Colombia Club

[parkpapa 0]

Welcome to the club, Byron! As mentioned by others, read ALL the posts from November (or so) forward. That is roughly page 13 through 89. It's not as hard as it sounds. Also, focus on posts by and information for the K-1 process. There are three different types of visas being discussed in the Colombia Club, and there are several differences between the processes in the types of visas.

The best single piece of advice is to read, read, and then read again. The more you learn about the process and the documentation, the more sense it will make and the simpler it will seem. Then your stress level will go down. Believe me, if I can do it, anybody can do it!

Charlie

[buck501 0]

Byron, the lawyer thing................I am using a lawyer, my contract with them is good thru the AOS process. I decide to hire a lawyer cuz I did not have the slightest idea how to go about the process. I did not discover this site untill after I put forth the money for the lawyer. it seems they can help you with the process while it is in the US, after that when it goes to the US Embassy in Bogota, they do not have any more or better connections then you and I. In other words, your on your own. But not really on your own, you have this site!!! The paper work to apply for the visa is easy. If you can speak, understand and read spanish, your in good shape for the instructions and docs from the Embassy. I had the list of questions folks have been asked from this site translated to spanish for Paola. Cost>>> $450.00.......OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. So, getting the Pkt 3 and Pkt 4 stuff translated to english, is, or was not a viable option for me.

I have been doing what folks on this site have been telling me and I feel like we have good evidence of a true and real relationship. This is the part that taked time and is VERY important. The papers and docs can be a challenge depending on where you sweetie lives, but that can be overcome with persistence and time. Building your case to present is thre most important thing. That is really where it all comes down to. Whether it will be approved or not.

Once I got that in my head it helped me to calm down some and even appreciate the fact that this stuff takes time. I need the time to prepare for the interview. You are in the very beginning, in time it will all be taken care of. (easy for me to say).

Paola and I talk on MSN messenger every night. Talk on the phone every day. I have been down there to see her 6 times in the last 1.5 years. I am sure that we have a real relationship, but am still worried about the interview. I am doing all I can to build our case. For some reason I do not have a print option on MSN to print out our daily chats. Everyone I talk to says it is at the top of the screen, but I can not find it. LOL. At any rate most of the chat is going over the questions that may be asked at the interview and, or, is X rated. I don't really want to present that kind of evidence at the interview. LOL.

What all this boils down to is................Lawyers are a waste of money, so far anyway. The folks here have "been there, done that", so they are the "experts", prepare, prepare, prepare for the interview. Every thing else is in your control, the interview is not totally in your control. We need to get as much of it as we can under our control.

For the vets on here that read this, I am not done asking dumb questions yet!!!!!!!!LOL>LOL.

[lucho562 0]

I tried to infiltrate my camera into the embassy....j/k. However I did take some photos from the outside. Enjoy

The Embassy

The preliminary line. This is where you stand before the guards let you in to the area where lines 1, 2, and 3 are.

The infamous line 3

[paisita411 0]

LUCHO....eres un bacano total!!!

OK guys, after reading BUCK's last post I have to ask for someone more tech savy than me to post the interview questions I have somewhere on this site. They are in ENGLISH and SPANISH. I don't want anyone to have to pay $450 to translate something I can give them for FREE. I should have thought of it sooner. Someone please PM me and I'll send you the questions so they can be posted for everyone to use.

And by the way, I have a lot of docs translated if anyone needs them. Just let me know.

Dre

[buck501 0]

Wow Luchco!!!!!!!!! Nice pics. Not what I had in my mind at all. The sign that has the number "3", is that where the K visas line up? For some reason I thought that was inside. Thanks for the pics!! The more info the better.

[lucho562 0]

Wow Luchco!!!!!!!!! Nice pics. Not what I had in my mind at all. The sign that has the number "3", is that where the K visas line up? For some reason I thought that was inside. Thanks for the pics!! The more info the better.

Yup, line 3 is for K and other immigrant visas.

[Mononoke28 135]

Thanks Lucho! My husband is going to love the pics as well. I keep talking about line 3 and now I can put a "face with the name".

