Colombia Club Part II

[Robert de Bonda 3]

Congrats again...

Stay on top of them. Call NVC/DOS daily, if necessary. If you can get everything (P3) to the consulate by the 15th of next month, you should get a December appointment. You have plenty of time. I received ours on the 28th of Aug and we were able to submit Packet 3 by the 13th of Sept for the Oct interview date.

Best of luck!

Will do RYNA, how long should I give NVC to receive the petition and then how long for them to get it on to Bogota?

Already sent the DS 156 to Colombia. Will send the DS 156K, DS 230 and the DS 2100 later tonight. I know that she will have to hold off for the Case Number but I hope to get them in by the 1st week of November.

Hey 'Robert de Bonda'

AWESOME!!!

Kenny

Thanks Kenny.

Robert

Edited October 20, 2010 by Robert de Bonda

[ryna 132]

Will do RYNA, how long should I give NVC to receive the petition and then how long for them to get it on to Bogota?

Already sent the DS 156 to Colombia. Will send the DS 156K, DS 230 and the DS 2100 later tonight. I know that she will have to hold off for the Case Number but I hope to get them in by the 1st week of November.

Thanks Kenny.

Robert

Hi Robert,

If the NOA2 is dated 10/18, I'd start calling NVC as early as tomorrow and every day until they tell you it has been sent to Bogotá. Some only stay at NVC for 1 or 2 days (mine was 5, I think.) Then, wait about 3-4 days and start calling DOS to see if it has arrived in Bogotá. As soon as they say "yes" (or tell you it is OK to send P3), do so. As I mentioned, total time from NOA2 to P3 submission was about 16 days and 22 days until we had the interview date scheduled.

Good luck and have your finacee start gathering everything she can w/o having the interview letter (all but the medicals and visa payment, I think)

Edited October 20, 2010 by ryna

[Lincoln23 0]

Hi Robert,

If the NOA2 is dated 10/18, I'd start calling NVC as early as tomorrow and every day until they tell you it has been sent to Bogotá. Some only stay at NVC for 1 or 2 days (mine was 5, I think.) Then, wait about 3-4 days and start calling DOS to see if it has arrived in Bogotá. As soon as they say "yes" (or tell you it is OK to send P3), do so. As I mentioned, total time from NOA2 to P3 submission was about 16 days and 22 days until we had the interview date scheduled.

Good luck and have your finacee start gathering everything she can w/o having the interview letter (all but the medicals and visa payment, I think)

Hi,

I agree with Ryna and would start calling tomorrow. Our NOA2 was on 10/13/10, received the hard copy on 10/18/10 and I just called the NVC and got our new case number and was told our packet was sent to Bogota yesterday. Ryna, congrats on your approval!! Good Luck Robert.

David

[Ken y Leidys 20]

Package arrived! Visa in Hand!!

OH YEA!

[Nystu 2]

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that I just received a text message from USCIS to check the status of my petition. I did and learned that our I-129F petition has been approved.

Congratulations!!!

[ryna 132]

Hi everyone,

Is there any way to check if the visa has actually been printed/issued? Call DOS, write embassy, etc? Which is the best way, if it's even possible to know before having it in hand?

[kennym 275]

I tried calling DOS, but they couldn't tell me anything other than we had the interview. They didn't know we had been approved.

The best luck I had was calling Domesa.

[ryna 132]

I tried calling DOS, but they couldn't tell me anything other than we had the interview. They didn't know we had been approved.

The best luck I had was calling Domesa.

Thanks...

Do you have their number (I think she still has the Domesa receipt in her purse) and do they speak English? My spoken Spanish, especially when it comes to hearing it clearly, for lack of a better word, sucks...

If not, I'll get her to call to check. She has to call them anyhow to know when to pick it up..

[ryna 132]

Thanks...

Do you have their number (I think she still has the Domesa receipt in her purse) and do they speak English? My spoken Spanish, especially when it comes to hearing it clearly, for lack of a better word, sucks...

If not, I'll get her to call to check. She has to call them anyhow to know when to pick it up..

She's going to call. It's just all around better that way.

[Robert de Bonda 3]

Looking ahead, does anyone see any problem with my fiancee keeping her family name and not using mine? I am so not into posession that it matters not to me if she doesn't want to change her name.

Has anyone had to deal with this and were there any unexpected consequences?

[Mononoke28 134]

Looking ahead, does anyone see any problem with my fiancee keeping her family name and not using mine? I am so not into posession that it matters not to me if she doesn't want to change her name.

Has anyone had to deal with this and were there any unexpected consequences?

