Colombia Club

[parkpapa 0]

Would you be road tripping back to KC from MIA? That ought to be pretty fun! I was actually thinking that same idea but to Chicago... only no time for it. Lucky me I have the habit of collecting AA Miles... That will pay for the BOG-MIA-ORD trip for her and the ORD-MIA-ORD trip for me in July as well as already having paid with only 30K miles for the interview trip... May 29 thru June 12 (ORD-BOG-ORD via MIA)...

You may try getting to a hub like Dallas/Houston depending on your airline of choice.

I'll take a look at LAN but lately with some of the search engines it doesn't come close to AA when doing any BOG-MIA segments.

If I owned (or rented) a minivan, the road trip from Miami might be doable, but as you say, time is a factor.

As for LAN, I checked their prices on their website and they're lower than those listed through one of the search engines - at least for the dates I wanted. There is so much fluctuation in prices, even by the minute sometimes, that eventually you take your best shot and don't look back!

[lucho562 0]

Bros/Sis's

Our approval just arrived at NVC today. NVC should send it to Bogota today, tomorrow or latest Monday?? If so, Bogota should receive the package some time during the end of next week?

thanks!

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Lucho!!!!!!

You have a shot at getting a June interview....but the mid-month cut-off is approaching fast. I assume you've already talked to someone at the NVC and gotten your case number (BGT...). Now you need to call them back and find out when the petition has been sent to Bogota. If it gets sent tomorrow, for example, it should be in Bogota by next Tuesday the 15th (delivery takes 3 business days by DHL). If so, then you can have your fiancee fax the packet 3 info on Wednesday, the 16th. THere is no guarantee that you'll make the cut-off, but it's possible. If not, you should get an early July interview date.

Good luck.

Mike

Bros/Sis's

Our approval just arrived at NVC today. NVC should send it to Bogota today, tomorrow or latest Monday?? If so, Bogota should receive the package some time during the end of next week?

thanks!

[lucho562 0]

Lucho!!!!!!

You have a shot at getting a June interview....but the mid-month cut-off is approaching fast. I assume you've already talked to someone at the NVC and gotten your case number (BGT...). Now you need to call them back and find out when the petition has been sent to Bogota. If it gets sent tomorrow, for example, it should be in Bogota by next Tuesday the 15th (delivery takes 3 business days by DHL). If so, then you can have your fiancee fax the packet 3 info on Wednesday, the 16th. THere is no guarantee that you'll make the cut-off, but it's possible. If not, you should get an early July interview date.

Good luck.

Mike

Bros/Sis's

Our approval just arrived at NVC today. NVC should send it to Bogota today, tomorrow or latest Monday?? If so, Bogota should receive the package some time during the end of next week?

thanks!

Yup!!! We have a shot at a June inteveriew!!! It will be a tight race to accomplish that. I have the case BGT case #. I will be calling twice a day from now on, to find out if they have sent the petition. Worst case scenario, an early July interview....I can live with that! Thanks so much for your help Mike! Tomorrow I will show you my packet 3 in its entirity...let me know what you think.

Thanks!!

Question,

Should my fiance fax packet 3 several times, just in case it gets lost at their end in Bogota? I have told her to fax it twice, then to snail mail it in. I cant wait.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Lucho!

All I can tell you is what we did. My wife faxed it and then we followed up with a hard copy by courier (just in case) two days later. You could fax it more than once, but then you might risk someone on the other end getting ticked that they got so many faxes and accidently putting you at the bottom of the pile (human nature). Overall, I think the embassy does a pretty good job considering the number of visa petitions they process...so I personally would trust them...and only send one fax.

Mike

Question,

Should my fiance fax packet 3 several times, just in case it gets lost at their end in Bogota? I have told her to fax it twice, then to snail mail it in. I cant wait.

[lucho562 0]

Lucho!

