Colombia Club

[Chester y Monica 0]

In Packet 3 it's referred to as "carta de entradas y salidas". When my fiancee went to DAS, the official knew exactly what it was. Monica is in Buga and for the travel cost to go to Bogota to get this thing, we opted to apply early and hopefully get it in Cali.

So what is the distance between the LAB for bloodwork and the office for the Dra Gonzalez? I don't want the appointments to be scheduled too close for comfort....

Edited July 11, 2007 by Chester

[parkpapa 0]

The Certificado de Migratorio can be obtained in three business days in Bogota. My wife chose not to wait for the indeterminate time it would have taken to receive it from DAS in her hometown (weeks or months.... who knows?).

I can't tell you the distance between the lab and Dra. Gonzales because my wife ended up going to the other doctor. But, I would be hesitant to schedule them the same day because the lab has to send the results to the doctor's office. You specify which one.

[buck501 0]

The Certificado de Migratorio can be obtained in three business days in Bogota. My wife chose not to wait for the indeterminate time it would have taken to receive it from DAS in her hometown (weeks or months.... who knows?).

I can't tell you the distance between the lab and Dra. Gonzales because my wife ended up going to the other doctor. But, I would be hesitant to schedule them the same day because the lab has to send the results to the doctor's office. You specify which one.

[/quot

One way or another we will get the Certificado de Migratorio. I can have Paola go to Bogata 2 weeks before the interview if we have to. We have all the other doc's in order and are ready for he interview.

I am a very detail oreinted person and am used to doing things I am familar with, or getting all the info and understanding it way ahead of time. We are fast approaching the interview and I do not feel totaly comfortable. New for me. I'm going to mellow out some, relax, let things happen and react when they don't.........................well, I'm trying anyway.LOL>LOL. Thanks all, I hope to be all wound up soon about the AOS process. LOL.

[lucho562 0]

Hello all,

Last night we made it in to L.A. Point of entry was a piece a cake. They didnt even ask her any questions. Her POE was in the same place as if she was a citizen, she wasnt taken to a special room or location. The officer opened the sealed envelope which has all the forms that we have filled out since day 1. The I129, g325a, packet 3, packet 4 etc. He stamped a couple pages, finger printed her index finger on each hand, took a mug shot and we were set to go. All in all it couldnt have been more than 15 minutes. We are happy now, finally together. No more phone cards

BTW, and no the officer did not even ask for the x-ray....surprised huh?

I am back now and can answer any questions. Sorry if I couldnt reply to your pm's sooner. Last 2 days were hectic. Who's next to interview????

[parkpapa 0]

I'm a lot like you, Buck. I want to know what to expect at each step and be prepared in advance. Not that I always succeed, of course. lol

In dealing with bureaucrats in Colombia, be prepared for a certain level of frustration. Their time-table is not the same as ours - and this is true of our own government, as well. Just prepare the best you can, and then try to take frustrations or delays in stride.

[Mononoke28 134]

Lucho,

George's wife had his interview and were approved!. Tell Wendy congrats on making it to the US safe and sound. I hope she likes it. L.A. is soooooo awesome, I'm so jealous.

I also found this on the web which I thought was kind of funny. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave Jorge Celedón the same "printer malfunction" excuse.

Diana

Jorge Celedón aplaza conciertos

Fuente: Junior Pardo , 07/12/2007

Por motivos de fuerza mayor, la agrupación de Jorge Celedón y Jimmy Zambrano, aplazó su viaje a Estados Unidos y los conciertos programados para éste fin de semana en Dallas, Houston, Orlando, y otras ciudades, quedaron postergados.

La Embajada de Estados Unidos, con sede en Bogotá, informó que el visado del conjunto se entregará la próxima semana debido a los inconvenientes en el sistema de Washington que registra un colapso y un represamiento en la tramitación del documento.

Los integrantes de la Organización Musical de Jorge Celedón y Jimmy Zambrano, cumplieron con la cita de la entrevista y la entrega completa de los requerimientos para la renovación de la visa.

A raíz de esta situación, Jorge Celedón y Jimmy Zambrano, ofrecen sus disculpas por éste imprevisto y esperan la comprensión de sus seguidores en Estados Unidos.

[buck501 0]

Lucho,

George's wife had his interview and were approved!. Tell Wendy congrats on making it to the US safe and sound. I hope she likes it. L.A. is soooooo awesome, I'm so jealous.

I also found this on the web which I thought was kind of funny. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave Jorge Celedón the same "printer malfunction" excuse.

