Colombia Club Part IV

[Ryan76 46]

That's correct, most people only send a copy of their DS-3025 and their AOS gets approved with only that document but if for some reason they want the I-693 they will just send you an RFE and all you have to do is have the civil surgeon fill it out and sign it based on her DS-3025.

The I-94 is given to all passengers arriving on non-immigrant visas as well as K visas for them to fill out before passing through immigration. You will need to send a copy of that form along with your I-485. And don't worry, it's available in English and Spanish.

Diana

So the airline attendants on the plane know she is arriving with a visa and they give this paperwork to her, then after she passes through customs she is allowed to keep the form i assume, they don't take it?

Here's another random question...my fiancee will be arriving at Miami International Airport...do you (or does anyone) know exactly where i should go to meet her?

[Ken y Leidys 20]

Here's another random question...my fiancee will be arriving at Miami International Airport...do you (or does anyone) know exactly where i should go to meet her?

International Arrivals? I flew in from Colombia and after leaving through Customs, I noticed International ticketing counters for various airlines as I was checking back in to International departures. That information should be provided according to the airline your Fiance is traveling with and the fact that this is an International flight.

[Alex-y-Carla 0]

So the airline attendants on the plane know she is arriving with a visa and they give this paperwork to her, then after she passes through customs she is allowed to keep the form i assume, they don't take it?

Here's another random question...my fiancee will be arriving at Miami International Airport...do you (or does anyone) know exactly where i should go to meet her?

What airline is she flying with? Miami International has two international arrival locations, namely, third floor of terminal J and first floor of terminal E. Not sure how things are now, but if they have finished the remodeling in the airport of terminals A-C, then the customs arrival in terminal E should be exclusively for American Airlines passengers. 3rd floor of terminal J is for all other airlines.

[Mononoke28 135]

So the airline attendants on the plane know she is arriving with a visa and they give this paperwork to her, then after she passes through customs she is allowed to keep the form i assume, they don't take it?

Here's another random question...my fiancee will be arriving at Miami International Airport...do you (or does anyone) know exactly where i should go to meet her?

The flight attendants walk up and down the aisle asking who needs to fill out form I-94, only people arriving with non-immigrant visas, as well as K visas, need one. All others such as US citizens, green card holders and people arriving with CR visas, don't need it.

You can go to the MIA website to find out where you can meet your fiancée at the airport. Their online maps are very detailed and it all depends on the airline.

Diana

[Ryan76 46]

What airline is she flying with? Miami International has two international arrival locations, namely, third floor of terminal J and first floor of terminal E. Not sure how things are now, but if they have finished the remodeling in the airport of terminals A-C, then the customs arrival in terminal E should be exclusively for American Airlines passengers. 3rd floor of terminal J is for all other airlines.

She's flying Avianca. So it sounds like if they're finished remodeling then it would be 3rd floor / terminal J. I will have to get online and check out the maps and everything.

I figure worst case scenario is she doesn't see me when she's finished with customs and she can get someone to page me. Hopefully it won't come to that though.

[DanVanessaSiempre 0]

Miami International Airport just opened a brand new customs hall last week at the North terminal, twice the size of the old one in the Central terminal, so hopefully things will move a lot faster now. For now it seems like they will have both halls operating, although the new one apparently will not be fully staffed for a while yet. Vanessa is coming home from Medellin this Saturday and I don't know yet which one she'll be going through on American, will have to call ahead and ask the airline before I leave to go pick her up. You should probably give Avianca a call too, just to be sure ;-)

[Mikesway 0]

My wife's interview was today and it could not have gone better. She told me that it was so easy, and everyone was very polite. Thank you Colombia Club thread so much for all the help. Especially you, Mononoke28. We couldn't have done it without your help.

Now one more question. She lives in Bogota, and is having the visa mailed to the DHL office closest to her house. They told her it would be 8-10 days. It's normally much faster than that, right? I am hoping to have her in my arms a week from tomorrow! (That way we can spend the entire weekend together before I have to return to work on Monday) Thanks! You're the best!!

[Mononoke28 135]

My wife's interview was today and it could not have gone better. She told me that it was so easy, and everyone was very polite. Thank you Colombia Club thread so much for all the help. Especially you, Mononoke28. We couldn't have done it without your help.