I also have some samples that might be useful for the people starting the visa process. I have samples of affidavits of a bona fide marriage (submitted with I-130 for K3 and CR1/IR1 visas). And I also have samples of the translations of the marriage and birth certificates.

I'm totally with Dre on this one, please, please, please do not spend so much money translating this stuff. You can ask for samples here or get them done in Colombia where they will charge you around $7USD.

Diana

[Bill y Bella 0]

Great article Dre. It really has me reconsidering my strategy of keeping it short and sweet for the USCIS.

My original thought was to just submit enough to get the first approval and then bring everything but the kitchen sink to the interview. But if I understand Marc Ellis properly, he is saying if a potentially troubling fact is revealed to USCIS then the consulate cannot consider it as grounds for denial.

So another possible strategy is to reveal any possible grounds for denial, address them in the application and thereby take them off the table.

I've got some thinking to do!

[paisita411 0]

Bill, you're taking the correct approach and you understood the article perfectly. I can site some laws for you right off the USCIS manual that state just what Marc Ellis discusses in the article. Its much better to deal with RFEs and explinations on the front end becuase 99% of applications that are returned to USCIS for Revocation or Denial have a 15-24 month wait before the case is returned to the embassy. I would recomend you go to the Waivers and Administrative Processing Forum on this site and read some of the posts to get an idea of the various issues faced by applicants. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

Dre

[HAL 9000 96]

However I did take some photos from the outside. Enjoy

Dear Lucho... thanks for the memories!

[BYRON-LEIDY 0]

Hey lucho, andrea , papa, and everyone else being such a great help on here....well i followed all of your advice and i am reading away...i started from page one tonight and got to page 16, taking notes and reading very carefully... ...it is a lot of reading!!!!!!!!! i see where all of you guys came in just like me full of worries, but now i see that the document phase is something strenous and important.. I am going to keep reading away.. In the mean time, if any of you can e mail me ALL the forms to read and start filling out i will greatly apreciate it...the p3, p4, ds-156, g-325a, whatever the das report is ...basically everything!!!!!!!!!!! and also my fiance has a little boy, so if anyone knows what extfra i need for him i would appreciate it also...again thanks A LOT for everything....my e mail address is bh2074@yahoo........

[Mike and Adriana 0]

You can get most of the forms from the "guide" section and the embassy web site.

Be sure the boy is identified on the I-129F. You will eventually need to submit an I-130 for him (assuming you are going the K route). You'll see all of that as you review this thread. I went through this with a 10 year old step-daughter, so pay attention to my posts on issues related to that.

good luck.

.. In the mean time, if any of you can e mail me ALL the forms to read and start filling out i will greatly apreciate it...the p3, p4, ds-156, g-325a, whatever the das report is ...basically everything!!!!!!!!!!! and also my fiance has a little boy, so if anyone knows what extfra i need for him i would appreciate it also...again thanks A LOT for everything....my e mail address is bh2074@yahoo........

[gaolopona 0]

Wow Luchco!!!!!!!!! Nice pics. Not what I had in my mind at all. The sign that has the number "3", is that where the K visas line up? For some reason I thought that was inside. Thanks for the pics!! The more info the better.

Yup, line 3 is for K and other immigrant visas.

HI DIANA IS THERE ANYWAY YOU CAN SENT ME THE SAMPLE OF THE MARRIAGE AND BIRTH CERTIFICATE TRANSLATION , HOW CAN YOU SEND THEM , PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW !!!!!!!!!!!! THANKYOU DIANA MARIA

[Mononoke28 135]

Tocaya,

I just PM'd you.

Diana

[Chester y Monica 2]

You can get most of the forms from the "guide" section and the embassy web site.

Be sure the boy is identified on the I-129F. You will eventually need to submit an I-130 for him (assuming you are going the K route). You'll see all of that as you review this thread. I went through this with a 10 year old step-daughter, so pay attention to my posts on issues related to that.

good luck.

I-130 for the child? I thought as long as minors are in the I-129F, in the DS-230 they are considered as "one" application. Maybe I misunderstood?