Colombia Club

[Mononoke28 135]

Last December and January we traveled twice by bus between Tuluá and Medellín and it was fantastic. We used Expreso Arauca, a nice big bus, air conditioned, nice salsa/vallenato music (nice for me because I love it), awesome lunch at an "estadero" near Manizales, it was just great. For something like what Buck's fiancée has to go do in Bogotá then sure a plane ticket would do for me. But to really see what Colombia is really like and see the beautiful scenery, plantations, small town people, and everything else, a bus ride is the way to do it. I highly recommend it.

[HAL 9000 96]

Welcome home Oskar and Andrea . Buck, when I was in Colombia for the interview, my wife also had cousins traveling to Bogota ( for a tourist visa interview ) the same week. There were traveling long distance ( 14 hrs + ) by bus. The driver made a mistake and the bus plummeted over the side into a ravine. 7 passengers were killed.!. 2 of my wife's child cousins were killed. She told me bus accidents are common, so I recommend air travel. Plus you novia will arrive fresher and ready.

My condolences for the loss, Tony. I'm trying to convince my fiancee to fly to Medellin from Bucaramanga instead of taking a bus ride... but she wants to take her folks so they can say goodbye from Medellín instead of days before her actual departure from Bucaramanga. At least she'd travel with mom and dad by bus... and the ride isn't thaaat long!

For those of you that take buses in Colombia, I stronly urge paying a few extra bucks for the bigger companies like Berlinas and Copetrans. They don't seem to have as bad an accident rate as other companies, including the rare pullovers by bandits et al.

[HAL 9000 96]

Lucho,

We translated the birth certificate ourselves and had no problem. I used word and tried to keep everything lined up in a similar fashion.

It doesn't hurt to put a line at the end stating that the translation is accurate. We forgot to put that line on there and flew right through the AOS with no questions.

There is a myth that the translation has to be done by some sort of "certified " translator but that is not true.

As a confirmation of this information, I paid to have some early documents translated but then figured out that I could do my own translations. All I did with the completed translation was take it and the original document (the boy's birth records) to a local Mexican restaurant. I asked the manager if someone on staff would be willing to affirm that my translation was correct. He asked one of the waitresses to read it over. I already had a printed block on the page for her to sign and date. The signature block contained a statement that she "certified" that the translation was correct and that she was fluent (enough) in English and Spanish to confirm the translation. A $15 tip (as part of the meal) seemed to be more than sufficient payment for the service rendered. And much better than the $75 or more per page that a translation service would have charged.

Hey at Lalo's on Clybourn here in Chicago I can get the meal for free... so maybe I can leave that kind of a tip too... since I do it anyway.

[Bill y Bella 0]

Welcome home Oskar and Andrea . Buck, when I was in Colombia for the interview, my wife also had cousins traveling to Bogota ( for a tourist visa interview ) the same week. There were traveling long distance ( 14 hrs + ) by bus. The driver made a mistake and the bus plummeted over the side into a ravine. 7 passengers were killed.!. 2 of my wife's child cousins were killed. She told me bus accidents are common, so I recommend air travel. Plus you novia will arrive fresher and ready.

I really wish I did not see this. Bella and the kids are on a bus right now. They left at 7:00 PM and won't arrive until 10:00 tomorrow morning.

Please don't say if I loved her I would have paid for the airfare. There is only so much money available and we need to pay for school, clothes, food, rent, birth certificates, passports, translations, vaccinations, visas, etc.

It's going to be a long night.

[Mononoke28 135]

Oh don't fret about that. The dangers of traveling by bus are exaggerated. I'm sure accidents happen but not all the time, if that were the case the transportation system in Colombia would be dead in the water, no pun intended. I also always travel by bus because I can't afford to fly all the time and luckily I really enjoy it.

Sleep tight, they'll be ok. You'll see.

[jediknight 0]

look, sometimes its just not possible to do what you would like. this process is expensive not everyone can afford to be jet setting it all the time. diana is completely correct in that the danger is exaggerated. of course accidents happen, but people talk like it happens all the time on every bus trip... they don't. accidents happen everywhere, crossing the street, flying by plane, travelling by car so just relax, don't feel guilty because they went by bus. traveling by bus is a very common and safe way to travel para los colombianos, asi que no se preocupe.

JK

[Bill y Bella 0]

They are home safe and sound.

Now I can stop worrying about the bus trip and resume worrying about my NOA1.

It is difficult to separate fact from fiction when it comes to Colombia. I am amazed at how safe Bogota seems to be after being told by everyone including the state department that only a fool would travel to Colombia. I was also surprised to see the upscale shopping malls filled with consumers.

