Colombia Club

[Mike and Adriana 0]

dre and oskar and tony and olga - good luck on monday...i will be thinking of you on my plane ride home.

not sure why the denials...and not sure what kind of visa. my wife was the one that told me who got a visa and who go denied. i suspect they were k-1s. there were only two k-3 interviews on friday.

the proof of relationship i supplied with the petition consisted of airline reservations, pictures, e-mails and hotel bills. they did not ask us for anything else, although we had more photos, more e-mails, a wedding invitation, and more airline reservations with us to show them.

you will not have to provide any proof of relationship, unless requested. the folder they will provide you should only include the documents on the list. if the interviewer has any question about your relationship, i am sure he or she will ask for proof.

the guy we had worried us some. we could see him clearly from where we were seated. we observed him for two hours...his mannerisms, his facial expressions, his jestures. but in the end, he was very easy on us. it took less than two minutes, as he had reviewed all of our documents prior to calling my wife. in fact, the hardest part was watching him review our documents...waiting to have our name called.

ps - almost forgot...they will give you back any document that they do not need. my mistake, they returned my step-daughter´s birth certificate. so, after we got home and laid down for a nap, they called us and said we must bring the document back to the embassy that day or else no visa. but i cannot complain...everything else went well.

[paisita411 0]

Mike,

Thanks for the feed back, once again. Have a safe trip back!!!

Dre

[TonyS 0]

Mike,

Thanks for the feed back, once again. Have a safe trip back!!!

Dre

Good luck tomorrow

[Tony & Olga 0]

Just a quick update!

Olga was at the embassy this morning at 6:10 A. M. in line with many others. She was ushered in with everyone else and waited until 11:30 A. M. before a lady strated rifling through her file. Note: Olga is very detail oriented and had all her papers organized in a nice presentation folder for the embassy. However the embasst has there own folder and organization in which they want you to comply with. So for those who are thinking that you should buy and organize your docucuments in a certain order you may want to do no more then loosely organize them in an envelope, until they instruct you on how they want them.

I was calling Olga like every 15 minutes on her cell phone getting updates. At exactly 11:55 A. M. they called her up to the window, and although I tried to stay on the phone with my wife, she said she did not want me to listen, because she was too nervous! jaja!

They asked her how we met and why I was divorced. The lady asked my wife why she had traveled to the U.S previously anf for how long she was here etc. But all and all my wife said the lady who interviewed her was very friendly and the conersation (interview) seemed very informal and within 10 minutes she was appoved and to come back tomorrow to pick her passport and VISA up at 4:00 P. M. Woooohoooooooooo! I think I was more nervous then my wife.

We were nervous because my wife had, had two (2) tourist VISA's in the past and both had been stolen from her in different situations while she was in Cali. The last was in April 2006, when her and an associate (female) were out having dinner, when two guys came up and grabbed both of them from behind and demaned the keys to their car and my wifes purse with her passport and VISA were in the car when the thieves made off with their car.

When my wife tried to replace her Tourist VISA with a Student VISA they denied her because they said she had to wait 6 months before she could apply for any type of new VISA. So my wife and I were concerned that this might come up during the interview. But it never did, thank god!

Well now we need to here from OskaryAndrea and the rest to see how they did!

Thanks to everyone for their support and help!

Tony

[TonyS 0]

Just a quick update!

Olga was at the embassy this morning at 6:10 A. M. in line with many others. She was ushered in with everyone else and waited until 11:30 A. M. before a lady strated rifling through her file. Note: Olga is very detail oriented and had all her papers organized in a nice presentation folder for the embassy. However the embasst has there own folder and organization in which they want you to comply with. So for those who are thinking that you should buy and organize your docucuments in a certain order you may want to do no more then loosely organize them in an envelope, until they instruct you on how they want them.

I was calling Olga like every 15 minutes on her cell phone getting updates. At exactly 11:55 A. M. they called her up to the window, and although I tried to stay on the phone with my wife, she said she did not want me to listen, because she was too nervous! jaja!

They asked her how we met and why I was divorced. The lady asked my wife why she had traveled to the U.S previously anf for how long she was here etc. But all and all my wife said the lady who interviewed her was very friendly and the conersation (interview) seemed very informal and within 10 minutes she was appoved and to come back tomorrow to pick her passport and VISA up at 4:00 P. M. Woooohoooooooooo! I think I was more nervous then my wife.

We were nervous because my wife had, had two (2) tourist VISA's in the past and both had been stolen from her in different situations while she was in Cali. The last was in April 2006, when her and an associate (female) were out having dinner, when two guys came up and grabbed both of them from behind and demaned the keys to their car and my wifes purse with her passport and VISA were in the car when the thieves made off with their car.

When my wife tried to replace her Tourist VISA with a Student VISA they denied her because they said she had to wait 6 months before she could apply for any type of new VISA. So my wife and I were concerned that this might come up during the interview. But it never did, thank god!

