Colombia Club

[CamyCar 0]

Congrats Camron!!!

Finally on your way! Im sooo excited for the two of you!! Good Luck!

Diana B

Thank you Diana B,

That is another good thing about this site. When something out of the ordinary happens, your mind will start to imagine all kinds of things. Someone in this forum will have information and restore your confidence and get you through to the next obstacle!!

Cameron

[buck501 0]

Congrats Camron!!!

Finally on your way! Im sooo excited for the two of you!! Good Luck!

Diana B

Thank you Diana B,

That is another good thing about this site. When something out of the ordinary happens, your mind will start to imagine all kinds of things. Someone in this forum will have information and restore your confidence and get you through to the next obstacle!!

Cameron

Camy, I can relate to the mind making things seem worse then they are. LOL>LOL. The good news is................you, we have this site. Plenty of folks willing to share the challenges and the way they overcame them. More good news. Unless you try to hide something, have all you docs and have patience you are almost gaurenteed to recieve the visa, even if not in your time frame. Even more good news, having your loved one on another continent is the hard part. After you get the visa and you are togeather, all of this becomes a memory. The AOS process is not even close to as stressful. Good luck to you!!!!

[buck501 0]

A bit of an update.

The reason that we need to get the DNA test done is that it is common for the child to be given the last name of the father. In Paola's case, her mother was not married, but gave her the last name of the father and the mother. So, she has a first name, middle name and 2 last names. The first name in her last name is her father's and her last, last name is her mothers last name. Whew!!!!!!!!!! LOL. Elvin, her son was not given the last name of the father, but rather the same two last names of her. The CO see's this as having the same father. It all makes sense I guess.

The info I got says the DNA test performed in Colombia is not acceptable. The US Embassy in Colombia wants the test done by a AABB member here in the US.

[faith11 0]

Thanks for your response, l feel better now, we should be fine with that.

He got all the paystubs, the letter from the job.

l will keep you informed.

Thanks.

[Bill y Bella 0]

A bit of an update.

The reason that we need to get the DNA test done is that it is common for the child to be given the last name of the father. In Paola's case, her mother was not married, but gave her the last name of the father and the mother. So, she has a first name, middle name and 2 last names. The first name in her last name is her father's and her last, last name is her mothers last name. Whew!!!!!!!!!! LOL. So far this seems normal. The child normally takes the family name of the father as the primary last name and the family name of the mother as the secondary last name. I think the fact that Paola's mother was unmarried is not relevant. Verdad? Unless I am missing something, Paola would have the same name if her parents had been married or not.

Elvin, her son was not given the last name of the father, but rather the same two last names that she has. Does this mean that there is no father on Elvin's birth certificate? It is my understanding that this is fairly common in Colombia. I would have assumed that the embassy has seen this situation plenty of times and if it was a problem we would have heard about it in this thread previously.

The CO see's this as having the same father. It all makes sense I guess. hmmm. maybe.

The info I got says the DNA test performed in Colombia is not acceptable. The US Embassy in Colombia wants the test done by a AABB member here in the US. How does this work logistically? To do a maternity test the lab must have a DNA sample from mother and son. Who collects the son's sample in Colombia and sends it to the US? And how does the US lab know that it is a true sample? Maybe they use samples drawn during the medical exam?

This is beginning to worry me now. Bella has 2 children and each has the same identical last names as she has and there is no father on the children's bc's. Has anyone else who has been through an interview had this same situation?

[buck501 0]

A bit of an update.

The reason that we need to get the DNA test done is that it is common for the child to be given the last name of the father. In Paola's case, her mother was not married, but gave her the last name of the father and the mother. So, she has a first name, middle name and 2 last names. The first name in her last name is her father's and her last, last name is her mothers last name. Whew!!!!!!!!!! LOL. So far this seems normal. The child normally takes the family name of the father as the primary last name and the family name of the mother as the secondary last name. I think the fact that Paola's mother was unmarried is not relevant. Verdad? Unless I am missing something, Paola would have the same name if her parents had been married or not.

Elvin, her son was not given the last name of the father, but rather the same two last names that she has. Does this mean that there is no father on Elvin's birth certificate? It is my understanding that this is fairly common in Colombia. I would have assumed that the embassy has seen this situation plenty of times and if it was a problem we would have heard about it in this thread previously.

The CO see's this as having the same father. It all makes sense I guess. hmmm. maybe.

The info I got says the DNA test performed in Colombia is not acceptable. The US Embassy in Colombia wants the test done by a AABB member here in the US. How does this work logistically? To do a maternity test the lab must have a DNA sample from mother and son. Who collects the son's sample in Colombia and sends it to the US? And how does the US lab know that it is a true sample? Maybe they use samples drawn during the medical exam?