I think it's a very personal choice that only the wife needs to make, regardless of what the husband wants or likes. If she wants to change her last name to yours, then great as long as it was her own decision to do so. If she wants to keep her own last name, then that's fine too as it doesn't make her any less of a wife.

I personally chose to change mine to my husband's because I like to think of us as a family unit and if we ever decide to have children, then I wanted for all of us to share the same last name. Also, because I was raised in the US and it was perfectly normal for me to do so, unlike Colombians who never change theirs and only add the "de xxxxx", which in my opinion is just beyond insulting, but that's a different topic.

So anyway, whatever she decides to do should be fine. That's my 2 cents.

Diana

[NArocks 13]

I think it's a very personal choice that only the wife needs to make, regardless of what the husband wants or likes. If she wants to change her last name to yours, then great as long as it was her own decision to do so. If she wants to keep her own last name, then that's fine too as it doesn't make her any less of a wife.

I personally chose to change mine to my husband's because I like to think of us as a family unit and if we ever decide to have children, then I wanted for all of us to share the same last name. Also, because I was raised in the US and it was perfectly normal for me to do so, unlike Colombians who never change theirs and only add the "de xxxxx", which in my opinion is just beyond insulting, but that's a different topic.

So anyway, whatever she decides to do should be fine. That's my 2 cents.

Diana

The de XXXX thing is not for me either like one is Property of the spouse NOT

I changed mine but as long as I could take just his fathers last name , cause I am not into the 2 last name thing either being raised in the US. But yes it is a personal choice even though we had no plans for children ( we have enough now ) this was how I was raised to have my husbands name when I married

Edited October 22, 2010 by NArocks

[Robert de Bonda 3]

Thank you Diana and NArocks, she has indicated that she doesn't see the need to change her name. I don't have a problem with that and certainly will not ask her to consider the de XXXX thing. I know who she is and what she is to me and vice versa. In time all of our friends and family will know as well. Anyone else it doesn't matter. I only asked to see if there might be some immigration pitfall that will snag us if she didn't change her name.

Robert

[ryna 132]

Looking ahead, does anyone see any problem with my fiancee keeping her family name and not using mine? I am so not into posession that it matters not to me if she doesn't want to change her name.

Has anyone had to deal with this and were there any unexpected consequences?

I don't think there would be any issues from an immigration standpoint. She certainly wouldn't be the first to do so, even among couples who are both USC.

The biggest problem I have heard from others who come from Spanish speaking countries is that, simply put, the majority of things in US system are not set up for two last names. The majority of people (both men and women) I know have ended up dropping the second last name for simplicity's sake as there is never space on most official forms or documents.

At this point, I really don't know what my fiancee will do but it is totally her decision. Since we will be living in the US, I would prefer that she have my last name for family purposes as we do plan on having children. In the US, it is just simpler that way because of the tradition there. Plus, we'll only have to fill out one customs form when we enter the US.

And, I've had a little taste here in Colombia of knowing first hand what it's like to have a name that doesn't fit the local tradition. There's a policeman out in the hills of Boyacá who I'm sure still thinks that I don't know who my father is because my passport only shows one apellido. Luckily, I'm just visiting here so I don't really care but ever since that happened, I do wonder if others (who aren't aware of the US tradition) are thinking the same when they see my passport.

[Robert de Bonda 3]

I don't think there would be any issues from an immigration standpoint. She certainly wouldn't be the first to do so, even among couples who are both USC.

The biggest problem I have heard from others who come from Spanish speaking countries is that, simply put, the majority of things in US system are not set up for two last names. The majority of people (both men and women) I know have ended up dropping the second last name for simplicity's sake as there is never space on most official forms or documents.

At this point, I really don't know what my fiancee will do but it is totally her decision. Since we will be living in the US, I would prefer that she have my last name for family purposes as we do plan on having children. In the US, it is just simpler that way because of the tradition there. Plus, we'll only have to fill out one customs form when we enter the US.

And, I've had a little taste here in Colombia of knowing first hand what it's like to have a name that doesn't fit the local tradition. There's a policeman out in the hills of Boyacá who I'm sure still thinks that I don't know who my father is because my passport only shows one apellido. Luckily, I'm just visiting here so I don't really care but ever since that happened, I do wonder if others (who aren't aware of the US tradition) are thinking the same when they see my passport.

I had an argument with a female friend who insisted that the way it is done in the US makes no sense as the children would not know who their parents were. I told her they could always look at their birth certificates but she would not accept the possibility.

I do understand how some people think i.e. your policeman friend; I know of a gentleman in Cali who adds a second appelido to his business card. I don't know if it's his mother's last name or just a made up one but it seems to be better for business for him.