Colombia Club

[lucho562 0]

FYI for everybody looks like NVC to bogota is taking only 2 days. So fax in your packet 3's on the 3rd day.

Our approval left NVC on 5/14, and Bogota sent out packet 3 on 5/16 according to the person I spoke with on the visa helpline at 202-663-1225.

This 1 or 2 day wait makes a big difference especially when trying to beat the mid month cut off.

And gracias Jay

[jediknight 0]

lucho, thanks for the vacunas info, i'm going to call my wife tonight and let her know.

jay, thanks for that very informative post. it's funny you should mention the attire for the interview as my wife had asked me the same thing yesterday. i told her we would probably have to get her some conservative clothing since she's from barranquilla and everything they wear there is not conservative at all. after reading your post i completely did not even think about what i was going to wear and the idea of a suit didn't even enter my mind. i probably would have gone business casual, slacks, shirt, tie and sport jacket but the suit may be a better idea. thanks for the info and keep posting if any other details may have slipped your mind. congrats to the both of you

JK

[parkpapa 0]

Great post, Jay. I know that your detailed description will put a lot of minds at rest (at least partially). Quite frankly, I hadn't given a thought to wearing a suit, but was going to take a tie and sports coat. However, now that I know what my wife is going to wear, it might be better if I wear a suit. Glad you brought that up!

[lucho562 0]

jediknight,

When is your interview? If you dont know, how about an estimate? We might be interviewing the same day. Our interview should fall on the last days of June or first days of July.

[jediknight 0]

lucho, we don't have a date yet but i'm guessing beginning of july. i hope it's not sooner as i won't be able to fly down until the first week of july so we'll see. my wife got 2 of the shots today at coomeva for free only because we have health insurance there until this month. she needs to get the varicela this week but they'll charge her for that, 80,000 pesos. take care

JK

[lucho562 0]

lucho, we don't have a date yet but i'm guessing beginning of july. i hope it's not sooner as i won't be able to fly down until the first week of july so we'll see. my wife got 2 of the shots today at coomeva for free only because we have health insurance there until this month. she needs to get the varicela this week but they'll charge her for that, 80,000 pesos. take care

JK

Lucky you for saving that $$ on the shots. I'll keep you updated bro on our interview date as well.

[lucho562 0]

Jay,

You wrote skip clips and binders. So you just brought the documents in a manila folder or something? Just one behind the other like a stack of papers right??

Also how did you present all the photos? Photo albums??

[parkpapa 0]

Jay,

You wrote skip clips and binders. So you just brought the documents in a manila folder or something? Just one behind the other like a stack of papers right??

Also how did you present all the photos? Photo albums??

Lucho, I think someone mentioned that you can keep the photos in a plastic sleeve, but not in a binder. The reason being that you have to slide the papers and pictures through a narrow slot for the consul.

[lucho562 0]

Jay,

You wrote skip clips and binders. So you just brought the documents in a manila folder or something? Just one behind the other like a stack of papers right??

Also how did you present all the photos? Photo albums??

Lucho, I think someone mentioned that you can keep the photos in a plastic sleeve, but not in a binder. The reason being that you have to slide the papers and pictures through a narrow slot for the consul.

Like a sleeve, eg how I used to store my baseball cards or something of that nature??

[olafgypsy 0]

I am sorry that you had trouble with your fax. You are the first one that has reported a problem on this thread. I can't imagine how they lost a fax. . . .

Thanks for your response! My fiance is going to try calling the embassy tomorrow between 2 and 4 to see what the situation is. I'll be sure to report back what actually happened; whether they really lost it, or we made a mistake on our end of things, or what.

[lucho562 0]

I am sorry that you had trouble with your fax. You are the first one that has reported a problem on this thread. I can't imagine how they lost a fax. . . .

Thanks for your response! My fiance is going to try calling the embassy tomorrow between 2 and 4 to see what the situation is. I'll be sure to report back what actually happened; whether they really lost it, or we made a mistake on our end of things, or what.

That sucks. Let us know on your progess with dealing with the embassy.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Our experience was generally similar to Jay's. I have a couple of comments that relate to what I have cut out of Jay's post below:

1) I agree with Jay that you can be TOO organized. Have your documents in order. Have other evidence organized, where you can retrieve it if necessary. But there is no need to bring big binds, photo albums, etc. As posted before, a lot of this stuff is never asked for and if it is, big binders and albums will not fit through the window opening.

2) I continue to believe that it is preferable for both beneficiary and petitioner to attend the interview, if at all possible. More of "dress code" later.

3) As for arriving early at the embassy....All appointments are scheduled at 7:00. From what I could discern, arriving early allows you to get at the front of line 3. This allows you to enter the embassy more quickly. It also allows you to have your documents reviewed by embassy personnel more quickly (as Jay says, the first review is simply a review of your documents...making sure you have everything, making sure they are in order....the embassy employee also highlights certain "key" piece of information on the various documents you provide).

However, I saw NO correlation betwen the order in which you had your documents reviewed and the order in which you were actually interviewed by the CO. We were interviewed ahead of some folks that had been ahead of us in line...and I also recall at least one person who was interviewed before us, but who had been behind us in the initial line. Thus, our experience was contrary to Jay's.

4) Jay and his fiancee were lucky. Our interview did not commence until after 11:00. Others on this board have not been interviewed until after 12:00. So, be prepared to be there for several hours.