I realize that not all of Colombia is like Bogota, but at least in the parts of Colombia that I have seen so far the difference between reality and perception is huge.

Bill

[ColombianoGringo 0]

This is a bit off topic, but here is a link with some nice pictures of all the villages in Colombia where everyone lives in huts and chickens rule the dirt streets.

Colombia definitely has some serious problems and there are some places that are best avoided, but the media and entertainment industry like to depict anything south of Texas as a third-world cesspool where everything is poor and squalid.

In any case, this is a good link to share with those that have never seen the modern side of Colombia.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=500024

Edited July 28, 2007 by ColombianoGringo

[Bill y Bella 0]

A couple of questions for those who have been through the process.

1. Peter Miami in his post that started this thread (thanks Peter!) said to take a package 3 appointment shortcut, fax the DS-2001 to the embassy along with the beneficiary's passport, OF-169 & DS-230 Part 1. I can't find a DS-2001 on the Bogota website. What is it? Does anyone have one?

2. The Package 3 forms on the embassy's website are in English, but I think I remember somone posting that they had to re-do them in Spanish at the interview. Is this right? If so, where can I find the PK3 forms in Spanish?

3. The I-134 instructions in Package 3 say to include 1 year of tax returns, but in another place on the website (K-1 Visa scroll down to Fiance Visa) it says to provide 3 years. I wrote off business losses in 2004 & 2005 so I would prefer to provide only 2006. Did anyone only provide 1 year?

Thanks!

Bill

[buck501 0]

A couple of questions for those who have been through the process.

1. Peter Miami in his post that started this thread (thanks Peter!) said to take a package 3 appointment shortcut, fax the DS-2001 to the embassy along with the beneficiary's passport, OF-169 & DS-230 Part 1. I can't find a DS-2001 on the Bogota website. What is it? Does anyone have one?

2. The Package 3 forms on the embassy's website are in English, but I think I remember somone posting that they had to re-do them in Spanish at the interview. Is this right? If so, where can I find the PK3 forms in Spanish?

3. The I-134 instructions in Package 3 say to include 1 year of tax returns, but in another place on the website (K-1 Visa scroll down to Fiance Visa) it says to provide 3 years. I wrote off business losses in 2004 & 2005 so I would prefer to provide only 2006. Did anyone only provide 1 year?

Thanks!

Bill

Not sure about question number 2, Pkt 3 came in the mail unexpectantly, it was in spanish. I only submitted my most recent tax return, 2006. We recieved out interview date.

[lucho562 0]

Bill,

1. I dont know what is DS2001. That may be an older form. It IS obsolete now if ever used. It also may have been for K3 or another type of visa. I dont know, just speculating. What I do know is that you DONT need that form for packet 3 or at any point for the K1 visa.

Packet 3 should only include the following.

1. Cover letter (with BGTXXXXXXX case #)

2. Biographical page of beneficiarys passport (optional, yet higly recommended)

3. DS230 Part 1, which are pages 1 and 2 only.

4. OF-169

That is all that you need for packet 3. This is exactly what we faxed and had no problems.

2. The forms can be either in english or spanish, it does not matter. Trust me on this.

3. The embassy has conlflicting information on their site and what you receive in the packets. Always go with the more years, eg 3 years of tax returns instead of 1.....just to be on the safe side. Providing only 1 year shouldn't be a problem if you make way more than the 125% poverty line level.

If you are going to the interview with your fiance, I recommend to take all 3 years of tax transcripts and W2's and 1040's. Pay stubs, work letter. But only submit the 2006 tax returns and have the other 2 years as back up just in case they ask for it.

Not sure about question number 2, Pkt 3 came in the mail unexpectantly, it was in spanish. I only submitted my most recent tax return, 2006. We recieved out interview date.

Buck, you submitted your tax return with packet 3?

Edited July 29, 2007 by lucho562

[buck501 0]

Luchco.....No the finacial packet is going to be submitted at the interview. My mistake. I gathered all the stuff and sent it off to the lawyer. My bad. I will be more carefull next time. You folks that have done all the work yourself are closer to the process then I. I want to be very careful when I post. I blew it. I do have 3 years of W-2 forms, one full year pay stubs. Since I am self employed I had to submit some other stuff. In my case my lawyer said I did not have to submit 3 years of tax returns. I am kinda wondering now.

[TonyS 0]

Actually Lucho, I believe the Of-169 is the older form, but Bogota continues to use it. Many of us used the DS-2001 form because we could not find the Of-169.We would download the Spanish version from the San Salvador embassy web page. The DS-2001 basically says the same thing as the OF-169, that the require documents will be brought to the interview. It is a acceptable substitute.

