to trick you, or anybody else by trickery or getting you to make one mistake to not give the approval. It is illeagal to deny the visa without proof of fraud. They can make your life hard. You do have the right if you feel you were not treated fairly to complain about the way you were treated. Any further promotions for the CO who investigated you can be in jeoperdy if they did not treat you fairly. The CO's are americans. I am very happy for you, but, I feel you were not treated fairly. The interview should be fairly short if you have the evidence and documents in order. The US embassy in Colombia is out of order. The document that was required for Poala has never been required before. This may be required in the future but, has not been in the past. I think this is a classic example of power corrupting people who are not accountable. Again, I am very happy for you. However I do feel that many are not being treated fairly or equally at the embassy in Bogota.

If Paola is denied on the 27th of Sept. I am going to do all I can to make sure that someone will pay. We need to be on an even playing field, we should be able to complete the required documents and evidence and expect the same results. Once more............................BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We need to understand that the constituition of the US was created for us and those that want to come to the US. Thank God we have that!

[Corey3368 3]

continued ...

Plan A was to go Ecudador and apply in person for the cert

Plan B was to have someone there do it for us

Plan C was to use the information we got from VJ showing information from travelstate.gov

That piece of paper, changed EVERYTHING!

Feel free to ask any questions. Again our endless gratitude to the VJ community and most especially Club Colombia!

Until I have the visa at hand on Monday afternoon, I won't be completely satisfied!!!!

Great to hear your story and a great out come......so wy was your wife traveling so much? Just joking with you, Congrats and God Bless you both

Buck

I agree with you a hundred percent the Embassy is out of control the way they treat people. I could not believe the way my mother in law was treated at her interview for a tourist visa. I was present at her interview and it was a joke plain and simple. She is going for another interview this month. We are more prepared and hoping that makes a difference.

[Corey3368 3]

Congratulations to all the recent approvals!!!!!!!

We've been without internet service for the best part of the past month, so I've had trouble keeping up with happenings here.

A question for any of you in the AOS process (I'll ask at the Colombia AOS forum also): We sent in our AOS paperwork at the end of July - just under the wire for the rate increase. But, we have not received any confirmation, and the check has not yet been cashed. I did receive notification from the post office that the packet had been received, but nothing from USCIS. Anyone else having this experience???? A month seems like a long time to sit on the check, but then again I know they got a crush of applications at the deadline.

Ok, I'm a worrier.... but this IS important - to us, at least. ;-)

Parkpapa just had my check cashed on 09/06 so I am sure yours will be cashed any day!