Now one more question. She lives in Bogota, and is having the visa mailed to the DHL office closest to her house. They told her it would be 8-10 days. It's normally much faster than that, right? I am hoping to have her in my arms a week from tomorrow! (That way we can spend the entire weekend together before I have to return to work on Monday) Thanks! You're the best!!

Congratulations to you both!!! Interviews are a breeze when you go well prepared.

Nah, it shouldn't take that long if delivery takes place in Bogotá since it's usually 2-3 business days. Now, I know that Wednesday was a holy day in Colombia and I'm not sure if they moved it to this Monday, but if they did, you need to start counting from Tuesday of next week, so double check with your wife to see if the 20th is a holiday in Colombia. I'm pretty sure it is, but not 100%.

Diana

[D N Medellin COL 75]

My wife's interview was today and it could not have gone better. She told me that it was so easy, and everyone was very polite. Thank you Colombia Club thread so much for all the help. Especially you, Mononoke28. We couldn't have done it without your help.

Now one more question. She lives in Bogota, and is having the visa mailed to the DHL office closest to her house. They told her it would be 8-10 days. It's normally much faster than that, right? I am hoping to have her in my arms a week from tomorrow! (That way we can spend the entire weekend together before I have to return to work on Monday) Thanks! You're the best!!

Congrats to you both! I was with my fiancee at the interview and I ditto your fiancees experience.

I think 3-4 days for Bogota as ours was delivered to Medellin and it took 5-6 days. They also sent us an email when it left the Embassy in Bogota so we had our eyes open for it.

Good luck to you both. Today we are enjoying 3 weeks together and hope the same for you both at Gods speed!

[Ken y Leidys 20]

My wife's interview was today and it could not have gone better.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

[JoeKwa 8]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I had a question that my wife and I need some help with. My wife is a 26 year woman from Colombia and we are applying for a CR1 Visa. Our NVC case was completed as of 8/16/2012 and we are awaiting an interview date with the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. We are worried about the vaccination and medical exam process. I have heard absolute horrible things about Dr. Roa and his practices and I am nervous that I will have to spend a small fortune on vaccinations. If it turns out that my wife needs most or all of the vaccinations, how much cash am I looking to spend here? I am under the impression that it will be a few hundred dollars. Any help or advice would be awesome.

Thank You and Good Luck!!!

Joe Kwa.

Edited August 19, 2012 by JoeKwa

[Mikesway 0]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I had a question that my wife and I need some help with. My wife is a 26 year woman from Colombia and we are applying for a CR1 Visa. Our NVC case was completed as of 8/16/2012 and we are awaiting an interview date with the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. We are worried about the vaccination and medical exam process. I have heard absolute horrible things about Dr. Roa and his practices and I am nervous that I will have to spend a small fortune on vaccinations. If it turns out that my wife needs most or all of the vaccinations, how much cash am I looking to spend here? I am under the impression that it will be a few hundred dollars. Any help or advice would be awesome.

Thank You and Good Luck!!!

Joe Kwa.

My wife just took care of this 2 weeks ago. She says that it was 135000 pesos for the examination, 150000 pesos for the doctor,and 200000 pesos for vaccinations. Dr. Dennis does all of the vaccinations that you'll need. Remember, she has to do the examinations first, and then take that packet to the Doctor. She went to Dr. Dennis. My wife said that he was very professional. I remember hearing some bad stuff about Dr. Roa. So go ahead to Dr. Dennis and feel better about it

[Ryan76 46]

Well, my fiancee arrives Friday and our wedding is a week from today! We're meeting up / marrying in South Florida (with all my family present) then flying back home to indianapolis after a few days worth of honeymoon time on Fort Myers beach. Promptly after returning home, we are going to do the AOS paperwork. Helpful info has been posted in this thread regarding the AOS, and I think i have a pretty good grasp of it now (though I'm sure I'll be back with questions when I'm filling out the forms!), but i do have a preliminary question.

For the last year + i've been living in my parents guestroom, and I've used their address on all my paperwork and my fiancee's paperwork. However, two weeks after we arrive in Indy, we are moving into a new apartment. My question is, when filling out the AOS paperwork, will I still use my parents address, or should I use the address we will be living at by the time they receive the paperwork? My gut tells me just to keep using my parents address for everything, then a couple months down the road notify Immigration Services (or whoever else) that we have a new address. What do you think?

I'm going crazy right now...feeling like i'm forgetting something huge. For the civil service in Florida they said all i need is a government issued ID, and all she needs is her visa / passport, so i guess that's all that really matters. She's bringing all her paperwork, medical info, birth certificate, etc. for when we do the AOS.

