Colombia Club

[ColombianoGringo 0]

Thanks guys. He has apparently already been suspended. I really don't care if people insult me, but a man's wife is off limits.

We are just happy to finally have our appointment scheduled. It will be 328 days from filing to interview. That is just insane. We have everything ready, so we just have to sit and wait another six weeks. I'll be looking into airfares tonight.

PP, You're right about San Andres. We loved it. We were in Cartagena a few months ago and it just doesn't hold a candle to SA. We will be going back to SA first as soon as we can, but I've told my wife that we are going skiing this winter. It should be pretty comical to see her on the snow. She comes from a very hot city in Colombia were my mom and her family are from and has never so much as seen snow. She seems cautiously optimistic.

Peace,

CG

[margara&john 0]

Thanks guys. He has apparently already been suspended. I really don't care if people insult me, but a man's wife is off limits.

We are just happy to finally have our appointment scheduled. It will be 328 days from filing to interview. That is just insane. We have everything ready, so we just have to sit and wait another six weeks. I'll be looking into airfares tonight.

PP, You're right about San Andres. We loved it. We were in Cartagena a few months ago and it just doesn't hold a candle to SA. We will be going back to SA first as soon as we can, but I've told my wife that we are going skiing this winter. It should be pretty comical to see her on the snow. She comes from a very hot city in Colombia were my mom and her family are from and has never so much as seen snow. She seems cautiously optimistic.

Peace,

CG

Hi everyone. I bought Margarita and Daniels's airline tickets. I go to Medellin Saturday, October 4. Sunday is Daniela's first comunion and a party celebrating both the first comunion and goodbye/goodluck Margarita and Daniela. Monday we pack all of their stuff, and Tuesday we come back to the US.

Colombian Gringo, good luck with your wife dealing with the cold and snow. I am in Wisconsin, and this is a big issues for us. Margatia and Daniela complained of the cold in Bogota (I wore shortsleeved shirts). I estimate that it was in the 50's to 70's while we were there. I don't know how they are going to handle the sub-zero temps in Milwaukee. Last winter we had some days of negative temperatures (not including the windchill). That ####### Tony wasn't just picking on you. He posted a rude comment on one of my pics too. As I looked more, I saw he posted rude comments on a lot of people's pics... what a loser.

john

[Mononoke28 135]

John and CG,

I wouldn't worry too much about the cold temps when they get here. My husband is from Tuluá and had never seen snow before he came. He also thought Bogotá was really cold which to me is a joke because the average temperature there is 64º-68º every day. I also wore short sleeves and carried my stupid sweater around "just in case" but I never wore it.

But I did buy him a nice warm jacket, gloves, a scarf and a wool hat and that was enough. He said it wasn't so bad because you have the heat on at home, in the car, at the store. So it's not as bad as they think it is.

Oh CG, we also planned on getting married in San Andrés with that lady from SAI weddings but because of family and personal issues we couldn't do it. I still wish we had had a beach wedding or at least a couple of pictures of it since we lost them all.

Diana

Edited May 1, 2008 by Mononoke28

[ColombianoGringo 0]

Diana, That sucks that you lost your wedding pics. We did the beach wedding for us, but we will be having a big church wedding in Colombia later this year for the family.

I live in Texas, so the cold isn't too bad here. We typically have temps as low as the teens during the winter. Believe it or not, Bogota does have the occasional freeze, but it still cracks me up when Colombians complain about how cold it is.

[HAL 9000 96]

Just have good skin creams like Dermatologica products for the ladies' skins... it will make adjusting to the dry winter air a lot better!

[Mononoke28 135]

Oh good one viejo Wil. I got my husband Jergens for extra-ultra dry skin because the cold weather was rough on him. Same with the soap, extra moisturizing soap. He did complaint a lot about the cold water drying his hands so he didn't do the dishes. Now that it's getting warmer, he better start washing them or else.

Yeah, no wedding pics. We had to dress up again a few days later and re-create most of them so we could bring them to the embassy. Good thing we did because they CO asked to see them. We were also planning on having a church wedding in Colombia but as soon as you get here it's hard to do it.

Diana

[HAL 9000 96]

Oh good one viejo Wil. I got my husband Jergens for extra-ultra dry skin because the cold weather was rough on him. Same with the soap, extra moisturizing soap. He did complaint a lot about the cold water drying his hands so he didn't do the dishes. Now that it's getting warmer, he better start washing them or else.

Yeah, no wedding pics. We had to dress up again a few days later and re-create most of them so we could bring them to the embassy. Good thing we did because they CO asked to see them. We were also planning on having a church wedding in Colombia but as soon as you get here it's hard to do it.

Diana

Totally agree... church ceremonies are a bit tricky since we never really know the cost of life and everything once we start AOS and jobs are hard to come by. Eventualmente we can all go to Santa Marta or San Andres or Providencia for a Church/Beach ceremony though... just keep it on the calendar!

Just PMd you... maybe there's something to be done for those lost pics.

[ColombianoGringo 0]

Getting married in Colombia can really be a hassle. The biggest problem with the notarios is that they seem to make their own rules. The church has a bunch more requirements. I am supposed to get a church annulment of my first marriage. However, since we are already married and the church ceremony will be mainly for show, I am hoping that the priest will let some of that stuff slide with a suitable "donation to the candle fund".

If any of you are serious about renewing your vows or getting married in SA, I would highly recommend Jannethe with Saiweddings.com. Her prices are very reasonable and she takes care of everything. She even recently got and sent the copies of the marriage cert that we need for the interview. She only charged us the notario fee for the certs and the price of sending them via Deprisa. She and her husband also own and run Noble House hotel in downtown SA. It is not on the beach, but it is a cute "boutique" hotel with a nice interior.