5) As for dress at the interview.....I personally am glad I did not wear a suit. The seats are the embassy are not very comfortable and you are basically outside. You could be sitting around for several hours. I wore jeans and a Columbia (note the spelling) shirt. My wife looked nicer....with a skirt and nice blouse. Don't forget that the embassy folks already know all about you.....occupation, income, assets (in some cases)....so I'm not sure that dress is really going to make much difference....unless the beneficiary carries it to an extreme (e.g., looks like she just came from a job at the local casa). Honestly, the only guys I saw in suits were Colombianos....and I can remember at least one who was unsuccessful....from what my wife heard him say.

I do agree with Jay about mannerisms, composure, and how you carry yourself. I have no idea if anyone in the embassy was monitoring the cameras....or if the COs were watching any of the folks as they waited. However, I do know that my wife and I positioned ourselves so that we were directly facing the interviewers windows (we were in direct cite of the guy who eventually interviewed my wife). We held hands, chatted on occasion, and, I believe, generally looked confident and relaxed. We joked around and laughed some. When she was called to the window, I followed behind her and then stood right behind her with a slight smile on my face.

The result? As I've posted before....my wife was approved in seconds. The interviewer had no questions for her at all. He asked for no additional evidence (beyond the photos, copies of reservations, and e-mails we had submitted with our I-129F).

Mike

General thoughts- Preparation is everything. I think that having all the documentation in order is key to success in this process. It ensures that you are not scrutinized and it also makes you feel more confident at the interview. Skip clips, binders, etc. You don't need them.

I also believe that it pays to have both persons attend the interview and to dress well. Not strictly neccesary, but I wore a suit. Probably about 20% of the people there did the same.

It is important to go early because I believe it influences your success in receiving the visa the next day (more on this later).

You line up near the higher numbered windows (20-32, I think) and the same employee who checked our appointment letter then handed out the folders (you have to sign on a roster that you recieved it, which I think is how they determine roughly in what order you are interviewed by the consular officer).

We were then sent over to a seated area immediately to the left of the windows to assemble the packet. After about 10 minutes, we were called to one of the windows.... My impression was that this was just an intitial check of the packet.

Like I said, I decided to attend, wear a suit, Catherine dressed conservatively, and we were being (naturally) affectionate with each other. I do not know if the consular official was monitoring any of the cameras (though I know somebody was, one of the couples on the way out took a picture of the embassy, and were quickly confronted by security. They had to earase the photos before they were sent on their way), or if there body language was wrong at the interview, or if it had to do with something else altogether. But because there may be observation going on, I would suggest making sure that any jitters or nerves do not launch a fight on the day of the interview.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Hmmmmm.....2 days is pretty quick. I wonder if Lucho got lucky...or if the NVC was off on the dates. Hard to imagine that the petition arrived in 2 days AND that the packet 3 was sent on the same day at the petition arrived. Things don't usually work quite that quickly.

Previous experience tends to suggest 3 business days. If you want to know for sure, use the procedure that is well documented on this thread to track your petition through DHL.

If you have the luxury of time, I still suggest waiting a day or two after the time you believe your packet arrived in Bogota before sending the fax. Alternatively, you could do what we did.....indicating in our cover letter that we tracked the petition by DHL and know that it arrived in Bogota on XX date. That way, if our petition was not entered in the system yet, the embassy at least knew that is was there and was awaiting processing. I did not want them to discard our fax....just because the petition had not yet been processed (only speculating that this could happen).

On the other hand, if you are very close to the cut-off, you might have to wing it.

Mike

FYI for everybody looks like NVC to bogota is taking only 2 days. So fax in your packet 3's on the 3rd day.

Our approval left NVC on 5/14, and Bogota sent out packet 3 on 5/16 according to the person I spoke with on the visa helpline at 202-663-1225.

This 1 or 2 day wait makes a big difference especially when trying to beat the mid month cut off.

And gracias Jay

[Mike and Adriana 0]

JK:

Yes, typical Barranquilla clothing will probably not look good in Bogota (not just at the embassy, but anywhere in Bogota....Bogota is much more conservative than the coast, based on my observations).

As for you (as I said in my reply to Jay), I think business casual is more than enough. Go for comfort. Just don't be a slob.

Good luck!

Mike

lucho, thanks for the vacunas info, i'm going to call my wife tonight and let her know.

jay, thanks for that very informative post. it's funny you should mention the attire for the interview as my wife had asked me the same thing yesterday. i told her we would probably have to get her some conservative clothing since she's from barranquilla and everything they wear there is not conservative at all. after reading your post i completely did not even think about what i was going to wear and the idea of a suit didn't even enter my mind. i probably would have gone business casual, slacks, shirt, tie and sport jacket but the suit may be a better idea. thanks for the info and keep posting if any other details may have slipped your mind. congrats to the both of you

JK

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Lucho:

We have documents in Manila folders...one for the evidence we need for the interview....one for duplicate I-134 stuff....one for originals (birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc.)....and one for extra copies of everything. We also had a file of "proof of relationship" (additional photos, e-mails, hotel bills, phone bills, plane reservations and boarding passes, etc.). Just be organized and know where to find things, if asked. I labeled the front of each folder with the content, in order.

The photos we brought were simply in a photo envelope. Don't overdue the photos. They seem to be most interested in pictures of 1) you and your fiancee/wife together and 2) the two of you with family. Also, they seem to like to see photos shot at different times in different places. 20 photos of you and the wife/fiancee at the same party doesn't do much.

Mike

Jay,

You wrote skip clips and binders. So you just brought the documents in a manila folder or something? Just one behind the other like a stack of papers right??

Also how did you present all the photos? Photo albums??