Colombia Club

[jamesfreddyc 0]

I am wondering if the Bogota embassy has gone to the electronic version of the DS-156 yet. The electronic DS-156 encodes a barcode on the document and provides an additional page. At this point, I've prepared both an electronic DS-156 and a paper DS-156. If anyone wants to see the electronic version, go to the U.S. embassy in El Savlador's web site.

Mike,

I don't think so. The petitioner needs to take a completed DS-156/157 to the Banco De Credito where they will place a barcode sticker on the forms after payment is made. Review this page:

http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsc185.shtml

This page will tell you how to pay for the visa. The petitioner takes a completed DS-156 & 157 to the Bank, make the payment, then they will give you barcode "stickers" for the forms and your passport. As indicated here:

"A Banco de Crédito representative will mark the form with a control number stamp. The completed application that you present at the Bank must be the same application that you present with your passport at the Embassy on the day of your scheduled interview."

Also,

Here is a document that lists locations of Banco De Credito

http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/co1/wwwfnewbank.pdf

Hope this helps!

Take Care,

James

[paisita411 0]

Mike, I filled the I-156 and the I-230 in english for my husband. Do you think we should fill the spanish versions out as well?

From everything that I have read, the only change to packet 3 is that they want the DS-2001 instead of the OF-169. I am actually sending both (the OF-169 I got from Peter and the DS-2001 I got off of the U.S. embassy website for El Salvador and for the UK).

If there are any changes to packet 4, I'd like to know. Obviously, Peter's packet 4 was for the K-1...so it did not ask for the marriage certificate.

I am wondering if the Bogota embassy has gone to the electronic version of the DS-156 yet. The electronic DS-156 encodes a barcode on the document and provides an additional page. At this point, I've prepared both an electronic DS-156 and a paper DS-156. If anyone wants to see the electronic version, go to the U.S. embassy in El Savlador's web site.

Mike

[Mike and Adriana 0]

THanks, James. That was my understanding as well. Don't think Bogota has adopted the barcode requirement yet.

Andrea - from what I understand, the embassy will accept it either way - English or Spanish. I suspect they offer the forms in Spanish since they expect the beneficiary to complete it...and it would likely be easier for him/her to complete a form in Spanish as opposed to English. We are submitting our in English on an English-language form DS-156 and DS-230.

Mike, I filled the I-156 and the I-230 in english for my husband. Do you think we should fill the spanish versions out as well?

[paisita411 0]

Well, I'm not going to bother with the spanish versions then. I'll be with my husband at his interview anyway. Another thought...if we get our DSL delivery confirmation on Friday, Dec.8th, I was thinking of having Oscar just fax the docs over on monday and send out the hard copies by courier. I figure that by the time it all gets processed they'll end up together? Am I being TOOOO greedy?

THanks, James. That was my understanding as well. Don't think Bogota has adopted the barcode requirement yet.

Andrea - from what I understand, the embassy will accept it either way - English or Spanish. I suspect they offer the forms in Spanish since they expect the beneficiary to complete it...and it would likely be easier for him/her to complete a form in Spanish as opposed to English. We are submitting our in English on an English-language form DS-156 and DS-230.

Mike, I filled the I-156 and the I-230 in english for my husband. Do you think we should fill the spanish versions out as well?

[jamesfreddyc 0]

Dre,

I just wanted to say that your Avatar/Image is awesome. It's soooo Colombiana! I can't help but think about Sendy each time I see it!!!

james

[Tony & Olga 0]

Congatualtions Mike & Andrea!

Yes we all may end up there together! One thing I noticed, is on the Embassy web site they have a page that lists the interview dates and times. But as of a minute ago it is still listing Novemers dates! I wonder when they update this page...sheeesh!

I found out that our packet from NVC was delivered at 11:00 AM this morning, if indeed the packet I tracked has our VISA Approval in it. No way to know for sure, but I am having my wife fax and courrier the packet 3 documents to them on Monday! Hopefully, this gets the ball rolling for them to send Packet 4 out with the interview date for January! Stay tuned for updates as we navigate these last few steps!

Tony

I'm beginning to prepare the Packet #3 forms to send to my fiancee. I recv'I have a few questions.

