Colombia Club Part III

[JosephandKata 0]

It is so incredibly slow! Given that they finally gave us an interview date yesterday, and they set it for almost 2 months later! Man, there goes Christmas and New years with her...

But thankful none-the-less that we have one.

[Ready to do it 101]

Even under the new process they set the interview date for CR-1? If that is the case then there is definitely a benefit to K-1 over CR-1 as K-1's now get to set the interview date.

It is so incredibly slow! Given that they finally gave us an interview date yesterday, and they set it for almost 2 months later! Man, there goes Christmas and New years with her...

But thankful none-the-less that we have one.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Even under the new process they set the interview date for CR-1? If that is the case then there is definitely a benefit to K-1 over CR-1 as K-1's now get to set the interview date.

Yeah that is correct.. NVC still schedules the CR-1... K-1s have an advantage there... I was a tad perturbed that weeks after I was told I missed October scheduling they opened up the Calendar for K-1s to schedule themselves and there was *still* October dates available.. If someone had told me when I received the NO2 in June that it was going to be November before an interview was scheduled I would have laughed in their face.

not that it matters now... being four days from leaving for Bogota it is hard to be mad about anything at the moment..

Lab and Medical tomorrow!

One quick thing: My wife talked to the lab and doctor in Bogota to find out exactly what they are testing for and went and had the same tests done in Medellin to make sure there were no surprises when she goes to the Bogota lab.. The total cost for everything (including keeping the X-ray photos) ran 27 dollars.. That Bogota lab is really pricey!

Edited November 4, 2011 by OnMyWayID

[kali1229 6]

Yeah that is correct.. NVC still schedules the CR-1... K-1s have an advantage there... I was a tad perturbed that weeks after I was told I missed October scheduling they opened up the Calendar for K-1s to schedule themselves and there was *still* October dates available.. If someone had told me when I received the NO2 in June that it was going to be November before an interview was scheduled I would have laughed in their face.

not that it matters now... being four days from leaving for Bogota it is hard to be mad about anything at the moment..

Lab and Medical tomorrow!

One quick thing: My wife talked to the lab and doctor in Bogota to find out exactly what they are testing for and went and had the same tests done in Medellin to make sure there were no surprises when she goes to the Bogota lab.. The total cost for everything (including keeping the X-ray photos) ran 27 dollars.. That Bogota lab is really pricey!

Ridiculous how us Colombians like to squeeze every little bit of money out! =( These doctors must be making bank! I wonder what sort of requirement they had to go through to get "certified" to do such examinations for the embassy...

[kali1229 6]

Even though my fiance does not live in Bogota, if we were to have the passport with Visa sent to one of the DHL facilities in Bogota would it just sit there until she picked it up? I'm trying to book flights and since she will be leaving colombia from Bogota on an evening flight it gives us time to go get it from the DHL facility in the daytime on the day of our flight. I am thinking that by having it sent to a DHL facility in Bogota might be smarter. On the other hand, what if it just sits there for a week... would they just hold onto it?

This sounds really dangerous - just leaving a few hours from passport pick-up to departing flight? Why don't you give it a couple of days? That way if Murphy were to sneak in, you'd have a little more cushioning to get things fixed. I believe there is a time limit for how long the passports are to sit at the DHL facility, I read it somewhere and now I cannot recall where. My husband will be picking his up at Salitre which is apparently close to the embassy. I hope you are able to figure this out!

[Ready to do it 101]

Wait a second. Can people have their labwork and xrays done anywhere they want? I thought you had to get them at the one place they mention. It's the vaccines they offer four choices and people also get beforehand elsewhere. I could be wrong. I never even considered doing the labwork and x-rays elsewhere as I didn't think it was an option.

Yeah that is correct.. NVC still schedules the CR-1... K-1s have an advantage there... I was a tad perturbed that weeks after I was told I missed October scheduling they opened up the Calendar for K-1s to schedule themselves and there was *still* October dates available.. If someone had told me when I received the NO2 in June that it was going to be November before an interview was scheduled I would have laughed in their face.

not that it matters now... being four days from leaving for Bogota it is hard to be mad about anything at the moment..

Lab and Medical tomorrow!

One quick thing: My wife talked to the lab and doctor in Bogota to find out exactly what they are testing for and went and had the same tests done in Medellin to make sure there were no surprises when she goes to the Bogota lab.. The total cost for everything (including keeping the X-ray photos) ran 27 dollars.. That Bogota lab is really pricey!

The problem is twofold... not knowing how long it takes for the embassy to give DHL the passport, and hotels in Bogota are $150+/night. I want to spend as few nights in Bogota as possible.