I think I have all my bases covered but still have this feeling that i'm forgetting something. I just want things to go smoothly...it's been such a long journey and I don't want to mess something up at the very end!

[Mononoke28 135]

Well, my fiancee arrives Friday and our wedding is a week from today! We're meeting up / marrying in South Florida (with all my family present) then flying back home to indianapolis after a few days worth of honeymoon time on Fort Myers beach. Promptly after returning home, we are going to do the AOS paperwork. Helpful info has been posted in this thread regarding the AOS, and I think i have a pretty good grasp of it now (though I'm sure I'll be back with questions when I'm filling out the forms!), but i do have a preliminary question.

For the last year + i've been living in my parents guestroom, and I've used their address on all my paperwork and my fiancee's paperwork. However, two weeks after we arrive in Indy, we are moving into a new apartment. My question is, when filling out the AOS paperwork, will I still use my parents address, or should I use the address we will be living at by the time they receive the paperwork? My gut tells me just to keep using my parents address for everything, then a couple months down the road notify Immigration Services (or whoever else) that we have a new address. What do you think?

I'm going crazy right now...feeling like i'm forgetting something huge. For the civil service in Florida they said all i need is a government issued ID, and all she needs is her visa / passport, so i guess that's all that really matters. She's bringing all her paperwork, medical info, birth certificate, etc. for when we do the AOS.

I think I have all my bases covered but still have this feeling that i'm forgetting something. I just want things to go smoothly...it's been such a long journey and I don't want to mess something up at the very end!

You can use your parents' address and then change it after you move. Your wife will have to file form AR-11 (online) to change her address within 30 days of your move and you will have to send form I-865 to change yours. You both need to do this every time you move until she becomes a US citizen. It's important to change your info with the USCIS in case her green card is lost in the mail or they mail it to the wrong address. If you have proof that you changed it before they mailed it, then they'll replace it at no cost to you, but if you don't, then you wwill have to pay to get another green card.

Or, if you're sure you will be at your new address before they can mail you the NOA1 for your AOS package, you can fill out all forms with your new address. I still recommend you file forms AR-11 and I-865 just in case, i's best to cover all bases.

Diana

[ryna 132]

Well, my fiancee arrives Friday and our wedding is a week from today! We're meeting up / marrying in South Florida (with all my family present) then flying back home to indianapolis after a few days worth of honeymoon time on Fort Myers beach. Promptly after returning home, we are going to do the AOS paperwork. Helpful info has been posted in this thread regarding the AOS, and I think i have a pretty good grasp of it now (though I'm sure I'll be back with questions when I'm filling out the forms!), but i do have a preliminary question.

For the last year + i've been living in my parents guestroom, and I've used their address on all my paperwork and my fiancee's paperwork. However, two weeks after we arrive in Indy, we are moving into a new apartment. My question is, when filling out the AOS paperwork, will I still use my parents address, or should I use the address we will be living at by the time they receive the paperwork? My gut tells me just to keep using my parents address for everything, then a couple months down the road notify Immigration Services (or whoever else) that we have a new address. What do you think?

I'm going crazy right now...feeling like i'm forgetting something huge. For the civil service in Florida they said all i need is a government issued ID, and all she needs is her visa / passport, so i guess that's all that really matters. She's bringing all her paperwork, medical info, birth certificate, etc. for when we do the AOS.

I think I have all my bases covered but still have this feeling that i'm forgetting something. I just want things to go smoothly...it's been such a long journey and I don't want to mess something up at the very end!

Congrats!

One more little piece of advice about the I-94...

Make sure she fills out both the Arrival and Departure sections using her name exactly as it appears on her Colombian Passport/K-1 Visa.

Because I've never been an immigrant and had never seen, let alone filled out, an I-94, when my then-fianceé arrived (I was with her), I figured that we only had to fill out the Arrival portion (since she wouldn't be departing the U.S. until she at least had her GC, right?) Anyhow, when we arrived at immigration, the CBP agent (nice guy) said the departure portion also needed to be filled out, so he wrote in her first name and first apellido, stamped it, and sent us on to secondary for the K-1 processing. We didn't think anything more of it at the time but later came to find out that having 4 names cut down to 2 on that little piece of paper that they stapled into her passport caused all kinds of name-mismatch problems that could have easily been avoided by knowing this simple detail.