- Regarding form DS-156... The Packet #3 instructions state 2 copies per person are to be completed. If the beneficiary has a child under the age of 21 one must also complete 2 DS-156 for the child. In my situation there is 1 beneficiary + 1 child. Is that a cost of $400 just for the DS156 forms? $100 per form per form, 4 forms, paid at Banco Union Colombiano.

-Other than referencing from OF-169 instead of form DS-2001, are the instructions Peter scanned, and Mike was good enough to forward to me, still up-to-date?

-Mail service in Colombia, especially residential, is less dependable than the weather forecast. Stuff goes missing all the time, but it seems to me to be more dependable in commercial areas and when consigned to a business. In addition, no one is at my fiancee's home during the day. Would it be possible to have the Embassy/Consulate send packets 3 and 4 to her workplace?

If anyone has recently recv'd or expecting their packet 3 or 4 from the Bogota Consulate PLEASE scan the documents... pdf of jpg files. I will do the same as soon as we recv our packets. Lets try to keep this thing going.

Fernando

[paisita411 0]

Tony - I'm pretty sure that was your packet that scanned delivered today because Mike and I confirmed ours was sent out on 12/06/06 and they are both still in route. I mentioned to Mike today that I would have my husband fax the P3 docs on Monday, so I'm glad you're doing the same, now if we can get Mike on board for Monday we may really grab their attention "La Union Hace La Fuerza".

As for Fernando's question about the two copies of DS-156, I'm sure we need two copies, but the fee is per applicant.

Next: DS-169 seems to be outdated, but I'm faxing it over anyway with DS-2001 unless someone else says otherwise. I'd rather send more than less.

The idea of having P3 and P4 mailed to a business address seems to be a good one and makes perfect sense. Can anyone chime in on this? I hadn't thought of it before and I'm considering it for my husband since he works at a Notaria during the day.

And for SURE, one of us must scan all the P3 and P4 docs for the K3 VISA and post it in the Colombia Club thread.

I just want to add that it makes me proud to be a part of this forum and to see how everyone is so eager to help each other out.

--Dre

Congatualtions Mike & Andrea!

Yes we all may end up there together! One thing I noticed, is on the Embassy web site they have a page that lists the interview dates and times. But as of a minute ago it is still listing Novemers dates! I wonder when they update this page...sheeesh!

I found out that our packet from NVC was delivered at 11:00 AM this morning, if indeed the packet I tracked has our VISA Approval in it. No way to know for sure, but I am having my wife fax and courrier the packet 3 documents to them on Monday! Hopefully, this gets the ball rolling for them to send Packet 4 out with the interview date for January! Stay tuned for updates as we navigate these last few steps!

Tony

I'm beginning to prepare the Packet #3 forms to send to my fiancee. I recv'I have a few questions.

- Regarding form DS-156... The Packet #3 instructions state 2 copies per person are to be completed. If the beneficiary has a child under the age of 21 one must also complete 2 DS-156 for the child. In my situation there is 1 beneficiary + 1 child. Is that a cost of $400 just for the DS156 forms? $100 per form per form, 4 forms, paid at Banco Union Colombiano.

-Other than referencing from OF-169 instead of form DS-2001, are the instructions Peter scanned, and Mike was good enough to forward to me, still up-to-date?

-Mail service in Colombia, especially residential, is less dependable than the weather forecast. Stuff goes missing all the time, but it seems to me to be more dependable in commercial areas and when consigned to a business. In addition, no one is at my fiancee's home during the day. Would it be possible to have the Embassy/Consulate send packets 3 and 4 to her workplace?

If anyone has recently recv'd or expecting their packet 3 or 4 from the Bogota Consulate PLEASE scan the documents... pdf of jpg files. I will do the same as soon as we recv our packets. Lets try to keep this thing going.

Fernando

[Tony & Olga 0]

Hi Andrea,

Yes this site is a life saver. I am glad I happened apon it when I did. I am having Olga fax and send the DS-2001 I downloaded from the El Salvador Embassy site, along with the Part1 of the DS-230 and a copy of her passport. I think this will suffice from everything I have read. Am I leaving anything out? I will certainly scan our packet 3 when and if we receive it. The last two weeks have gone by fast and now I feel like I am in a race to beat the clock! jaja!