This sounds really dangerous - just leaving a few hours from passport pick-up to departing flight? Why don't you give it a couple of days? That way if Murphy were to sneak in, you'd have a little more cushioning to get things fixed. I believe there is a time limit for how long the passports are to sit at the DHL facility, I read it somewhere and now I cannot recall where. My husband will be picking his up at Salitre which is apparently close to the embassy. I hope you are able to figure this out!

[kali1229 6]

Wait a second. Can people have their labwork and xrays done anywhere they want? I thought you had to get them at the one place they mention. It's the vaccines they offer four choices and people also get beforehand elsewhere. I could be wrong. I never even considered doing the labwork and x-rays elsewhere as I didn't think it was an option.

The problem is twofold... not knowing how long it takes for the embassy to give DHL the passport, and hotels in Bogota are $150+/night. I want to spend as few nights in Bogota as possible.

Yes, you do HAVE to get them in Bogota. OnMyWayID is saying that his wife got them done before leaving for Bogota so she wouldn't have any surprises.

One quick thing: My wife talked to the lab and doctor in Bogota to find out exactly what they are testing for and went and had the same tests done in Medellin to make sure there were no surprises when she goes to the Bogota lab"

[married2paisita 1]

Ridiculous how us Colombians like to squeeze every little bit of money out! =( These doctors must be making bank! I wonder what sort of requirement they had to go through to get "certified" to do such examinations for the embassy...

Haha they told my wife to bring an extra $300.000 to cover any needed vaccines. Then you do the math and these doctors without the lab fees make up to $485.000 in a couple of hours. Since minimum monthly wage working 50 hours a week is $515.000, that is bank!

Wait a second. Can people have their labwork and xrays done anywhere they want? I thought you had to get them at the one place they mention. It's the vaccines they offer four choices and people also get beforehand elsewhere. I could be wrong. I never even considered doing the labwork and x-rays elsewhere as I didn't think it was an option.

The problem is twofold... not knowing how long it takes for the embassy to give DHL the passport, and hotels in Bogota are $150+/night. I want to spend as few nights in Bogota as possible.

$150/night? Where were you looking? I stayed in a hotel in front of the embassy for about $80 a night with breakfast included. I get my wife to call and get the pricing, plus sometimes if you offer to pay for a week upfront they give you a sweet discount.

[Ready to do it 101]

Could you provide the name of the hotel? Wifi? How do you know what hotels are close to the Embassy?

$150/night? Where were you looking? I stayed in a hotel in front of the embassy for about $80 a night with breakfast included. I get my wife to call and get the pricing, plus sometimes if you offer to pay for a week upfront they give you a sweet discount.

[married2paisita 1]

Could you provide the name of the hotel? Wifi? How do you know what hotels are close to the Embassy?

My wife spend some time researching, I just told her to get as close as possible to the embassy, then from there we priced them all out. We got down to about $50-60 a night if we paid the four nights up front - see "Suite Bogotá Colonial" below.

HOTEL: Casa Embajada

TELÉFONO: 269 48 38 – 438 81 20

DIRECCION: Cll 24 D # 44 A – 97 Barrio Quinta Paredes Detrás de la Embajada

PRECIO: 154.000

CON DESCUENTO: No ofrecen

COMIDAS: Desayuno, cafetería

HABITACION: Tv, Internet Inalámbrico, Cama doble y Sencilla, teléfono, trasporte, seguro Hotelero

DA LA INFORMACION: Adriana Romero – reservación con dos días anticipación

HOTEL: Casa la Embajada Colonial

TELÉFONO: 244 79 94 – 269 44 22

DIRECCION: Kra 44 A # 24 A – 60 Barrio Quinta Paredes a 1 cuadra de la embajada

PRECIO: 120.000

CON DESCUENTO: 110.000

COMIDAS: Desayuno

HABITACION: Tv, Internet Inalámbrico, Cama doble y Sencilla, teléfono

DA LA INFORMACION: Nubia La Verde –

HOTEL: Suite Bogotá Colonial

TELÉFONO: 368 26 82

DIRECCION: Cll 24C #52 - 34 Barrio Quinta Paredes a 1 cuadra o 2 de La Embajada (son 2 hot)

PRECIO: 154.000

CON DESCUENTO: 100.000 Pagando las cuatro noches de contado

COMIDAS: Desayuno

HABITACION: Tv, Internet Inalámbrico, Cama doble y Sencilla, teléfono

HOTEL: Casa Lozano

TELÉFONO: 269 31 18

DIRECCION: Kr 44 A # 24 – 07 Barrio Quinta Paredes a una cuadra de La Embajada

PRECIO: 132.000

CON DESCUENTO: 125.000

COMIDAS: Desayuno

HABITACION: Tv, Internet Inalámbrico, Cama doble y Sencilla, teléfono

[kali1229 6]

My wife spend some time researching, I just told her to get as close as possible to the embassy, then from there we priced them all out. We got down to about $50-60 a night if we paid the four nights up front - see "Suite Bogotá Colonial" below.