All I can tell you is what we did. My wife faxed it and then we followed up with a hard copy by courier (just in case) two days later. You could fax it more than once, but then you might risk someone on the other end getting ticked that they got so many faxes and accidently putting you at the bottom of the pile (human nature). Overall, I think the embassy does a pretty good job considering the number of visa petitions they process...so I personally would trust them...and only send one fax.

Mike

Question,

Should my fiance fax packet 3 several times, just in case it gets lost at their end in Bogota? I have told her to fax it twice, then to snail mail it in. I cant wait.

Is there a way to confirm that they received the fax? I'd hate to send the fax, and some how it not go thru. I know what you mean about getting someone ticked lol.

Thanks

[Mononoke28 134]

You can try calling the embassy to see if they received the faxed documents but someone said they're not taking calls anymore. It's worth a shot.

Question for you Lucho. Have you received your NOA2 in the mail yet? How long does it take?

[Mike and Adriana 0]

I guess, in her cover letter, your fiancee could ask for confirmation of receipt. But, based on all that we know about the embassy, I highly doubt that they will respond. And the embassy no longer accepts phone calls. I believe they are accepting e-mails now, but there is no guarantee of a reply.

That is why we followed up our fax with the hard copy via courier....just in case. Maybe you send the documents by courier the same day you send the fax. Just an idea.

Mike

PS - at least from Bogota, the courier was LESS expensive than the fax!

Is there a way to confirm that they received the fax? I'd hate to send the fax, and some how it not go thru. I know what you mean about getting someone ticked lol.

Thanks

[lucho562 0]

Diana,

I received the hardcopy of the NOA2 4 days later in the mail. And thats including a Sunday. So it took basically 3 USPS work days.

Mike,

I guess thats all we can do, is just hope. I will try emailing them afterwards.

[lucho562 0]

Any cheap $ hotels near the embassy in Bogota? If so, please let me know around how much per day. My fiance and I will be there for approximately 3 days. I need to start running the numbers.

thanks!

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Lucho:

If it makes you feel any better, I've bee following this thread since last fall and I have not heard of one person who has used the short-cut who has not gotten an appointment. In other words, I've seen nothing about the embassy losing any faxes.

Mike

Mike,

I guess thats all we can do, is just hope. I will try emailing them afterwards.

[HAL 9000 96]

We got a phone call the day after we faxed the paperwork in, so no, they did not lose the info!

[glenn21 0]

hello to all,

we had our interview on may 7th and we didn't get denied or approved. our case is pending since supposedly someone has my fiancee's name in the u.s. and is a criminal. the interviewer was extremely nice and spoke to me also. she explained that they had to do some kind of extra background check that would take 3-6 weeks. i would think that they would have found this out before i went all the way down there and bought tickets etc. she said all the paperwork looked great and she looked at the first half or our photo album. she was american. i'll write a detailed review on the embassy review section. so, i guess i should have listened and not assumed everything would go smoothly. it sucks but i guess we'll have to wait another month. thanks to all that have helped.

[Mononoke28 134]

Diana,

I received the hardcopy of the NOA2 4 days later in the mail. And thats including a Sunday. So it took basically 3 USPS work days.

Shoot, I still don't have it. Those Mo fo's!

[parkpapa 0]

Packet 3 Contents for K3 - http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsck3k4instructions.shtml[/color]

Department of State Visa Helpline in Washington, D.C. - 202.663.1225

As a bit of follow-up, since the interview dates are not being updated on the embassy's website, I called the DOS number you listed. I called on May 8 and the person I talked to was very efficient and helpful. He asked for my petition number (BGT #########) and then he told me our interview date and time, and also the date that packet 4 was mailed to my wife.

That's the good news. My wife still has not received packet 4 so now I'm trying to see if there is any way that I can get it so that I can bring it with me for her interview. I know that a copy can be picked up by her or a designated person, but our opportunities to do so in a timely way are running thin on time (she lives 10 hours from Bogota). Do you guys think they would send me a copy?

Edited May 14, 2007 by parkpapa