Colombia Club

[Bill y Bella 0]

Hi Gang.

I am looking for some creative ideas how to document novia was in Bogota the same time I was. I have plenty of documentation that I was there such as airplane tickets, boarding passes, passport stamps & atm receipts. Unfortunately I don't have much for her. To tell the truth, my mind was on proving that I was there and I sort of forgot about her.

I paid for everything while we were there. She did pay for her airplane tickets from Cucuta and she is trying to recreate her receipt. Unfortunately the boarding passes were thrown away.

We have pictures of course, but I am trying to come up with some more primary evidence for her.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[KathyB 0]

Hello Kurios,

For what it's worth, my fiance lives in Armenia. I met him in Armenia in April of last year and had no documentation that I actually travelled to Armenia, just my passport stamps and airline receipt to Bogota. In September, he came to Bogota. And I only submitted evidence that I travelled to Bogota: boarding passes, passport stamps. I gave no documentation that he was in Bogota. We were approved with no RFE.

Good luck!

[KathyB 0]

Hi all,

One question from me...for now. Do any of the DAS certificates need an apostille?

Thanks!

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Hi all,

One question from me...for now. Do any of the DAS certificates need an apostille?

Thanks!

Kurios - if she flew Avianca, just have her go to one of the Avianca ticket offices and they can print a copy of her ticket/flight information. They did that for my wife.

Kathy - The DAS certificates do NOT have to be apostilled. One of the DAS certificates will be given in a sealed envelope (can't recall which one) - just don't open it.

Mike

[Bill y Bella 0]

Mike & Kathy,

Thanks for your help!

[Yadira's Man 0]

GOOD NEWS TODAY.. MY WIFE YADIRA WAS APPROVED FOR K-3 VISA TODAY!!!

ALOT PEOPLE WERE DENIED. YOU MUST HAVE YOUR PAPERS IN ORDER AND ALSO SHOW PROOF OF A REAL MARRIAGE. IF ANYBODY IS IN COLOMBIA AND HAS AN INTERVIEW TOMORROW YOU ALL CAN CALL ME ON MY CELL PHONE NUMBER IN COLOMBIA WHICH IS

310-352-5390.. FOR SOME TIPS...

WE ARE SO HAPPY!!!!

[Yadira's Man 0]

A mistake of the my cell number in Colombia = 310-353-9250

THIS IS THE RIGHT NUMBER.. 310-353-9250

[Bill y Bella 0]

A mistake of the my cell number in Colombia = 310-353-9250

THIS IS THE RIGHT NUMBER.. 310-353-9250

Congratulations Yadira & Man!

I hope you will post the details of the interview questions when you get some time.

[Bill y Bella 0]

I have a few questions regarding the K-1 visa process in Colombia.

1. Does the Embassy in Bogota request 1 year of tax returns for the I-134 Affidavit of Support or 3? My two oldest tax returns will show no income. My most recent return will show plenty of income and I can document money in the bank and current employment. Should I expect a problem?

2. My fiancee is a single mother with a 4 month old child. I am not the father and there is no father on the birth certificate. Should we expect a lot of hard questions regarding this in the interview? And what about getting through Colombia emigration after the visa is issued? I know that Colombia requires the permission of the father and mother before they will allow a child to leave the country but in this situation there is no documented father.

I welcome any input. Thanks for your help!

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Here are my thoughts:

1. The official packet 4 instructions only specific the most recent year. I provided three years. You also want to provide a letter from your employer stating your job title, salary, status (full-time/part-time), etc. As long as you meet minimum poverty level standards, there is no need to provide information about assets. I provided copies of bank statements, etc., but they were not necessary.

2. Based on folks in the "business," I am afraid to say that you are likely going to have some serious inquiries. First, you are applying for a K-1....that already makes it tough. Second, your fiance has a 4 month old by some other guy.....so I would expect them to really press you on the nature of your relationship. In expecting the questions, do the math related to the child and put yourself in the interviewer's shoes. Their job is to weed out immigration fraud...so be prepared to document your relationship thoroughly.

Assuming the K-1 goes through....then I think you need to see a lawyer regarding the child situation. My wife's lawyer drafted a legal document for my step-daugther's father to sign in order to get her out of the country. I suspect you'll need to document that your fiance has done some sort of diligence to determine a father...or that a father has given up his rights. I can see this as a problem...as DAS gave my wife a hard time....and she had the legal document. On second thought, perhaps you need to see a COlombian lawyer about this now.

I know some of my responses sound a little harsh, but I am trying to be honest with you.

Good luck,

Mike

I have a few questions regarding the K-1 visa process in Colombia.

1. Does the Embassy in Bogota request 1 year of tax returns for the I-134 Affidavit of Support or 3? My two oldest tax returns will show no income. My most recent return will show plenty of income and I can document money in the bank and current employment. Should I expect a problem?

2. My fiancee is a single mother with a 4 month old child. I am not the father and there is no father on the birth certificate. Should we expect a lot of hard questions regarding this in the interview? And what about getting through Colombia emigration after the visa is issued? I know that Colombia requires the permission of the father and mother before they will allow a child to leave the country but in this situation there is no documented father.

I welcome any input. Thanks for your help!

[Bill y Bella 0]

Mike,

Thanks for your response. And no need to apologize for being "harsh". I believe my circumstances warrant some candid observations and I really appreciate you taking time to post your thoughts.