Diana

Jorge Celedón aplaza conciertos

Fuente: Junior Pardo , 07/12/2007

Por motivos de fuerza mayor, la agrupación de Jorge Celedón y Jimmy Zambrano, aplazó su viaje a Estados Unidos y los conciertos programados para éste fin de semana en Dallas, Houston, Orlando, y otras ciudades, quedaron postergados.

La Embajada de Estados Unidos, con sede en Bogotá, informó que el visado del conjunto se entregará la próxima semana debido a los inconvenientes en el sistema de Washington que registra un colapso y un represamiento en la tramitación del documento.

Los integrantes de la Organización Musical de Jorge Celedón y Jimmy Zambrano, cumplieron con la cita de la entrevista y la entrega completa de los requerimientos para la renovación de la visa.

A raíz de esta situación, Jorge Celedón y Jimmy Zambrano, ofrecen sus disculpas por éste imprevisto y esperan la comprensión de sus seguidores en Estados Unidos.

I have been rooting for the folks on this thread from day one of my filing. It is good to see so many getting the visa. I will have to say this has been an experience so far. I think what makes it so stressful and causes worry is that as you go thu this, you never know for sure your going to get the visa. It seems like it should be a bit more reliable. I know there is fraud and all that, but man! Congrats to all who have made it this far.

[Mononoke28 134]

It's funny how we have our significant others so close to each other, Buenaventura, Buga and Tuluá. My husband will have to go to Buga pretty soon to get his Baptismal Certificate before the interview. I told him to pay a visit to El Señor de los Milagros while he's there so we can have a little extra help on the day of his interview.

[paisita411 0]

Diana...I love Jorgito Celedon, but it makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one given a hard time at the embassy. El Binomio de Oro is playing in Atlanta this Saturday to celebrate Colombian Independance Day....I'm glad they have their visas in hand!!!!

Lucho...welcome home to you and Wendy!!! And I think I'm NEXT in line!!! I have 10 days, 13 hours and 32 minutes.. thanks to my handy dandy counter below! Is there anything else I need to be prepared for other than the long, cold wait at the embassy? I'll keep my fingers crossed on the X-Ray issue...if its in one on my moving boxes, it will be found when I move into my new house. I'm glad to hear it wasn't asked of you along the way.

Well... I have a NEW question for those of you with VISA IN HAND.....how many days do you have from the time the visa is issued to when you MUST travel to the US? is it 30 days or 90 days? My husband has to sell his apt and his moto and he refuses to put any of it for sale (THIS TIME) until he has the visa in hand (can you blame him? he had to go home in february and undo a bunch of transactions!).

Your input is appreciated.

Dre

[lucho562 0]

Diana...I love Jorgito Celedon, but it makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one given a hard time at the embassy. El Binomio de Oro is playing in Atlanta this Saturday to celebrate Colombian Independance Day....I'm glad they have their visas in hand!!!!

Lucho...welcome home to you and Wendy!!! And I think I'm NEXT in line!!! I have 10 days, 13 hours and 32 minutes.. thanks to my handy dandy counter below! Is there anything else I need to be prepared for other than the long, cold wait at the embassy? I'll keep my fingers crossed on the X-Ray issue...if its in one on my moving boxes, it will be found when I move into my new house. I'm glad to hear it wasn't asked of you along the way.

Well... I have a NEW question for those of you with VISA IN HAND.....how many days do you have from the time the visa is issued to when you MUST travel to the US? is it 30 days or 90 days? My husband has to sell his apt and his moto and he refuses to put any of it for sale (THIS TIME) until he has the visa in hand (can you blame him? he had to go home in february and undo a bunch of transactions!).

Your input is appreciated.

Dre

Dre,

Thanks for the welcome!! After visa in hand, you have 6 months to travel to the USA, and once in the USA you have 90 days to get married.....I speak for K1 visas only. Dont know if there is another type of visa for fiances like there is 2 types for married couples.

Also for the embassy. Just make sure you have everything in order, all documents. Expect to be scammed, well they will try to scam you. They as in people that have shops near the embassy. Like photo copy centers and passport pictures centers. Dont listen to them, they will claim that you need to have umpteen copies of cedulas, amplified at 150% and etc. Dont try to speak to other petitioners, some will say otherwise. However, we found that the very few people we spoke to kinda made us confused. Well, almost confused. I believe with the knowledge that we have due to this thread, we should be unvincible in the process. Other couples that we met that dont go on VJ, seemed to not have a clue.

[buck501 0]

Diana...I love Jorgito Celedon, but it makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one given a hard time at the embassy. El Binomio de Oro is playing in Atlanta this Saturday to celebrate Colombian Independance Day....I'm glad they have their visas in hand!!!!