Bueno Suerte atodas!

Tony

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Assuming the petitions I am tracking make it to Bogota tomorrow, I will have my wife fax the documents on Monday.

I believe my wife indicated that tomorrow was a holiday in Colombia. Although that should not impact the embassy, I wonder if DHL will be running?

I think we have all agreed on what to fax/send the embassy:

DS-230, part I

DS-2001

Copy of biographical page of the passport

I read somewhere that someone also sent a copy of the cedula...but I don't see that this is required...or that it really adds anything to the packet.

As for the DS-156, yes, it is two copies per person. So, if there is a spouse and a child, it would be two copies of each DS-156 plus the $200 fee ($100 per person).

Mike

[FMore 0]

Hey Mike,

http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsembh.shtml#English

It seems the embassy celebrates both US and Colombian Holidays. I read somewhere you should give the consulate ample time to scan your documents before faxing your fiancee's ds-2001, ds-230 and passport. Maybe you should call first to confirm it is in their system??? Just a thought.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Thanks. Now that you post that, I remember seeing that calendar on the web site before. It is interesting, because the U.S. embassy is closed for some Colombian holidays, but not all. There are definitely more national holidays than what is reflected on the web site! I guess the day I drove by the embassy, it was one of those holidays that the embassy has chosen not to celebrate.

I see that the embassy is closed today. So, Tony and Andrea, I guess we'll need to hold back on our faxes. Even if DHL is running today (which was my concern), they won't have anyone to deliver the packets to. Next Friday is the 15th....so we are all going to be cutting it close. I am leaning toward a Wednesday or Thursday fax. I'll wait a few days after that and follow with the courier...just in case.

Hey Mike,

http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsembh.shtml#English

It seems the embassy celebrates both US and Colombian Holidays. I read somewhere you should give the consulate ample time to scan your documents before faxing your fiancee's ds-2001, ds-230 and passport. Maybe you should call first to confirm it is in their system??? Just a thought.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

I have been thinking about the possibility of calling the Bogota embassy next week to check on things. But I am getting a little confused by some seemingly conflicting information (or maybe it is just how I am reading it).

The Bogota embassy web site indicates that they do not accept calls....that you must use the Visa information call center and pay a fee.

I seem to recall other members of the board indicating that you COULD call the Bogota embassy directly (although now I can't find the thread), albeit only on certain days and time. In fact, James mentioned that possibility in one of his posts in this thread (or at least I interpreted his comments as meaning you could contact the embassy directly).

Does anyone know which is true? And if you can call the Bogota embassy directly, what days and times do they take calls on K-3s (I believe James indicated he thought it was Thursdays from 2-4 p.m.)?

On another note, some may be wondering why we are going to fax our paperwork to the embassy next week without knowing for sure that our case has been input into the system. Here is my rationale. I know that the cut-off for January interviews is somewhere between December 15 and 20. So, if we want a January interview, we need to submit our DS-2001 and DS-230 by then. If we do not, we'll have to settle for a February interview. So, I figure we'll send in the forms. If the petition has been logged into the system, we'll get our January interview. If the petition has not been logged, then the embassy will either hold the materials or discard them and we won't get the interview. But we'll still have plenty of time to re-submit the data later so that we can get the February interview. Make sense? What do you think Andrea? Tony?

Mike

[jamesfreddyc 0]

I seem to recall other members of the board indicating that you COULD call the Bogota embassy directly (although now I can't find the thread), albeit only on certain days and time. In fact, James mentioned that possibility in one of his posts in this thread (or at least I interpreted his comments as meaning you could contact the embassy directly).

Does anyone know which is true? And if you can call the Bogota embassy directly, what days and times do they take calls on K-3s (I believe James indicated he thought it was Thursdays from 2-4 p.m.)?

Mike,

We still have not recieved Packet #3, and the only reason why I was able to get Packet #4 was by calling and requesting that they send it to me here in Florida -- which I then sent via DHL to Cartagena. Also, by waiting for the mail to never arrive, we never knew our Interview date. So...