This is beginning to worry me now. Bella has 2 children and each has the same identical last names as she has and there is no father on the children's bc's. Has anyone else who has been through an interview had this same situation?

Bill, all I can tell you is that this is what we have been told. The father was not listed on the b-cert. This is common in Colombia. He has not been seen since he was told he was going to be a father. I was concerend about this in the beginning since you need permmission from the father to take the child out of Colombia. We got a certificate of abandoment. We submitted all of this at the time of Paola's interview. I know the embassy reviewed these doc's. The CO at the time of interview said all was good to bring him at a later date as long as it was within one year. Then Paola was required to submit another doc. We did, she went back for the 2nd interview, asked about her son and got the same response, all was good, just so long as it was within one year.

Elvin goes for the interview and now the CO has requested the DNA test. Arguing with them is futile.

The DNA test is scheduled with a company here in the US that is a member of "AABB", American Association of Blood Banks. Paola has the test done by a specified doctor here in the US, Her son has it done by a specified doctor in Bogota, (the same ones who do the med exam for the visa). A kit is sent via FEDEX to the doc in Bogota. The doc gets the sample, sends it FEDEX back to the testing lab in the US. It is tested, sent off to a another lab for verification and then sent to the US Embassy in Bogota. Total cost, including shipping fees...................$890.00 US.

The company we are using is member of AABB. The name is Boston Paternity. The lab is Chromozone lab. They do lots of DNA tests for immigration, have worked with the embassy in Bogota many times and gaurentee results and delivery.

I am running out of funds, but this must be done and I do not trust much that comes out of Colombia as far as doc's, time frame and accuracy. So far most everything that we have had to get out of Colombia has been a major hassel and have had to have it done over and waited a long time to get. I guess if Paola lived in Bogota, it would be better. She happened to live in Buenaventura, a S**t hole. To get her to Bogota is a 12 hour bus ride or a 2 hour car ride to Cali to get a one hour plane ride for $250.00. Add on to that hotel food and taxi rides, every mistake or new twist is expensive. I am banking on the hope that having a US company do this is my least expensive option.

I will be sending Paola back to Colombia to get her son. That will avoid the hassel having to go through all the hassel of obtaining permission for me to take him out of the country.

[Bill y Bella 0]

Thanks for the info Buck. I appreciate very much the time you took to provide the details. Since we have a situation similar to yours (in relation to the child's birth certificate and a common last name with the mother), I am trying very hard to understand this and determine if we will run into the same thing when we have our interview in 3 weeks.

Since we do not hear much about DNA testing here, I am guessing that something unique raised a red flag with the CO. Does the grandmother appear young enough to be the boy's mother? If so, since she went to the embassy with the boy for his interview perhaps the CO noticed that. The common last name and a youthful grandmother might have been enough to cause the CO to double check the maternity.

Whatever happened, it is definitely bad luck for you. This DNA testing process sounds very expensive and time consuming. However, using the US lab seems like the best course of action. I hope it goes smoothly for you.

As to Colombian documents and procedures I share your frustration.

In regard to the certificate of abandonment, we tried to obtain one but finally gave up. In our case it was just too difficult to obtain and I was afraid it would create more problems than it solved. The good news is that I have personally asked 3 different DAS emmigration officers if a father's permission is required for a child to leave the country if there is no father on the birth certificate and they all said no. Bella has also made the same inquiry at the DAS office and received the same answer.

Best of luck!

Edited February 9, 2008 by Bill y Bella

[buck501 0]

WOW!!! I find it so amazing that 2 people can ask the same question from DAS and get a different response. We were told that the child cannot leave the country without the fathers permission, even if he is not listed on the b-cert. We were told that we definently would need to get the cert of abandoment. As it turned out for us, that was very easy to get and only took 3 days.

I really do not know what to say about the DNA test. The lawyer we hired in the very beginning and are still using said this was not the norm. Why us? Who knows? How to find out if it will be required? I don't know. I was pretty careful and thought very thuro (sp) getting all the doc's in order. Things change and the CO can request it if they feel there is a problem. Same as with Paola, we had everything prepared and got blindsided, and needed another doc that has been a requirment, but did not fall under our circumstance, or so we thought.

The grandmother is 55 years old, Elvin is 13. That does not seem out of the norm to me. Paola is 30 years old, also not out of the norm in Colombia for a 30 year old women to have a 13 year old son. Many have children at a much younger age then that. I have seen and heard of many young girls having kids when young.

I hope that this will not become a normal thing for folks to have done in the future. The embassy and immigration here can be difficult to understand and to deal with. Reading this board, one can see the number of changes that come about in a short time. Information can be sketchy and hard to inturpet correctly. Laywers do not seem to be of much help unless you are having a immigration problem here in the US.

I will post any new info I get and the progress and results as they come along.