Lucho...welcome home to you and Wendy!!! And I think I'm NEXT in line!!! I have 10 days, 13 hours and 32 minutes.. thanks to my handy dandy counter below! Is there anything else I need to be prepared for other than the long, cold wait at the embassy? I'll keep my fingers crossed on the X-Ray issue...if its in one on my moving boxes, it will be found when I move into my new house. I'm glad to hear it wasn't asked of you along the way.

Well... I have a NEW question for those of you with VISA IN HAND.....how many days do you have from the time the visa is issued to when you MUST travel to the US? is it 30 days or 90 days? My husband has to sell his apt and his moto and he refuses to put any of it for sale (THIS TIME) until he has the visa in hand (can you blame him? he had to go home in february and undo a bunch of transactions!).

Your input is appreciated.

Dre

Dre,

Thanks for the welcome!! After visa in hand, you have 6 months to travel to the USA, and once in the USA you have 90 days to get married.....I speak for K1 visas only. Dont know if there is another type of visa for fiances like there is 2 types for married couples.

Also for the embassy. Just make sure you have everything in order, all documents. Expect to be scammed, well they will try to scam you. They as in people that have shops near the embassy. Like photo copy centers and passport pictures centers. Dont listen to them, they will claim that you need to have umpteen copies of cedulas, amplified at 150% and etc. Dont try to speak to other petitioners, some will say otherwise. However, we found that the very few people we spoke to kinda made us confused. Well, almost confused. I believe with the knowledge that we have due to this thread, we should be unvincible in the process. Other couples that we met that dont go on VJ, seemed to not have a clue.

It easy to understand how you could be scammed. Thanks for the 2nd warning.

I have one question............when they give you the instructions at the Embassy, do they speak both english and spanish, or just spanish? I am going to be dinked if it is only spanish. Unless they speak very slow and clear I can not understand what they say and even then I don't get much of it.

[parkpapa 0]

Diana...I love Jorgito Celedon, but it makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one given a hard time at the embassy. El Binomio de Oro is playing in Atlanta this Saturday to celebrate Colombian Independance Day....I'm glad they have their visas in hand!!!!

Lucho...welcome home to you and Wendy!!! And I think I'm NEXT in line!!! I have 10 days, 13 hours and 32 minutes.. thanks to my handy dandy counter below! Is there anything else I need to be prepared for other than the long, cold wait at the embassy? I'll keep my fingers crossed on the X-Ray issue...if its in one on my moving boxes, it will be found when I move into my new house. I'm glad to hear it wasn't asked of you along the way.

Well... I have a NEW question for those of you with VISA IN HAND.....how many days do you have from the time the visa is issued to when you MUST travel to the US? is it 30 days or 90 days? My husband has to sell his apt and his moto and he refuses to put any of it for sale (THIS TIME) until he has the visa in hand (can you blame him? he had to go home in february and undo a bunch of transactions!).

Your input is appreciated.

Dre

Dre,

Thanks for the welcome!! After visa in hand, you have 6 months to travel to the USA, and once in the USA you have 90 days to get married.....I speak for K1 visas only. Dont know if there is another type of visa for fiances like there is 2 types for married couples.

Also for the embassy. Just make sure you have everything in order, all documents. Expect to be scammed, well they will try to scam you. They as in people that have shops near the embassy. Like photo copy centers and passport pictures centers. Dont listen to them, they will claim that you need to have umpteen copies of cedulas, amplified at 150% and etc. Dont try to speak to other petitioners, some will say otherwise. However, we found that the very few people we spoke to kinda made us confused. Well, almost confused. I believe with the knowledge that we have due to this thread, we should be unvincible in the process. Other couples that we met that dont go on VJ, seemed to not have a clue.

It easy to understand how you could be scammed. Thanks for the 2nd warning.

I have one question............when they give you the instructions at the Embassy, do they speak both english and spanish, or just spanish? I am going to be dinked if it is only spanish. Unless they speak very slow and clear I can not understand what they say and even then I don't get much of it.

There is only one person you need to be able to communicate with (other than the CO, of course) and that is your fiancee/wife. If you both are aware of the process and all of the potential problems, and if you trust each other, you'll be fine. All instructions given while waiting in line or in area 40 were in Spanish. The COs at the windows speak English, but your role there will be limited.