Edited May 1, 2008 by ColombianoGringo

[cesar 0]

I know this is off topic but I thought it's a great initiative to help those who've been forsaken without having to put up a dime.

I just created a topic, and I invite all of you who live in the U.S. and use Windows Live Messenger to take 2 minutes and read it.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=125561

[Amparo1965 0]

Help, or Advice. My fiance has her interview in 4-5 weeks, We/She discovered that her birth certificate and baptism record are wrong. Her CEDULA and Passport have her correct birth date. In Colombia, they will only use the Cedula to obtain a passport. It takes two years to obtain a new Cedula. Her mother has signed a letter that states the birth certificate and baptism record are wrong and it is notorized. ****** So are we between a rock and a hard place.

When she asked to get the birth certificate corrected, they said yes but only would go by the baptism record. **** So she is not able to change the birth certificate. Colombia will not change a birth certificate with a Cedula. **** Oh, the day and month are correct, it is the year, 1964 - 1965

Does this mean that we have no chance in the world, except wait 2 years for a new cedula??????????

Since the interview is only 10 to 15 minutes, and have to look at over 200 papers, we are providing for the interview, how close to they look at the birth date on the birth certificate to match it to the passport?

What chances do we have at squeaking by?

I will take any advice or recommendations>

[HAL 9000 96]

I know this is off topic but I thought it's a great initiative to help those who've been forsaken without having to put up a dime.

I just created a topic, and I invite all of you who live in the U.S. and use Windows Live Messenger to take 2 minutes and read it.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=125561

Bien hecho cesar.

[HAL 9000 96]

Help, or Advice. My fiance has her interview in 4-5 weeks, We/She discovered that her birth certificate and baptism record are wrong. Her CEDULA and Passport have her correct birth date. In Colombia, they will only use the Cedula to obtain a passport. It takes two years to obtain a new Cedula. Her mother has signed a letter that states the birth certificate and baptism record are wrong and it is notorized. ****** So are we between a rock and a hard place.

When she asked to get the birth certificate corrected, they said yes but only would go by the baptism record. **** So she is not able to change the birth certificate. Colombia will not change a birth certificate with a Cedula. **** Oh, the day and month are correct, it is the year, 1964 - 1965

Does this mean that we have no chance in the world, except wait 2 years for a new cedula??????????

Since the interview is only 10 to 15 minutes, and have to look at over 200 papers, we are providing for the interview, how close to they look at the birth date on the birth certificate to match it to the passport?

What chances do we have at squeaking by?

I will take any advice or recommendations>

Had you caught this flop earlier maybe things would have been easier... But hey, you can try. I think as long as the demographic information is OK you shouldn't have too much to worry other than including the notarized information from your fiancee's mom.

At the embassy there will be a person checking the vital documents such as ID and citizenship before the actual interview. Before the CO interviews your fiancee.

[B&E 0]

Hello to everyone. First, thanks for all the great information so far. I've spent some time just reading through all the posts as much as possible, as well as the Colombian Embassy information section. I think I know the answer to my questions, but I want to be 100% sure, because my fiancé and I don't want to wait any longer than necessary. I'm sure you all can understand that.

Background:

We filed our I-129F on Dec 14th with the CSC. As of today, nothing yet, but we should be happening any day now.

So, soon we are going to be dealing with the NVC and Embassy in Bogota. I have read about calling NVC getting the numbers etc. So, here are my questions in regards to Packet 3/4, Medical Etc.

Regarding step 5 it appears that we don't need the medical, police records, or such just yet. Is that true? I ask because I think the packet 3 says you need everything before you send it back to them.

5. After confirming that the embassy has your package follow these steps. You do NOT need to wait until you receive package 3.

A. Prepare your package 3 response. It should include the following items only. There should be a total of 5 pages including your one page cover letter.

1. Cover letter

2. OF-169 (page 5 of packet 3 instructions)

3. DS-230 Part 1 (pages 1 & 2 only)

4. Copy of fiancée's passport (biographical data page)

The cover letter should include the petitioner's and beneficiary's names and the BGT case number. State that the beneficiary has all the required documentation ready and request the earliest available appointment.

B. Fax your response to Package 3 to the embassy at 011-57-1-(315-4155. To be extra thorough, send your package 3 response via courier such as Servientrega also.

Pertaining to the medical itself, there are only three doctors listed and they are all in Bogota. She lives in Barranquilla. Is the only way to get the medical to go to Bogota?

She has her B2 VISA, so I'm hoping that she has records of previous vaccinations etc.

Our plan right now is this:

Fill out the following forms:

1. Cover letter

2. OF-169 (page 5 of packet 3 instructions)

3. DS-230 Part 1 (pages 1 & 2 only)

4. Copy of fiancée's passport (biographical data page)

5. I-134 Form - I have already filled this out. I included last years W2 and 1040. I have easy access to the past three years W2s...maybe I'll send those as well. I also included a letter from my work stating my position, job type and salary. Anything else I should include?

WAIT.

Once we get our NOA2, follow up with NVC, Get our BGT number, fax and send in the paperwork from above (minus the I-134).

WAIT.

Get interview date.

Get police records and anything else we need, schedule medical exam and any vaccinations.

Any advice?

Thanks.

[HAL 9000 96]

HI,

The medicals are mandatory and are only done by the Embassy-approved "MDs"

Read up on the vaccination tricks they have tried in the past to make more cash out of applicants.

Other than that, it seems you are on track. Good luck!

[B&E 0]

HI,

The medicals are mandatory and are only done by the Embassy-approved "MDs"

Read up on the vaccination tricks they have tried in the past to make more cash out of applicants.

Other than that, it seems you are on track. Good luck!

Great, I will try and read up and see what is going on with the vaccinations. OK, she will have to go to one of the approved MDs. No problem.

Thanks for the response!