HOTEL: Casa Embajada

TELÉFONO: 269 48 38 – 438 81 20

DIRECCION: Cll 24 D # 44 A – 97 Barrio Quinta Paredes Detrás de la Embajada

PRECIO: 154.000

CON DESCUENTO: No ofrecen

COMIDAS: Desayuno, cafetería

HABITACION: Tv, Internet Inalámbrico, Cama doble y Sencilla, teléfono, trasporte, seguro Hotelero

DA LA INFORMACION: Adriana Romero – reservación con dos días anticipación

HOTEL: Casa la Embajada Colonial

TELÉFONO: 244 79 94 – 269 44 22

DIRECCION: Kra 44 A # 24 A – 60 Barrio Quinta Paredes a 1 cuadra de la embajada

PRECIO: 120.000

CON DESCUENTO: 110.000

COMIDAS: Desayuno

HABITACION: Tv, Internet Inalámbrico, Cama doble y Sencilla, teléfono

DA LA INFORMACION: Nubia La Verde –

HOTEL: Suite Bogotá Colonial

TELÉFONO: 368 26 82

DIRECCION: Cll 24C #52 - 34 Barrio Quinta Paredes a 1 cuadra o 2 de La Embajada (son 2 hot)

PRECIO: 154.000

CON DESCUENTO: 100.000 Pagando las cuatro noches de contado

COMIDAS: Desayuno

HABITACION: Tv, Internet Inalámbrico, Cama doble y Sencilla, teléfono

HOTEL: Casa Lozano

TELÉFONO: 269 31 18

DIRECCION: Kr 44 A # 24 – 07 Barrio Quinta Paredes a una cuadra de La Embajada

PRECIO: 132.000

CON DESCUENTO: 125.000

COMIDAS: Desayuno

HABITACION: Tv, Internet Inalámbrico, Cama doble y Sencilla, teléfono

Great info, thanks! The only one that we've looked at is welovebogota.com. Hubs is staying with his cousin/aunt but just in case. (he'll be in Bogota until he comes on the 3rd so two and a half weeks). We don't want him to overstay his welcome at his aunt's.

[Mononoke28 135]

Even under the new process they set the interview date for CR-1? If that is the case then there is definitely a benefit to K-1 over CR-1 as K-1's now get to set the interview date.

That is the only benefit of a K1 vs a CR1 visa. The difference in having an interview is about 1-2 months, depending on how long it took the petitioner to make the payments and send the documents to the NVC. However, in the long run, a K1 visa is still more expensive and more inconvenient once the beneficiary arrives in the US because they have to shell out the money for the Adjustment of Status, wait at least 3-6 months for their work permit and another 6-9 months for their green cards. A person who enters to the US with a CR/IR visa gets their green card and SS card in the mail 2-4 weeks after arrival.

Diana

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Uff! Just got off the phone and the medical is now done.. There was no waiting at the lab and she cruised right through (finished at around 9:30am). No complaints about the lab - she said the doctor at the examination in the afternoon was off-putting but that could be my bad Spanish interpretation (though I am not sure how else you can interpret "mujer muy muy extraña!"). There was one vaccination she missed in Medellin (influenza) which I thought would be the case but she already had three shots that day so I did not want to bring it up.. She was charged $60.00 for the influenza shot.

Edited November 4, 2011 by OnMyWayID

[Jo & A 0]

For K1'ers, I got my hands on a copy of the Spanish Packet 3 & 4 dated October 2011. I just checked and the embassy site still has the June 2011 Spanish version.

I still have yet to check and see if the October Spanish version is any different than the June Spanish or October English versions.

I have a question. Our interview is next week and the medical is scheduled 2 days in advance. From what I've read, this is plenty of time to get the medical results before the interview.

I'm getting more nervous as we're getting closer. Can anyone confirm that the medical 2 days ahead of the interview is ok?

Thanks,

Andy

[Ready to do it 101]

$60US ?? That seems expensive. Which of the four doctors? We're probably going to get taken out behind the woodshed when it comes to vaccines, as my fiance doesn't have a lot of proof of them, even though she knows she's had most of them.

Uff! Just got off the phone and the medical is now done.. There was no waiting at the lab and she cruised right through (finished at around 9:30am). No complaints about the lab - she said the doctor at the examination in the afternoon was off-putting but that could be my bad Spanish interpretation (though I am not sure how else you can interpret "mujer muy muy extraña!"). There was one vaccination she missed in Medellin (influenza) which I thought would be the case but she already had three shots that day so I did not want to bring it up.. She was charged $60.00 for the influenza shot.