Throughout our visa process, I tried to explain to Lorena what VisaJourney was all about, but had little success (my Spanish really sucks! lol). But, I was able to prepare her for nearly every aspect of what we would go through, and she felt very reassured by the knowledge. I think that may be 90% of the battle. The paperwork itself is not really difficult, but the mental preparation and intimidation can be really tough.

You guys are doing great! Keep it up!

[TonyS 0]

Diana...I love Jorgito Celedon, but it makes me feel a little better that I'm not the only one given a hard time at the embassy. El Binomio de Oro is playing in Atlanta this Saturday to celebrate Colombian Independance Day....I'm glad they have their visas in hand!!!!

Lucho...welcome home to you and Wendy!!! And I think I'm NEXT in line!!! I have 10 days, 13 hours and 32 minutes.. thanks to my handy dandy counter below! Is there anything else I need to be prepared for other than the long, cold wait at the embassy? I'll keep my fingers crossed on the X-Ray issue...if its in one on my moving boxes, it will be found when I move into my new house. I'm glad to hear it wasn't asked of you along the way.

Well... I have a NEW question for those of you with VISA IN HAND.....how many days do you have from the time the visa is issued to when you MUST travel to the US? is it 30 days or 90 days? My husband has to sell his apt and his moto and he refuses to put any of it for sale (THIS TIME) until he has the visa in hand (can you blame him? he had to go home in february and undo a bunch of transactions!).

Your input is appreciated.

Dre

Dre,

Thanks for the welcome!! After visa in hand, you have 6 months to travel to the USA, and once in the USA you have 90 days to get married.....I speak for K1 visas only. Dont know if there is another type of visa for fiances like there is 2 types for married couples.

Also for the embassy. Just make sure you have everything in order, all documents. Expect to be scammed, well they will try to scam you. They as in people that have shops near the embassy. Like photo copy centers and passport pictures centers. Dont listen to them, they will claim that you need to have umpteen copies of cedulas, amplified at 150% and etc. Dont try to speak to other petitioners, some will say otherwise. However, we found that the very few people we spoke to kinda made us confused. Well, almost confused. I believe with the knowledge that we have due to this thread, we should be unvincible in the process. Other couples that we met that dont go on VJ, seemed to not have a clue.

It easy to understand how you could be scammed. Thanks for the 2nd warning.

I have one question............when they give you the instructions at the Embassy, do they speak both english and spanish, or just spanish? I am going to be dinked if it is only spanish. Unless they speak very slow and clear I can not understand what they say and even then I don't get much of it.

Don't worry..you will be fine. The lady at the lines in front of the embassy was Colombian, the lady inside explaining how to arrange the paperwork was Colombian and the rude and rather unhappy looking paper slinger at the first booth was Colombian. They will only need to communicate with your novia. The only American was the CO and in my case he didn't even speak to me.

[paisita411 0]

LUCHO...thanks for the info on the K1 visa, Oscar is getting a K3 so I'm not sure that it has the same rules because we're already married...does anyone know how long you have to travel to the us on the K3? Mike...I know you know.... I read on the guide that the K3 is valid for 2 years with multiple re-entry, does that mean he can travel anytime up to 2 years?????

As far as the EMBASSY.....from my experience in February, and I am Colombian and speak fluent spanish, they will only speak spanish to you outside the gate and at the security checkpoint. thye come outside around 6:45 and put you in the appropriate lines...for K1, K3 and CR-1/IR-1....get in line 3 which is basically on the grass next to the sidewalk...do this as soon as you get there becuase most people get in the LONG line (line 1) and later have to move to one of the others. Everything else she says after that, I tuned out because it had nothing to do with us. Like Lucho said, have your paperwork in order, your appointment letter and passport in hand (that applies to everyone attending the interveiw) and be prepared to show it to the gaurds when the line starts moving. Once you go through security (don't forget to leave your camera phones at home) you will go to one of the first 4 booths. A CO will ask YOUR FINACE or SPOUSE for their passport and appointment letter...they will not speak to the USC at this point. From there they move you to the area on the far left corner in front of boots 1-8 and you will sit there and WAIT and WAIT. It is COLD inside the embassy so wear pants, closed toed shoes (I speak from experience) and a light jacket). The wait is long so you may want to bring something to read.

As far as being scammed....I'm colombian and PAISA ... its pretty hard to scam me.

Dre

[Mononoke28 134]

Dre,

I am a huge vallenato fan and boy what wouldn't I give to go see El Binomio de Oro, but no one ever comes to Denver.

I remember when I went to the Registraduría to get my cédula last December and we were just hounded by all these guys trying to get money out of us. But yeah, it's very hard to scam a paisa, we're the scammers not the scamees.

Diana