[lucho562 0]

Actually Lucho, I believe the Of-169 is the older form, but Bogota continues to use it. Many of us used the DS-2001 form because we could not find the Of-169.We would download the Spanish version from the San Salvador embassy web page. The DS-2001 basically says the same thing as the OF-169, that the require documents will be brought to the interview. It is a acceptable substitute.

Tony, thanks for clearing that up. Now I remember the ds2001.

Bill, Like Tony said, OF169 is the same as DS2001. The OF169 is found on the embassy packet 3 website.

[Bill y Bella 0]

BOGOTA INTERVIEW QUESTIONS / PREGUNTAS DE ENTREVISTA EN BOGOTA

Created 7/29/07 By Bill y Bella

With Contributions From Buck01 & OskaryAndrea

Maintained By The Members of The Colombia Club!

Please Add Any Questions You Were Asked In An Interview That Are Not On The List!

• For simplicity the questions assume a female beneficiary / Para la simplicidad las preguntas asumen una beneficiaria femenina.
  
• If you are bilingual, please help by entering / correcting some Spanish translations after the questions and/or instructions in English.
  
• To contribute new questions or translations, reply to the most recent post of the questions and then edit the quote.
  
• Enter new questions in the appropriate section using either English or Spanish. (Or both if you are able).
  
• To assign a number to a new question, preface it with [ * ] without any spaces.
  
• Questions in the Spousal Visa Questions section should only apply to married couples. Questions that could be asked to both fiances and spouses should be placed in the Fiance & Spousal Visa Questions section.
  
• If both beneficiary & petitioner are attending the interview, both should be prepared to answer All questions.
  
• It is possible that you will be asked the same questions at different times and your answers compared, so be prepared!
  
• It is suggested that both beneficiary and petitioner answer all questions and then compare answers and eliminate discrepancies.
  

Fiancé & Spousal Visa Questions (Questions that could apply to either category)

Questions They May Ask The Beneficiary About Herself:

1. When is your birthday? Cuando es su cumpleanos?
   
2. How old are you? Cuanto anos tiene?
   
3. What is your phone number? At your home? Your cellular?
   
4. What are your hobbies and interests?
   
5. What do you do for fun?
   
6. What is your favorite food?
   
7. What color do you like best?
   
8. What kind of music do you like?
   
9. What brand of car do you drive?
   
10. What is your shoe size?
    
11. What is your pant size?
    
12. What is your shirt size?
    
13. What is your favorite movie?
    
14. What is your favorite tv show?
    
15. Do you have any brothers and sisters?
    
16. What do you do for a living?
    
17. Do you speak and understand his language?
    
18. When did you arrive in Bogota for your interview appointment?
    
19. When did you get a divorce?
    
20. Do you have any children?
    
21. How many children do you have and what are their ages?
    
22. Have you ever applied for a traveling visa?
    
23. To where?
    
24. Have you ever applied for an immigrant visa?
    
25. To where?
    
26. To what countries have you travelled?
    
27. When did you go there?
    
28. For how long?
    
29. How did you get there?
    
30. Are you a member of a terrorist organization?
    
31. Aren't you afraid to go alone to the US?
    
32. Have you ever been to the US?
    
33. Do you have any family in the US?
    
34. Why do you want to go to the US?
    
35. Why do / did you want to marry him?
    
36. Are you happy to be leaving your country?
    
37. When are you going to leave?
    
38. How do you feel about leaving your family?
    
39. Will you be sad when you leave Colombia?
    
40. When will you leave for the US?
    
41. To which city are you going?
    
42. Are you happy?
    
43. Does anyone object to you taking your child out of Colombia?
    
44. How does your family feel about you marrying an American?
    
45. What do your parents think about this?
    
46. What kind of profession do you want?
    
47. What subjects have you studied in school?
    
48. Do you want to study in the US?
    
49. What is your plan for what you will do in the US?
    
50. What are your hobbies and interests?
    
51. What is your religious background?
    
52. Did you fill out these forms yourself?
    
53. Who helped you fill the visa application forms?
    
54. Why did you decide to print out all these emails?
    
55. Have you been married before?
    
56. What is your ex-husband's name?
    
57. Why did your first marriage not work out?
    
58. Do you have an engagement ring?
    
59. Do you have the receipt for the engagement ring?
    

Questions They May Ask The Beneficiary About Her Fiancé / Spouse:

1. What is his name? Please write it.
   
2. What is his nickname?
   
3. What is his address? Please write it.
   
4. What is his phone number?
   
5. What is his cell phone number?
   
6. What is his email address?
   
7. How old is he?
   
8. When is his birthday?
   
9. Where was he born?
   
10. Where did he grow up?
    
11. Where does he live now?
    
12. What does he do for a living?
    
13. What does he do at work?
    
14. What did he do in the past for a living and for how long?
    
15. What is his job title?
    
16. What is his salary (income)?
    
17. Did he go to university (college)?
    
18. What did he study?
    
19. What is his degree?
    
20. Do you talk about his degree?
    
21. What is his religious background?
    
22. What is his religion now?
    
23. Does he speak or understand your language?
    
24. What is the color of his eyes?
    
25. What is the color of his hair?
    
26. Are his parents alive?
    
27. What are their names?
    
28. Where do his parents live?
    
29. What do his parents do (for a living)?
    
30. Does he have any brothers or sisters?
    
31. What are their names?
    
32. What are their ages?
    
33. Where do they live?
    
34. Does he have any children?
    
35. What are their names?
    
36. What are their ages?
    
37. Where do they live?
    
38. Do you know that he was married before? (Possible trick question)
    
39. What is his ex-wife's name?
    
40. When did he get a divorce?
    
41. Does his divorce this matter to you?
    
42. Why did his first marriage end?
    
43. Is he here today?
    
44. Why or Why not?
    
45. When did he arrive in Bogota for the interview appointment?
    
46. What have you done since he arrived?
    
47. How long will he stay?
    
48. What will the two of you do this weekend?
    
49. Where are the two of you staying in Bogota?
    
50. What are the sleeping arrangements?
    
51. Have you met his family?
    
52. Who have you met in his family?
    
53. When and where did you meet his family?
    
54. Why have you not met his family?
    
55. Has he met your family?
    
56. Who has he met in your family?
    
57. When and where did he meet your family?
    
58. Why has he not met your family?
    
59. What are his hobbies and interests?
    
60. What does your he do for fun?
    
61. What is his favorite food?
    
62. What color does he like best?
    
63. What kind of music does he like?
    
64. What brand of car does he drive?
    
65. What is his shoe size?
    
66. What is his pant size?
    
67. What is his shirt size?
    
68. What is your favorite movie?
    
69. What is your favorite tv show?
    
70. What is the favorite gift he gave you?
    
71. When was the first time he told you that he loved you?
    
72. When did he give you the first kiss?
    
73. What first attracted you to him?
    
74. Please tell me something about him.
    
75. Are you willing to marry him?
    
76. Why do you want to go to the USA to marry him?
    
77. Why do you want to marry him?
    
78. How do you know he is the right man for you?
    
79. What do you love about him?
    
80. Which character/quality/nature do you like best about him?
    
81. What do you and he have in common?
    
82. How long have you known him?
    
83. Do you know that he is x years older / younger than you?
    
84. Why does the age difference not bother you?
    

Questions They May Ask About Meeting, Visits & The Proposal:

1. Where and when did you first meet him?
   
2. How did you first meet him?
   
3. How do you know each other?
   
4. Describe the first time you met in person.
   
5. How often have you met?
   
6. Who made the first move?
   
7. When did he propose?
   
8. Where did he propose?
   
9. How did he propose?
   
10. How long have you been corresponding with him?
    
11. When is the last time you saw him?
    
12. How many times has he visited you?
    
13. What are the dates of his visits?
    
14. What did you do when he visited?
    
15. When did he come the last time? When did he leave?
    
16. Why did he come to Colombia the first time?
    
17. Where did you visit when he was here?
    
18. Have you taken any pictures of your visits together?
    

Spousal Visa Questions (Questions that can only apply if you are married)

1. Describe the wedding ceremony.
   
2. When was it?
   
3. Where was it?
   
4. Who attended the wedding?
   
5. Who performed the wedding ceremony?
   
6. What did you do after the ceremony?
   
7. Do you have wedding rings?
   
8. Do you have the receipt for the wedding rings?
   
9. Tell me about the preparations for the wedding?
   
10. Did you have a cake at the wedding?
    
11. What kind of cake did you have at the wedding?
    
12. What did you eat for dinner on the day of your wedding?
    
13. Where did you stay on your wedding night?
    
14. What did you do the next day?
    
15. What side of the bed does he sleep on?
    

This is my attempt to give back to the Visa Journey and Colombia Club community that has helped me so much. I hope it can be useful in your interview preparations.

Bill

¡BUENA SUERTE!