The more I think about our situation the more I realize that we might be in for a tough time obtaining a fiancee visa. I will consult with a US immigration attorney next week to discuss our options. My guess is I will need to marry her in Colombia, adopt the child and then apply for the visa. I would be glad to do it but I hate to think about how much time that will take. In any case, I think the best strategy is to first determine what we need to do to obtain the visa and then proceed accordingly.

Does anyone have any experience adopting a child in Colombia after marrying the single Colombian parent? I can find lots of information regarding US couples adopting Colombian orphans, but nothing that relates to my situation.

As always, I welcome any input.

Kurios

Here are my thoughts:

1. The official packet 4 instructions only specific the most recent year. I provided three years. You also want to provide a letter from your employer stating your job title, salary, status (full-time/part-time), etc. As long as you meet minimum poverty level standards, there is no need to provide information about assets. I provided copies of bank statements, etc., but they were not necessary.

2. Based on folks in the "business," I am afraid to say that you are likely going to have some serious inquiries. First, you are applying for a K-1....that already makes it tough. Second, your fiance has a 4 month old by some other guy.....so I would expect them to really press you on the nature of your relationship. In expecting the questions, do the math related to the child and put yourself in the interviewer's shoes. Their job is to weed out immigration fraud...so be prepared to document your relationship thoroughly.

Assuming the K-1 goes through....then I think you need to see a lawyer regarding the child situation. My wife's lawyer drafted a legal document for my step-daugther's father to sign in order to get her out of the country. I suspect you'll need to document that your fiance has done some sort of diligence to determine a father...or that a father has given up his rights. I can see this as a problem...as DAS gave my wife a hard time....and she had the legal document. On second thought, perhaps you need to see a COlombian lawyer about this now.

I know some of my responses sound a little harsh, but I am trying to be honest with you.

Good luck,

Mike

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Kurios:

OK. After responding to Kurios last night, I spoke to my Colombian wife about the situation. She tells me that it is actually quite common for birth certificates in Colombia to lack the father's name. This can be for a variety of reasons: 1) Not sure the name of the father due to a rape situation (I drugging of drinks is common in some of the clubs); 2) Father refuses to acknowledge the child; or 3) Mother (and her family) do not want the father to be involved. In fact, my wife has a friend whose father PAID the guy who impregnated her NOT to put his name on the birth certificate.

That said, my wife believes that DAS will not be surprised by the child having a birth certificate with no father listed. In fact, she believes that if you present a notarized copy of the birth certificate (showing no father) to DAS at the airport when departing....your fiancee should have no problem.

Of course, I am the nervous type...so I would still have her see an attorney....but at least now you have two different persepctives.

Good luck,

Mike

Assuming the K-1 goes through....then I think you need to see a lawyer regarding the child situation. My wife's lawyer drafted a legal document for my step-daugther's father to sign in order to get her out of the country. I suspect you'll need to document that your fiance has done some sort of diligence to determine a father...or that a father has given up his rights. I can see this as a problem...as DAS gave my wife a hard time....and she had the legal document. On second thought, perhaps you need to see a COlombian lawyer about this.

[Bill y Bella 0]

Mike,

My fiancee said the same thing as your wife, as well as an attorney in Colombia. But it is getting approved by the embassy that is my primary worry. I know if I was the officer evaluating the application that I would have a lot of questions.

Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it!

Kurios

Kurios:

OK. After responding to Kurios last night, I spoke to my Colombian wife about the situation. She tells me that it is actually quite common for birth certificates in Colombia to lack the father's name. This can be for a variety of reasons: 1) Not sure the name of the father due to a rape situation (I drugging of drinks is common in some of the clubs); 2) Father refuses to acknowledge the child; or 3) Mother (and her family) do not want the father to be involved. In fact, my wife has a friend whose father PAID the guy who impregnated her NOT to put his name on the birth certificate.

That said, my wife believes that DAS will not be surprised by the child having a birth certificate with no father listed. In fact, she believes that if you present a notarized copy of the birth certificate (showing no father) to DAS at the airport when departing....your fiancee should have no problem.

Of course, I am the nervous type...so I would still have her see an attorney....but at least now you have two different persepctives.

Good luck,

Mike

Assuming the K-1 goes through....then I think you need to see a lawyer regarding the child situation. My wife's lawyer drafted a legal document for my step-daugther's father to sign in order to get her out of the country. I suspect you'll need to document that your fiance has done some sort of diligence to determine a father...or that a father has given up his rights. I can see this as a problem...as DAS gave my wife a hard time....and she had the legal document. On second thought, perhaps you need to see a COlombian lawyer about this.

[OjosAzules 0]

Kurios, In response to your earlier question about how to document you were in the same place at the same time, check your receipts.....

What I mean by that is that when you pay for something with a credit card sometimes they will ask for the cedula number. Because you don't have a cedula, your fiance might have offered hers. That will mean the receipt will show your credit card number and her cedula number. The system might even pull up her name from the cedula number automatically and put it on the receipt.

We had this happen purely by accident when we were looking through receipts. To everyone else who would like to create a goo piece of proof separate from boarding passes and hotels, try that trick next time. It lets you place yourself together at a specific moment in time in a specific place.

Just ask the waiter at the restaurant to add her cedula number and pay with your credit card.

[Jay1234 2]

Just a hello to everyone. I am new to the Colombia Club. Want to say thanks for all the information and good luck to all on here.