Well now we need to here from OskaryAndrea and the rest to see how they did!

Thanks to everyone for their support and help!

Tony

Good new! Congrats to you! I wish you a happy and fulfilling life.

[Tony & Olga 0]

Thanks, TonyS and good luck to you aswell and the rest of the Colombia Club members!

Just a quick update!

Olga was at the embassy this morning at 6:10 A. M. in line with many others. She was ushered in with everyone else and waited until 11:30 A. M. before a lady strated rifling through her file. Note: Olga is very detail oriented and had all her papers organized in a nice presentation folder for the embassy. However the embasst has there own folder and organization in which they want you to comply with. So for those who are thinking that you should buy and organize your docucuments in a certain order you may want to do no more then loosely organize them in an envelope, until they instruct you on how they want them.

I was calling Olga like every 15 minutes on her cell phone getting updates. At exactly 11:55 A. M. they called her up to the window, and although I tried to stay on the phone with my wife, she said she did not want me to listen, because she was too nervous! jaja!

They asked her how we met and why I was divorced. The lady asked my wife why she had traveled to the U.S previously anf for how long she was here etc. But all and all my wife said the lady who interviewed her was very friendly and the conersation (interview) seemed very informal and within 10 minutes she was appoved and to come back tomorrow to pick her passport and VISA up at 4:00 P. M. Woooohoooooooooo! I think I was more nervous then my wife.

We were nervous because my wife had, had two (2) tourist VISA's in the past and both had been stolen from her in different situations while she was in Cali. The last was in April 2006, when her and an associate (female) were out having dinner, when two guys came up and grabbed both of them from behind and demaned the keys to their car and my wifes purse with her passport and VISA were in the car when the thieves made off with their car.

When my wife tried to replace her Tourist VISA with a Student VISA they denied her because they said she had to wait 6 months before she could apply for any type of new VISA. So my wife and I were concerned that this might come up during the interview. But it never did, thank god!

Well now we need to here from OskaryAndrea and the rest to see how they did!

Thanks to everyone for their support and help!

Tony

Good new! Congrats to you! I wish you a happy and fulfilling life.

[paisita411 0]

Bad News from Bogota. Oscar's visa was 'held for processing pending submission of additional evidence"....They specifically requested "interview with your spouse".

There were two main concerns that caused this...one, our lack of pictures together and two, our age difference (he's 25, I'm 32). The consul seemed to be concerned with our age difference, though there was no concern for the men in the room who were decades older than their fiances/spouses (they were all approved)!

Also...Oscar didn't have his DAS Letter after all. He went to the DAS office in Bogota today and left authorization for his friend to pick it up on Wednesday.

We have to request a new interview date, which I will do tommorrow and of course, I'll be with him the next go round.

He was grilled pretty hard on my divorce (when, why, etc...) , my children (have you met them, ages), my custody arrangements (who do they live with, when), ect...

We are both pretty disappointed, but I'm confident that when they see us together, they'll be sure of our relationship. In person, we look the same age, Oscar has is graying prematurely so he actually looks older than me, and we are soooo in love!!!! It makes me mad to think that we have to go and prove this to them, but whatever it takes. Anyway, the situation at work that prevented me from traveling is over and my boss felt sooooo bad about the whole thing that she said I could leave whenever...

I'll let you all know when my new appointment date is and if anyone can chime in on some advice, experiences, I appreciate it.

Mike and Adrianna, congratualtions to you. I can imagin how happy you must be. And my best to everyone else interviewing this week.

Dre

[paisita411 0]

Tony & Olga....I meant to congratulate the two of you....I'm sorry about that!

[mystery 0]

Hey BradVicky! so we're pretty close then. When do you arrive in Bog??

I'm in Bogot as I type this. We got the medicals and lab work done today. We also picked up the Certificado Migratorio from DAS today. Here is some info for those still waiting to go to Bogota....

1. Lab- its now 150.000 COP. Seems to be gettin more expensive by the week. We got there at 6:30am. There was like 5 people in line when we got there. Open by 7am. At the door they asked everybody for (1) Interiew date sheet, (2) passport (3) ONE passport picture. (They say take 2, but they only asked for one. I would not take a chance either way and take 2 just in case since its what the packet says) Thats it. She was out of there by 8am. Btw, they do not let anybody in other than the person doing the test.

You do not need to set an appt for the labs. Just show up early in the morning. They open at 7am. I recomend you get there atleast by 630am. Since it gets full.

2. Medical - we went to the female Dr on the list (I think Maria Consuelo Gonzalez). My fiance said she was the sweetest and nicest lady. She was in and out in less than 20 min's. They again do not let anyone enter for this either.

We had a minor set back here though.My fiance had her immunizations about 2 months ago. She only had ONE shot of everything. Well apparently theres a second dose for Td and Varicela. So she sent us to a lab place a block away from the Dr's office to get them done. Cost me 103.000 COP for that. Took us less than 30 mins. We took it back to her office, bingo. We're supposed to return tmw to pick up results so we can take that to the interview on Wed.