Calling the Embassy and requesting info related to our K3 petition, they connected us to a person who handles these ---- apperantly, they only work on Thursdays between 2pm-4pm

In a previous post on this thread, I laid out the entire process that I went through -- so, take a few minutes and read through the last few pages.

Personally, I would give them 1-2 weeks from the time you know that NVC has forwarded your petition to the Embassy before you call. I simply do not know the exact process they go through in recieving and entering the information into the system. You should wait, at the very least, until you recieve the I-797C from NVC because this notice will have the case number (starting with BOG....) --- you will need this for them to pull up the file when you call.

Hope this helps!

Take Care,

James

I have been thinking about the possibility of calling the Bogota embassy next week to check on things. But I am getting a little confused by some seemingly conflicting information (or maybe it is just how I am reading it).

The Bogota embassy web site indicates that they do not accept calls....that you must use the Visa information call center and pay a fee.

I seem to recall other members of the board indicating that you COULD call the Bogota embassy directly (although now I can't find the thread), albeit only on certain days and time. In fact, James mentioned that possibility in one of his posts in this thread (or at least I interpreted his comments as meaning you could contact the embassy directly).

Does anyone know which is true? And if you can call the Bogota embassy directly, what days and times do they take calls on K-3s (I believe James indicated he thought it was Thursdays from 2-4 p.m.)?

On another note, some may be wondering why we are going to fax our paperwork to the embassy next week without knowing for sure that our case has been input into the system. Here is my rationale. I know that the cut-off for January interviews is somewhere between December 15 and 20. So, if we want a January interview, we need to submit our DS-2001 and DS-230 by then. If we do not, we'll have to settle for a February interview. So, I figure we'll send in the forms. If the petition has been logged into the system, we'll get our January interview. If the petition has not been logged, then the embassy will either hold the materials or discard them and we won't get the interview. But we'll still have plenty of time to re-submit the data later so that we can get the February interview. Make sense? What do you think Andrea? Tony?

Mike

[paisita411 0]

Ok....here's my two cents worth:

1. I already have the NVC case number and confirmation from the NVC that my docs were forwarded to Bogota on 12/06/06. I' tracking through DSL and since now I know the Embassy is closed for one of our famous Colombian "Festivos", I expect my docs delivered on Monday, Dec. 11th.

2. The cut-off for a January interview is BETWEEEN the 15th and 20th and it "vaires by month" according to Peter Miami.

3. It may take 1-2 weeks for them to enter the docs, but in light of the trends that I've been reading on the boards, I'm going to take the chance of faxing the docs in on the 13th and sending them by courier the same day for APPOX delivery of Hard Copies on the 14th or 15th. Either way, my P3 docs will be seen twice and I'm hoping this will trigger action by the consulate on my docs. I don't want to risk missing the cut-off day if it falls this month prior to the 20th. If it doesn't work, at best, we're one step ahead for an EARLY February interview????

4. Thank you for the compliment on my sexy mama gif, my 13 year old daughter has it on her myspace and mommy borrowed it.

Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for ALL of us. Its getting lonely and cold in Atlanta

[TonyS 0]

Tony (&Olga) ---- Sendy and I were in such a rush to get things together (like waiting for Packet #4 to arrive in Florida only to send it back to Colombia! arrggghh!) that I did not scan the documents. But we will be going over the Anexo B page together where I noticed some differences from the Packet Peter has supplied (I think from 2004). She is travelling today, and will probably give her time to settle in -- so I'd say peheraps sometime this weekend we will review everything together.

Sorry, we still have not recieved Packet #3 so I can't help with that one --- I seriously doubt we will ever get it!!!

Anyway -- will definitely post what I find.

TonyS,

Glad to have you on board. There is a ton of good information going on this thread --- you will definitely want to "track" this thread to keep up with any new posts (if you look near the top of the first post on this page, you will see an "Options" tab. By clicking you will see several options to select from the drop-down menu. Just click "Track This Topic" and you will get an e-mail each time a new post is made).

Also -- Create a "Timeline" in your signature line. This will help understand where you might be at in your timeline and could help answer any questions.

Take Care Everyone!

James

James, thanks for the welcome and the information. I will create a timeline and look forward to posting in the future. Take care!