[buck501 0]

Another note: Just because this has happened to us, does not mean it will happen to you. However, it could happen with you also. It pays to be prepared, AHEAD of time!!!! As with the other issues that have come about, this forum gets the correct solution. It seems to cause a stir and then becomes the norm. When new folks come along they benefit. Togeather we are a well informed group. I will try my best to find out why, or what the CO saw that caused the need for the DNA test.

[Bill y Bella 0]

WOW!!! I find it so amazing that 2 people can ask the same question from DAS and get a different response. We were told that the child cannot leave the country without the fathers permission, even if he is not listed on the b-cert. We were told that we definently would need to get the cert of abandoment. As it turned out for us, that was very easy to get and only took 3 days.

Yeah, wow. I guess I have something else to add to my worry list now. One of us was told the wrong thing. You are covered either way since you have the certificate of abandonment but we don't have one and were told by ICBF that it would be almost impossible to obtain since Bella never made any attempts to collect child support. I guess I will ask again when I go down for the interview at the end of February. Bella and the kids will not come to the US until the end of March so I guess we will have some time to try to solve the problem if we get a different answer from DAS this time.

Meanwhile, there must be some people who took children without fathers on their birth certificates out of Colombia recently. What was your experience? Did you have any problems with DAS? Did you need to present a certificate of abandonment?

[NArocks 13]

WOW!!! I find it so amazing that 2 people can ask the same question from DAS and get a different response. We were told that the child cannot leave the country without the fathers permission, even if he is not listed on the b-cert. We were told that we definently would need to get the cert of abandoment. As it turned out for us, that was very easy to get and only took 3 days.

Yeah, wow. I guess I have something else to add to my worry list now. One of us was told the wrong thing. You are covered either way since you have the certificate of abandonment but we don't have one and were told by ICBF that it would be almost impossible to obtain since Bella never made any attempts to collect child support. I guess I will ask again when I go down for the interview at the end of February. Bella and the kids will not come to the US until the end of March so I guess we will have some time to try to solve the problem if we get a different answer from DAS this time.

Meanwhile, there must be some people who took children without fathers on their birth certificates out of Colombia recently. What was your experience? Did you have any problems with DAS? Did you need to present a certificate of abandonment?

I am on the other side of this issue, the father is the one taking the kids out of the country. We have a letter from the colombian embassy here in the US that has to be authorized in Bogota in order for the boys to leave. I am hoping that by the father going to the interview and the Mom having signed the letter we will not run into anything. I will let you know once I get the Call on Thursday how it goes on my end. Hang in there Buck and good luck Bill Y Bella.......

[lucho562 0]

Sorry to hear about your situation Buck. I'm sure you will get it resolved so you can finally enjoy your family.

[CamyCar 0]

Congrats Camron!!!

Finally on your way! Im sooo excited for the two of you!! Good Luck!

Diana B

Thank you Diana B,

That is another good thing about this site. When something out of the ordinary happens, your mind will start to imagine all kinds of things. Someone in this forum will have information and restore your confidence and get you through to the next obstacle!!

Cameron

Camy, I can relate to the mind making things seem worse then they are. LOL>LOL. The good news is................you, we have this site. Plenty of folks willing to share the challenges and the way they overcame them. More good news. Unless you try to hide something, have all you docs and have patience you are almost gaurenteed to recieve the visa, even if not in your time frame. Even more good news, having your loved one on another continent is the hard part. After you get the visa and you are togeather, all of this becomes a memory. The AOS process is not even close to as stressful. Good luck to you!!!!

Buck, Thanks for your kind words and encouragement. My grandfather used to say, "There is no greater nation, than Imagination!" Unfortunately, without this site, the imagination would run wild.

Our papers arrived in Bogota this morning. We are still hoping for a March interview. Good luck to you Buck. I know it has been a long haul for you.

Cameron

[Jenny and Jorge 0]

Scott,the links did not work could you send them to me please thanks

Jorge

The information here is great. If we recieve our NOA2 this week, is a January interview possible? Just curious, my fiance's B-day is Jan 31. Based on what I am seeing this phase moves much quicker than the USCIS portion, providing of course that we have our ducks in a row and utilize the short cuts!

Steve,

I hope that everything goes at light speed for you but our inteview date even using the shortest of shortcuts took almost 12 weeks from our approval date NOA2. I understand the pain and I wish you and everyone very speedy processes!!!

Scott & Steve,

VSC seems to get the packages to NVC a lot faster than CSC, so perhaps Steve's goal of a January interview is possible. If the embassy gets the package in the first part of December Steve should be able to obtain a January interview date.

Good luck!

[Scott n Yenifer 0]

Scott,the links did not work could you send them to me please thanks

Jorge

Here's the link Jorge...also PM me your email address and I will get you a draft of the cover letter to the embassy

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=1329162

Congrats!!! Cameron ....Hope your situation is moving in the right direction Buck...