Note: need to schedule Medical appt. and you need to schedule it atleast 2 days b4 the interview since it takes a full day to get results back.

3. Certificado Migratorio del DAS - my fiance requested it in Bogota on Thur and we picked it up today (Monday). This is the FASTEST way to get it for sure. It costs 37.000 COP. When we went to pick it up today in the morning there was hardly anybody there. She was in and out in less than 10 min. The document is in a sealed envelope and they tell you NOT to open it. Take it unopened to the interview. The adress is the same posted earlier: Calle 100 #11b-27, its on the bottom floor of the building.

Place to stay- for anyone not knowing where they can stay. I am staying in a pretty nice apartment about 2 1/2 blocks away from the US Embassy. Its fully furnished, has hot water, cable and high speed internet connection (you need to take a laptop). Its not huge but if you only rent the master bedroom which is nice it'll only cost you $35/day plus $10 dollars for an extra person for the full stay. (not $10 more a day). Its in a nice area, feel safe. Anyone interested let me know so I can give you contact info......

We have our interview on Wed so I'll let you guys know how it goes.....feel free to ask away

Edited January 22, 2007 by mystery

[mystery 0]

Tony and Olga, Mike and Andrea.....CONGRATS to both of you!!

OskaryAndrea....so sorry about this. Good thing is that its NOT a denial but more of a "we need more evidence" kind of thing.....So atleast that should give you some comfort. Hang in there and I'm sure when you go next time all will be great!!

[Tony & Olga 0]

Dre,

I am soooo sorry Oskar did not get approved. I can imagine how disappointed I would be. But, not having the DAS report was a big problem that probably through up a red flag on everything else! Olga said alot of the K1 VISA applicants were denied also for various reasons.

I am sure you will be approved at the next interview!

Tony

[mystery 0]

OK, so on the path of the K1...things are moving quick! Packet 3 arrived back at the embassy on Tuesday (should have been there monday, but the truck had an accident on the highway!) so not sure if we got it in on time for a February interview date, but we'll see. I told Silvia if she doesn't receive packet 4 and the interview date by next Wednesday, then have her cousin (who lives in Bogota) go to the embassy and pick it up next Thursday at 12:30... (thank you for this great info).

The only thing we need to get still is this DAS certificado migratorio, but we'll do that in Bogota as well as it appears pretty easy...any reports on how long the line was? (your information has been great on this too!)

The only thing that's still causing me a bit of stress is the medical. Silvia says she doesn't have records of ANY of her vaccinations except for Yellow Fever. As we don't have packet 4 yet, I'm not sure what to expect here.

First off, can she get all the needed vaccinations at once from the doctor? are the doctors only in Bogota? how long does it usually take to get the medical appointment? Any thoughts you can provide on the medical experience would put my mind at ease a bit. I read through others' posts about their medicals which helps a bit.

Thank you! and Colombia Club has been such a great thread

My fiance went to the DAS in Bogota and she told me that there was not alot of people. Everything was quick and easy. The longest part being when they requiere you to go to the bank and pay the fee of 37.000 COP. After she requests it, they will tell her to pick it up 2 or 3 days later. We did that today and again there was not alot of people, my fiance was in and out in 10 minuts with the Certificate in hand....

hope this helps

[mystery 0]

Quick question for those that have already had the interview:

The interviewer asked things in English?? Spanish?? How did your fiance's respond, english, spanish???

I'm interviewing the hell out of my fiance to get her ready.

[twofromtunja 0]

Quick question for those that have already had the interview:

The interviewer asked things in English?? Spanish?? How did your fiance's respond, english, spanish???

I'm interviewing the hell out of my fiance to get her ready.

Hi all,

I've been following this thread for a couple of weeks...Thanks to all that have posted...

My fiancee had her K-1 interview this morning. She was approved and was told to return tomorrow at 4 pm to retrieve her passport/visa.

My fiancee said that the interview was in Spanish at first and then switched to English when the interviewer asked if she was comfortable speaking English. It was relatively quick and he asked the usual questions i.e. when did you meet? Has he been to Colombia? Have you been to the U.S.?, etc. HE asked to see some pictures as well.

She was the first one to be called for the K-1 interview and was out of there in by 9 a.m.

I wish everyone on here luck and feel free to ask me any questions that you think I might be able to help with...

[Tony & Olga 0]

Mystery-

My wife said they conducted her interview all in English. She is what I would call at a medium level in English. She can converse in English as long as I speak slow and deliberate and don't throw too many English idioms in. We usually talk in Spanglish. I am not sure why they decided to interview her in English, but this is the first thing my wife said to me after the interview. I would think that they would do it in either language if necessary. But then they might want to make sure that the Gringo/Gringa spoke Spanish to be sure there wasn't some sort of scam happening. Thats my opinion any way!

Tony

Edited January 23, 2007 by Tony & Olga